SBM-3 – Material impacts, risks and opportunities and their interaction with strategy and business model
Rentenbank’s material impacts, risks and opportunities were most recently identified in 2025 as part of the double materiality assessment. They are relevant in the reporting year (short term) and are expected to remain relevant over the next five years (medium term).
Material impacts, risks and opportunities
| Environment | |
|---|---|
| Rentenbank promotes the expansion of renewable energy through favourable promotional loans and thus actively supports the energy transition. | Positive impact |
| The financing of carbon-intensive sectors has a negative impact on climate change. | Negative impact |
| The refurbishment of Rentenbank’s head office offers an opportunity to increase the use of renewable energy in the heat supply as well. | Opportunity |
| Rentenbank’s portfolio gives rise to ESG risks, which are taken into account both in credit risk analysis and in organisation-wide risk controlling. | Risk |
Environmental impacts are concentrated to a large extent in the credit portfolio. Climate risks also affect Rentenbank, in particular through the credit portfolio. In addition, the refurbishment of the head office gives rise to an environmental opportunity in Rentenbank’s own operations.
Material adverse impacts arise in particular from the financing of activities in agriculture and adjacent sectors, which, as emission-intensive sectors, are associated with adverse impacts on climate change.
At the same time, positive impacts are generated through the financing of investments that contribute to reducing emissions, promoting renewable energy or strengthening climate resilience. This gives rise to positive effects: on the one hand, through the mitigation of climate change and, on the other hand, through the support of natural soil functions or the strengthening of biodiversity.
Financial risks arise from ESG risks, in particular climate risks. These are described in more detail under E1-SBM-3.
Finally, once the refurbishment of the head office has been completed, it will provide an opportunity to increase the use of renewable energy and thereby further reduce the adverse environmental impacts of Rentenbank’s own operations.
| Social matters | |
|---|---|
| Through strong employee rights and good working conditions, Rentenbank has a positive impact on its employees’ working time arrangements, remu-neration and security. It also enhances Rentenbank’s profile as a good em-ployer and helps to attract talent. | Positive impact |
| By supporting projects in rural areas, Rentenbank strengthens those areas economically and maintains or improves infrastructure as well as housing and living conditions.1 | Positive impact |
| Rentenbank supports agricultural enterprises throughout Germany, thereby safeguarding jobs and contributing to food security.1 | Positive impact |
| Organic farming and the transition to organic farming are actively pro-moted through particularly low-interest promotional loans.1 | Positive impact |
Rentenbank’s social impacts are essentially concentrated in two areas of activity: On the one hand, Rentenbank as an employer has a direct impact on its employees. On the other hand, its promotional loans have a positive impact on conventional and organic farms and on people living in rural areas.
Impacts on Rentenbank’s employees arise primarily from working conditions, training and development opportunities, as well as from aspects of equal treatment and equal opportunities.
Rentenbank also has a positive impact on the sectors and regions covered by its promotional mandate by providing favourable loans.
| Corporate governance | |
|---|---|
| We fulfil our promotional mandate in a holistic manner: Rentenbank publishes studies, provides a platform for dialogue and gives particular attention to sustainability matters in various stakeholder formats. | Positive impact |
| As Rentenbank processes the personal data of customers and employees, it is exposed to a risk that is, however, mitigated by high standards of protection and increased employee awareness.2 | Risk |
As a promotional bank with close ties to the Federal Government, Rentenbank is particularly committed to its stakeholders. In addition to providing loans, we also fulfil this mandate in a holistic manner, for example by promoting dialogue between the agricultural and financial sectors.
In the course of its business operations, Rentenbank processes the personal data of its employees and ultimate borrowers. This comes with special responsibility, but also with risks. These are mitigated through integrated governance arrangements in the areas of data protection and information security.
Other identified matters, including biodiversity, pollution and consumers and end-users, were assessed as part of the double materiality assessment but, on the basis of the defined thresholds, were not classified as material within the meaning of the ESRS. These matters are therefore not reported on in detail.
Link to strategy and business model
Rentenbank’s strategy and business model are shaped in particular by its statutory promotional mandate. That mandate therefore influences the further development of our promotional offering, our raising of funds on the capital market, the design of our climate strategy, our employee development measures, and our governance and risk management. Accordingly, the outcome of the double materiality assessment is likewise shaped by the promotional mandate. The material sustainability matters are therefore not considered in isolation, but are integrated into the existing management and decision-making processes. The impacts, risks and opportunities are explained in detail in the respective topical ESRS disclosures (E1, S1 and G1).
Rentenbank’s business model is resilient in relation to the identified impacts, risks and opportunities. The statutory guarantee ensures continuous access to capital markets. Close dialogue with our stakeholders ensures that our promotional offering remains relevant both for the sectors that matter to us and for the ministries. ESG risks are assessed both in the creditworthiness analysis as part of the bank rating and across the portfolio by means of scenario analysis. No increased risk has been identified in this context either.