In April 2013, Sumitomo Mitsui Trust Bank, Limited, a member of the Initiative, started to provide Sanden Corporation with a product named "Environmental Rating Loans with the Evaluation of natural Capital Preservation", the finance based on the evaluation of the borrower’s activities to help the preservation of natural capital as criteria. 

According to the bank, this is the first case in the world which adopts such an evaluation with regard to the borrower’s activities for the preservation of natural capital as criteria. "Natural Capital" consists of natural elements such as plants, animals, soil, air and water which greatly benefit the human race. Corporate activities such as the supply of raw materials also depend on the natural capital significantly. In recent years, governments, local associations and corporations are more actively making effort to recognize the economic value of natural capital. On the other hand, the natural capital is limited and threatened by the shortage risk caused by the rapid economic expansion and explosive population growth in developing countries. It will be very important for corporations to know how much they depend on natural capital through the quantitative observation expanding its objective area to the upstream of the supply chain in view of not only environmental preservation but the method of management strategy which leads to the reinforcement of the risk management of raw materials procurement. 

With this product, the evaluation results along with the environmental rating assigned in consideration of the strategies for climate change, the circulation of natural resources and environmentally friendly property will be fed back to Sanden Corporation. The evaluation results include how much the activities of Sanden Corporation affected the fundamental elements of natural capital such as soil, air and water in the upstream of the supply chain in addition to the data regarding the amount of water consumption, occupation of land surfaces, greenhouse gas emissions, etc. in the upstream of the supply chain classified by area, country and by item procured. 

Sumitomo Mitsui Trust Holdings, Inc. became a signatory to "The Natural Capital Declaration" as part of the UNEP Finance Initiative in June, 2012, and has been developing financial products and services including the concept of preserving the natural capital. "Environmental Rating Loans with the Evaluation of Natural Capital Preservation" was developed through the collaboration with PricewaterhouseCoopers Aarata Sustainability Certification Co., Ltd.