Second Opinions for Green and Sustainability Bonds

There is a need to tap into new funding sources to accelerate the financing of sustainable infrastructure. Green and sustainability bonds were a new trend in the labelled bond market and a viable response to the infrastructure finance gap. However, independent reviews were important to guarantee the sustainability credentials of these bonds for investors.

IISD was a trusted provider of Second Opinions for green and sustainability bond frameworks. Our Second Opinions were independent, research-based evaluations. Using a solid integrated methodology, we assessed the green and sustainability credentials of these bond issuance frameworks. IISD provided this service jointly with CICERO Shades of Green (now a part of S&P Global), a leading global provider of Second Opinions.

Second Opinions are of value to both bond issuers and investors. They allowed prospective issuers of green or sustainability bonds to obtain an independent verification about the quality of their framework and their governance capabilities. For investors, a Second Opinion allowed the making of informed decisions and the investing of capital into truly green/sustainable projects. It provided insights into the sustainability value of projects to be financed (use of proceeds), the issuers’ capacities and governance structure for the selection of projects, the management of proceeds and their reporting strategy.

The enhanced market transparency created by published Second Opinions helped channel urgently needed capital towards sustainable infrastructure. 

Expert Network on Second Opinions (ENSO)

IISD is part of the global Expert Network on Second Opinions (ENSO) and provides Second Opinions for Green and Sustainability Bond Investment Frameworks in close cooperation with CICERO Shades of Green. The ENSO network consists of independent non-profit research institutions specialising in climate change, environment and society. Other ENSO members are the Basque Center for Climate Change (BC3), the Stockholm Environment Institute (SEI), and Tsinghua University’s Institute of Energy, Environment and Economy.

ENSO operates independently from the financial sector and other stakeholders to preserve the unbiased nature and high quality of Second Opinions.

You can find this work online:

• Skandinaviska Enskilda Banken, SEB’s Green Bond Framework (2016)
• Agricultural Development Bank of China’s Green and Sustainability Bond Framework (2018)
• Canada Pension Plan Investment Board’s Green Bond Framework (2018)
• Trianon’s Sustainability Bond Framework (2019)
• Fana Sparebank’s Green Bond Framework (2019)
• Citycon’s Green Bond Framework (2019)
• Islamic Development Bank’s Sustainability Bond Framework (2019)
• YIT’s Green Bond Framework (2021)
• Republic of Indonesia's SDGs Framework (2021)
• Government of Iceland's Sustainable Financing Framework (2021)
• Canadian Pension Plan (CPP) Investments Green Bond Framework (2021) 
• Kinnevik Sustainability Linked Financing Framework (2021)
• SEB Green Bond Framework (2022) 
• Atrium Ljungberg Sustainability Linked Financing Framework (2022)