Green Bond Principles (GBP)

Green Bond Principles (GBP)

Organization

International Capital Market Association (ICMA)

Type(s) of Tool

PrinciplesSupport sustainability incorporation at institutional or strategic level, less specific than Guidelines.

Sector(s)

Tools applicable to all sectors

Lifecycle Phase(s)

FinanceDevelopers decide how to pay for their project.

Open Source

Yes

Language Availability

Bahasa Indonesian, Bulgarian, Chinese, Danish, Dutch, English, Finnish, French, Georgian, German, Hausa, Hindi, Italian, Japanese, Norwegian, Polish, Portuguese, Romanian, Russian, Spanish, Swedish, Thai, Turkish

Country of Origin

France

Date of Development

2017

Version

v.2018

Description

GBP is a set of principles developed to promote integrity in the Green Bond market through guidelines that recommend transparency, disclosure, and reporting. The GBP recommend a clear process and disclosure for issuers, which investors, banks, underwriters, placement agents and others may use to understand the characteristics of any given Green Bond. The evaluation of the use of proceeds represents the core of the GBP, listing a selection of sectors that qualify for green bonds under the GBP such as renewable energy, clean transportation, green buildings, climate change adaptation and many more.

Tool Outcome

The Green Bond Principles (GBP) are voluntary process guidelines that recommend transparency and disclosure and promote integrity in the development of the Green Bond market by clarifying the approach for issuance of a Green Bond. The GBP are intended for broad use by the market: they provide issuers guidance on the key components involved in launching a credible Green Bond; they aid investors by ensuring availability of information necessary to evaluate the environmental impact of their Green Bond investments; and they assist underwriters by moving the market towards standard disclosures which will facilitate transactions.

Sustainability Criteria

The principles are based on four core components:
– Use of proceeds
– Process for project evaluation and selection
– Management of proceeds
– Reporting

The four core components are complemented by recommendations for the use of external reviews.