Sfil’s Impactful Initiatives: Financing Sustainable Development and Community Transition

Sfil, a committed and engaging player

Financing a sustainable future for communities has been Sfil’s objective since its creation by the French State in 2013. To achieve this, it has given itself the means to best fulfill this mission by getting involved itself. even in a commitment process. After setting up a sustainable development committee in 2016, it joined the United Nations Global Compact in 2018 and set 11 priority Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs), defined by the organization. These include health and well-being (SDG 3), which means supporting investments in the public hospital sector and contributing to the well-being of its employees; guaranteeing access for all to water and sanitation as well as sustainable management of water resources (SDG 6) through support for investment in public drinking water services and sanitation; the development of sustainable cities and communities (SDG 11) by supporting community investment in social and territorial cohesion, soft mobility and clean transport; and finally the establishment of sustainable consumption and production patterns (SDG 12) by supporting investment in the treatment of household waste and the promotion of the circular economy.

The green loan, the ideal tool to finance the ecological transition of communities

The concrete translation of all these commitments can be found today in Sfil’s green loan offering. As Philippe Mills, Managing Director of Sfil, recalls: “as the leading financier of the local public sector, Sfil supports French local authorities in the ecological transition by mobilizing international savings in order to ensure financing at the best conditions for their investments green, for which financing needs are growing. » Launched in June 2019 in partnership with La Banque Postale, the green loan is in fact the ideal tool to support ecological transition and sustainable development initiatives, whether local or large-scale. Financed by appealing to investors sensitive to ESG (environmental, social, governance) criteria, it helps support community projects. To date, the Sfil group has carried out 5 green issues for an amount of 3.25 billion euros. Three of them have already been the subject of a detailed allocation and impact report. We know that nearly 500 projects have been financed in sectors as varied as the construction of cycle paths, that of a waste recycling center, a hydroelectric power station or even the thermal renovation of an elementary school. In addition, all these funded projects made it possible to avoid 67,699 tonnes of annual CO2 emissions, improve the annual management of 4.3 million tonnes of household waste and create or modernize 1176 km of electricity networks. water.

Contributing to sustainable development also means getting involved in social issues

Keen to go even further in its commitment to communities, Sfil has decided to expand its product offering by setting up a new financing tool dedicated to socially useful investments supported by local communities. “In October 2022, it launched a new range of social loans with its historic partner La Banque Postale, with a view to financing investments in social and territorial cohesion, such as projects concerning culture, education, civil protection, local care or also digital inclusion. This offer was an immediate success since in the last quarter of 2022, already 106 million euros had been financed in all territories” underlines Nathalie Argourd, director of local public sector development and sustainable development coordination. Developed as close as possible to the concrete action of local authorities and in line with their skills, this range of loans should make it possible to better promote the financing of local public action. Enough to fuel numerous discussions on the Sfil stand during the Salon des Maires which will be held at the Porte de Versailles in Paris from November 21 to 23.

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