Social and Environmental Impact Loan Scheme

Description

The Caisse d’Epargne launched the Social and Environmental Impact Loan to enhance the commitment of social/environmental clients in the real estate and social housing sector. For each loan, the interest rate will be indexed to the extra-financial social or environmental performance of its customers and the bonus could be transferred to an association.

Context

The Caisse d’Epargne wanted to encourage the efforts of its clients to take into account more ambitious social & environmental criteria for their social housing operations. This new offer relies on an incentive mechanism allowing the social landlord to benefit, for each Loan, from an interest rate indexed to their extra-financial performance.

The Bank endorses the extra-financial performance on:

• social criteria around five themes: inclusion, disability, ageing, urban diversity and occupant health;
• environmental criteria around three themes: energy performance and greenhouse gas emissions, bio-responsible operations and decarbonised mobility.

Each theme is combined with one or more indicators to measure extra-financial performance.

Issues tackled

The Caisse d’Epargne wishes, through this scheme, to value the actions of the customers in reducing their environmental footprint and supporting them in their societal commitment by providing an incentive for more sustainable and responsible project developments.

Actors involved

• Caisse d'Epargne
• Social Housing providers
• Associations

Actions carried out

• The new scheme was reviewed by Vigeo Eiris, a world leader in evaluations, data, research, benchmarks and ESG analysis.

Results

The first Impact Loan was signed on October 1st by the Caisse d’Epargne Ile-de-France with the Regie Immobiliere of the City of Paris, the second largest social landlord in Paris with 60,700 housing units located mainly in Paris and the suburbs. This 25 million euro Social Impact Loan will finance the needs of this social landlord. Thanks to this innovative financing scheme, it will be able to benefit from an interest rate increase of 15 basis points (0.15%), since at least 20% of the dwellings allocated annually on the contracted park will be allocated to a priority population, as defined by the DALO Act.

The two partners have jointly agreed to donate 50% of the bonus amount annually to the Abbé Pierre Foundation.   

Why it works

The scheme represents a highly innovative tool in Europe, as it has included an extra-financial performance in its mechanism. Similar schemes exist also in the Netherlands.
In the context of recovery from the COVID crisis, this French scheme allows financing social housing investment programmes in the best possible conditions, while being a catalyst for a high social commitment.

Scale

national

More information

https://www.caisse-epargne.fr/

www.rivp.fr

www.fondation-abbe-pierre.fr 

Carine Puyol, EU affairs, L’Union sociale pour l’habitat (USH)

carine.puyol@union-habitat.org