DFCC Bank wins Karlsruhe Sustainability Award

DFCC Bank won the Most Outstanding Sustainable Project Finance Award at the Annual Global Sustainable Finance Conference in Karlsruhe, Germany recently. This award recognises outstanding success in long term financing and support of exemplary industrial and commercial or infrastructure projects that have benefited local communities, the environment and ensured reliable returns to all stakeholders.

The award was conferred on DFCC in recognition of the Bank's invaluable contribution to developing the renewable energy sector in Sri Lanka through two decades.

The DFCC committed resources and provided leadership as the lender in financing the renewable energy sector and successfully operated the administrative Unit for two related credit lines; the Energy Services Delivery Project (ESD) and Renewable Energy for Rural Economic Development (RERED) project.

These projects aimed at fostering rural economic development and improving the quality of life in rural areas by providing access to electricity, and to expand the commercial provision of electricity generated from renewable sources.

Theses endeavours have been long recognised as 'flagship' projects by the World Bank for having played a crucial role in the development of non-conventional renewable energy sources in Sri Lanka.

The two credit lines funded 74 mini-hydro, biomass and wind projects with a cumulative installed capacity of 216.3 MW. In addition, 131,528 households received electricity from solar home systems, and a further 7,952 households through community based electrification schemes.

The Kalshruhe Global Sustainable Finance Conference 2013 was organised by the Global Sustainable Finance Network under the auspices of The World Federation of Development Financing Institutions (WFDFI) and endorsed by the United Nations Environment Program Finance Initiative.