At UCI we have become the first financial institution in the Iberian Peninsula to adhere to the Energy Efficient Mortgage Label (EEML). Promoted by the European Mortgage Federation, this distinction certifies that our green mortgages and sustainable financing solutions meet the strictest criteria for caring for the environment.
The renovation of the existing building stock by 2050 is a major and unprecedented challenge for Europe; a challenge that we have tackled as part of the Energy Efficient Mortgage Initiative.
This has led us to be the first financial institution in the Iberian Peninsula to adhere to the Energy Efficient Mortgage Label (EEML). This seal will certify that the entity’s green mortgages and sustainable financing solutions meet the strictest criteria for caring for the environment.
In this context, the European Mortgage Federation, which represents European financial institutions, has presented the Energy Efficiency Mortgage Label (EEML) as a concrete response to the urgent need to reduce greenhouse gas emissions, since buildings are responsible for 40% of energy consumption in the EU.
The launch of this seal is part of the broader Energy Efficiency Mortgage Initiative funded by Horizon 2020, which aims to mobilize capital markets and implement best ESG practices in the financial sector, in support of the objectives of the EU’s Renewal Wave Strategy and Green Deal.
The implementation of the label will make it possible to identify green loans in a more transparent way and channel more private capital towards improving the energy efficiency of buildings and sustainable building.
This seal will act as a beacon guiding all stakeholders leading the way towards a “green revolution” marked by home renovation. It is a clear and transparent quality label for consumers, lenders and investors, whose objective is to identify energy efficiency mortgages in the portfolios of credit institutions, which are intended to finance the purchase / construction and / or renovation of residential buildings (single-family and multi-family) and commercial properties, with a focus on the energy performance of buildings.
Likewise, the label comes to change the way in which sustainable financing is perceived in Europe. EEML provides information on energy efficient loan portfolios as assets to be included in green covered bonds, enables better evaluation and monitoring of their financial performance relative to alternatives, and provides greater transparency regarding climate risks and resilience.
One of its advantages is the identification, exchange and implementation of the best market and legislative practices at European and international level, such as the EU Taxonomy.
In the words of Roberto Colomer, general director of UCI: “Europe right now has two fundamental challenges that must be supported by all, administrations and corporations; to be even greener and promotion of digitization. At UCI we want to help in this recovery, and we have a specific product line that finances the energy improvement of the real estate stock, thus contributing to the reduction of greenhouse gas emissions from the residential real estate sector”. And he adds that: «this recovery fund is a great opportunity that we must know how to take advantage of by investing in it to create more jobs and to be much more efficient.»
