Rabobank Group

Around 70% of the world’s fresh water is used for agriculture – often in unsustainable ways. As a leading bank in the food and agri sector, Rabobank is convinced there should be a healthy balance between the economic, social and ecological effects of our activities.

Our commitment to water
This way of thinking is also reflected in the themes of our CSR strategy:  making food and agri chains more sustainable, encouraging new production methods and using renewable energy. In each of these, water is a critical element. Rabobank must – and does – take water very seriously.

We also see real business opportunities in water. The need for innovation and new technologies has opened up a growing market worth around USD 500 mln a year.  Most of the potential lies in newly-industrialised countries, which will need almost half the world’s additional water requirements.

Rabobank’s priorities
Rabobank’s water strategy is based on financing opportunities in water and mitigating water risks within our loan portfolio. Our five priorities are:

• Financing irrigation and efficient water use for existing customers in our main international food & agri markets
• Financing wastewater and desalination projects for agriculture and industries in priority markets
• Financing start-up companies in water technology in Europe and the US
• Financing water projects through the Rabobank Foundation and Rabo Development
• Calculating water risks in the credit analysis of our loans and investment portfolio

When it comes to water, Rabobank offers a wide range of banking activities and products. These include vendor lease, project finance, equity finance and financial advice. We focus on business opportunities such as financing sustainable water technologies and relevant start-up companies. We seek to strike a balance between commercial and non-commercial activities, with emphasis on financing water projects via the Rabobank Foundation and Rabo Development.