Supporting clean energy, climate resilience and social development projects while expanding access to capital for businesses and vulnerable communities.
SAN JOSÉ — Costa Rica’s National Bank (Banco Nacional) mobilized nearly $50 million in sustainable financing during 2025 to support environmental, productive and social projects aimed at strengthening the country’s resilience, competitiveness and inclusive economic growth, according to its 2025 Sustainability Report.
The funding was channeled through initiatives such as Pura Verde, which supports clean energy, recycling and conservation projects, and the Blue Bond, designed to finance efforts that protect oceans and water resources.
Silvia Chaves Herra, the bank’s director of Brand Experience, Corporate Relations and Sustainability, said sustainability has become “a new way of doing business” by combining financial strength with environmental and social impact.
“We want to help companies integrate environmental, social and governance (ESG) principles into their operations while remaining profitable and competitive,” Chaves said in an interview with EFE.
The bank also reported that Pura Verde had 92 investment plans in 2025 and helped channel $65 million in European Union funding for climate adaptation and mitigation projects.
Banco Nacional became the only financial institution in Costa Rica to launch its own climate taxonomy, a framework designed to identify and promote investments aligned with sustainability and climate action goals.
The institution currently serves more than 140,000 small and medium-sized businesses and approximately 4,500 large companies, providing financing across sectors including housing, tourism, agriculture and livestock.
Beyond lending, the bank expanded financial inclusion by supporting communities in border, coastal and island regions, as well as Costa Rica’s 24 Indigenous territories, through access to credit, banking services and digital financial tools.
The sustainability report also highlighted operational improvements during 2025, including reducing electricity consumption by 1.6 million kilowatt-hours, saving 6.1 million liters of water, recycling all discarded bank cards into plastic lumber and training more than 2,400 employees in sustainable finance.
Additionally, 93% of the bank’s loan portfolio was classified under the Partnership for Carbon Accounting Financials (PCAF) methodology, an international standard used to measure greenhouse gas emissions associated with financed activities.
