Goal
IFB Hamburg wanted to adopt a more transparent, data‑driven approach to financed emissions.
Products used
Investitions- und Förderbank Hamburg (IFB HH), founded in 1953 and fully owned by the City of Hamburg, operates with a public development mandate. Traditionally rooted in social housing finance, IFB has evolved into a full-service development bank supporting housing, commercial clients and innovation ecosystems.
Industry
Banking
Location
Germany
Number of employees
200+
Setting the scene
Hamburg is accelerating its climate‑neutrality targets, introducing new requirements that mandate all public companies to develop climate strategies aligned with Net Zero by 2040 and grounded in comprehensive GHG inventories. For IFB – Hamburg’s development bank – Scope 3 Category 15 financed emissions are highly significant, representing approximately more than 95% of its total footprint and previously had not been calculated.
The challenges
Key operational challenges included:
- Coordinating complex data requirements across all departments involved in the loan and investment business
- Accounting for the unique characteristics of development banks
- Managing extensive data cleaning for several thousand loans
- Building internal capabilities to ensure annual repeatability despite limited capacity
The solution
The project was jointly driven by IFB’s sustainability team and SAP Fioneer, with clear governance including board level engagement, a defined budget and structured steering.
Key steps:
- Completion of cloud security and minor outsourcing requirements to enable the SaaS setup
- Cross-bank data assessment involving treasury, CRE, mortgages, innovation starters, commercial and IT to validate data availability and logic
- Weekly alignment cycles, data workshops and test calculations led by SAP Fioneer to accelerate issue resolution and deepen understanding
- Training for IFB’s sustainability team to operate the engine and run calculations independently
The approach enabled rapid onboarding, consistent quality assurance and a smooth path to completing IFB’s first financed emissions calculation for 2023.
The result
IFB achieved its first PCAF-aligned financed emissions calculation for 2023 with high-portfolio coverage and gained immediate, actionable insights:
- The engine delivered full Financed Emission Results across all relevant asset classes, down to individual loan levels
- Results were available instantly for export and analysis, giving the team immediate visibility
- A one-time portfolio clean-up now streamlines all future calculation cycles
- IFB strengthened its internal capability within the sustainability team to assess data quality, spot issues early and make faster, more informed analysis and decisions for ongoing years
“With the ESG KPI Engine, we have a robust data foundation for our Scope 3.15 financed-emissions accounting. Its ability to evaluate emissions, down to each individual loan, enables targeted analyses and makes the software a key part of our climate strategy. Implementing it required extensive data and cross-departmental collaboration, advancing transparency and strategic action.”
Marta Przybylska Senior Sustainability Manager and Project Leader, Hamburg Investment and Development Bank