Impact Management at NRW.BANK

Our success as a promotional bank is not measured solely by the volume of promotional funds NRW.BANK provides. What matters is what those funds achieve. That is where our impact management comes in. It systematically records how the funds we provide affect the economy, society and the environment, and identifies the specific positive contribution of our promotional programmes.

We use these insights to develop our promotional business more effectively. They inform our strategic direction and help us tailor our promotional offerings even more closely to the needs of North Rhine-Westphalia in future. We draw on the data collected to ensure our promotional activities are effective and fit for the future.

We support companies at every stage of their development, strengthening their competitiveness and future viability. As a transformation partner, we support small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) in particular on their journey towards climate neutrality.

Strong SMEs make NRW strong: in 2025, 6,641 companies benefited from NRW.BANK’s promotional offerings. Of these, 5,714 were small and medium-sized enterprises. Their share of around 86 percent reflects the focus of our economic promotion: systematically supporting SME growth, innovation and transformation.

Securing jobs – shaping the future. Prosperity, economic stability and social participation depend to a large extent on a strong economy and labour market. That is why NRW.BANK’s promotional activities span all industries and almost every sector – with the clear aim of creating and securing jobs in North Rhine-Westphalia. Impact in 2025: according to projections, our funding and promotional activities helped create and secure 46,100 jobs.

The reported number of jobs created and secured describes the employment effects associated with specific NRW.BANK funding and promotional activities. It is calculated using the value creation model developed by Gesellschaft für Angewandte Wirtschaftsforschung (GAW). This web-based application uses data to determine the economic effects of demand impulses.

Across industry, the skilled trades and the service sector, digitalisation and innovation are driving economic transformation and opening up new opportunities for growth, efficiency and competitiveness. Our objective: to strengthen the future viability of companies and institutions through digital transformation and targeted promotion of innovation. Through tailored advisory services and promotional programmes, NRW.BANK supported a total of 1,485 digitalisation and innovation projects in companies and organisations in 2025.

From hot summers to heavy rainfall, the effects of climate change have long been felt. As a promotional bank, we support North Rhine-Westphalia on its journey towards climate neutrality and promote investments that advance climate protection or improve adaptation to the effects of climate change.

From production processes and supply chains to buildings, climate change is fundamentally altering the conditions in which people, companies, cities and municipalities operate. By financing 4,161 climate promotion projects, we help funding recipients reduce greenhouse gas emissions, adapt to the effects of climate change and make sustainable investments.

Investing in climate protection makes economic sense too: it reduces energy and operating costs over the long term, makes companies less dependent on fossil fuels and strengthens their competitiveness.

The State of North Rhine-Westphalia and NRW.BANK have clear climate targets: to promote reductions in greenhouse gas emissions and the climate-friendly transformation of the economy. Achieving these targets requires investment.

We are working to systematically record and calculate the GHG savings associated with our financing. The methodology needed to do this is currently being implemented. Specific calculations are already available for our NRW.BANK.Green Bonds. The Wuppertal Institute’s Impact Report estimates the annual savings potential: the NRW.BANK.Green Bond #1-2025 saves around 228 t CO₂ equivalents per million euros invested each year.

We are continually expanding the systematic, automated recording of greenhouse gas savings achieved through our funding. This gives us an increasingly comprehensive data basis for our promotional portfolio and makes the climate impact of our funding easier to measure.

Specific figures are already available for the first programmes: savings from publicly funded modernisation of existing rental properties have been recorded for several years. In 2025, modernising 1,917 housing units saved 7,071 t CO₂e.

Affordable housing is essential to a good quality of life for many people in North Rhine-Westphalia. At the same time, energy-efficient new homes and energy upgrades to existing buildings make an important contribution to climate protection. Our objective: to provide affordable and appropriate housing.

Through targeted funding, we support construction and modernisation projects that provide modern, affordable and future-proof housing in NRW. In 2025, our funding enabled the creation of 18,986 housing units in North Rhine-Westphalia. Energy-efficient construction and modernisation combine good-quality housing with climate protection. For more homes. For greater energy efficiency. For a future-proof NRW.

Modern infrastructure makes cities and communities attractive places to live and prepares them for the future. As a reliable partner, we support municipalities in North Rhine-Westphalia as they modernise their infrastructure and strengthen the resilience of NRW’s cities and communities.

To fulfil their wide-ranging responsibilities, cities, communities and districts need financial flexibility, reliable partners and tailored solutions. That is why NRW.BANK supports municipalities in North Rhine-Westphalia with advisory services, promotional funds and suitable financing solutions.

NRW.BANK is in contact with every municipality – through advisory services, funding or both. Almost every second municipality financed projects through NRW.BANK in 2025 – from digital initiatives and sustainable urban and neighbourhood development to the construction and modernisation of schools and childcare facilities.