Handbook

Harmonised Framework for Impact Reporting

June 2021
The compilation of this handbook was led by an informal Technical Working Group comprising EBRD,
EIB, International Finance Corporation (IFC), KfW, NIB and the World Bank.

Special thanks are extended to this Technical Working Group, for their detailed work, that drove the
preparation of this document as well as to the 4 Multilateral Development Banks (AfDB, EIB, IFC and World
Bank) that published the first Harmonised Framework for Impact Reporting in March 2015, and the 11
International Financial Institutions (IFIs) that published the updated version in December 2015. The
material also benefitted from generous input from members of the Impact Reporting Working Group,
coordinated by EBRD and KfW, with support from ICMA.

The 11 International Financial Institutions (IFIs) that published “Working Towards a Harmonised
Framework for Impact Reporting” in December 2015 are:

The GBP Impact Reporting Working Group currently consists of the following organisations:

Working Group Coordinators:

European Bank for Reconstruction and Development (EBRD)
KfW
KommunalBanken (KBN)
Nordic Investment Bank (NIB)

Working Group Members:

Actiam Impact Investment Exchange Rating and Investment
American Carbon Registry (IIX) Information
Amundi ING Santander CIB
Anglian Water Inter-American development SFIL/CAFFIL
Ashurst HK Bank (IADB) Skandinaviska Enskilda
Axa IM International Finance Banken (SEB)
Bank of America Merrill Lynch Corporation (IFC) Social Value Institute
BlackRock Institutional Shareholder Société Générale
BNP Paribas Services (ISS) South Pole
Carbone4 London Stock Exchange Sustainalytics
Cassa Depositi e Prestiti Luxembourg Stock Exchange UN Women
Ceres Mainstreet Investment Partners White & Case
CICERO Shades of Green Mirova World Bank
Climate Bond Initiative Mizuho International World Wide Fund for Nature
EDF Moody‘s (WWF)
European Investment Bank Morgan Stanley Yale Initiative on Sustainable
(EIB) Natixis Finance
HSBC Nordea Zurich Insurance
I-Care & Consult OP Corporate Bank
ICE Data Services PIMCO

Disclaimer
The information in this document has been provided by third-party sources and is intended for general information only (the
“Information”), and is not intended to be and should not be relied upon as being legal, financial, investment, tax, regulatory,
business or other professional advice. ICMA and the Green Bond Principles are not responsible for the accuracy, reliability, currency
or completeness of the Information. ICMA and the Green Bond Principles do not represent nor warrant that the Information is
accurate, suitable or complete and neither ICMA, its employees or representatives, nor the Green Bond Principles or its members
shall have any liability arising from or relating to its use.

Handbook – Harmonised Framework for Impact Reporting June 2021 2

Contents
I. Introduction 4
II. Background History 5
III. Core Principles and Recommendations for Reporting 7
IV. Sector Specific Guidance and Reporting Metrics 10
1. Renewable Energy 10
Core Indicators 10
Other Indicators (Examples) 10
2. Energy Efficiency 11
Core Indicators 11
Other Indicators (Examples) 11
3. Sustainable Water and Wastewater Management 12
Core Indicators 13
Other Sustainability Indicators 14
4. Waste Management and Resource Efficiency 15
Guidance and Definitions 16
Core Indicators 17
Other Sustainability Indicators 19
5. Clean Transportation 20
Guidance and Definitions 21
Core Indicators 22
Other Sustainability Indicators 23
6. Green Buildings 24
Guidance and Definitions 25
Core Indicators 26
Other Sustainability Indicators 27
7. Biodiversity 28
Core Indicators 29
Other Sustainability Indicators 30
Guidance and Definitions for Additional Human Rights and Social Disclosures 30
8. Climate Change Adaptation 31
Exemplary Indicators 33
Other Sustainability Indicators 34
Appendix 35
9. Circular Economy and/or Eco-Efficient Projects 36
Core Indicators for Circular Economy and Eco-Efficiency Projects: 38
Other Sustainability Indicators for Circular Economy and Eco-Efficiency Projects: 40
Glossary of Terms Used for Circular Economy and Eco-Efficiency Projects: 41

V. Reporting Templates 43
Renewable Energy 43
Energy Efficiency 44
Sustainable Water and Wastewater Management 45
Waste Management and Resource-Efficiency 47
Clean Transportation 49
Green Buildings 51
Biodiversity 52
Climate Change Adaptation 54
Circular Economy and/or Eco-Efficient Projects 58
Notes 62

Handbook – Harmonised Framework for Impact Reporting June 2021 3

I. Introduction

The overall goal of the green bond market is to promote and amplify the important role that financial
markets can play in helping to address environmental issues. By explicitly specifying the environmentally
beneficial projects to which the bond proceeds are allocated, Green Bonds allow investors to assess and
allocate capital to environmentally sustainable investments. It is assumed that the green bonds referred to in
this document are aligned with the Green Bond Principles (GBP)1. The GBP help enhance the integrity and
transparency of environmental finance, including through recommending impact reporting.

In March 2015, a working group of four Multilateral Development Banks (AfDB, EIB, IFC and World
Bank) developed and published the first Harmonised Framework for Impact Reporting, that was later
revised and republished by 11 International Financial Institutions (IFIs).2 The framework outlined core
principles and recommendations for impact reporting in order to provide issuers with reference and guidance
for the development of their own reporting and provided core indicators and reporting templates for Energy
Efficiency and Renewable Energy Projects.

Successively, harmonised frameworks for impact reporting on further categories of eligibility for Green
Projects under the GBP have been released. Sectors so far covered are: Sustainable Water and Wastewater
Management Projects (June 2017), Sustainable Waste Management and Resource-Efficiency Projects
(February 2018), Clean Transportation Projects (June 2018), Green Building Projects (February 2019),
Biodiversity Projects (April 2020) and Climate Change Adaptation Projects (December 2020). These
harmonised frameworks summarise the conclusions of informal technical working groups3, which have
received broader input through the Impact Reporting Working Group convened by the GBP Executive
Committee.

This handbook unites the above mentioned harmonised frameworks in one document preserving the
content of the initial documents. The objective is to enhance the usability of the initial documents
and to avoid repetitions.

Reporting is a core component of the GBP. Issuers are required to report on the use of proceeds by
providing a list of the projects to which Green Bond proceeds have been allocated and a brief description
of the projects and their expected impact. In certain cases the information can be presented in generic
terms or on an aggregated portfolio basis. The GBP recommend the use of both qualitative performance
indicators and, where feasible, quantitative performance measures with the disclosure of the key underlying
methodology and/or assumptions used in the quantitative determination. This handbook outlines general
core principles and recommendations for reporting in order to provide issuers with a reference as they
develop their own reporting. This handbook also offers impact reporting metrics and sector specific
guidance for the aforementioned project categories. In Chapter V of this handbook, reporting templates
are included for issuers to use and adapt to their own circumstances. These templates make reference to
the most commonly used indicators. Other indicators, however, might be relevant as well.

All recommendations, indicators and templates need to be compatible with different approaches to the
management of proceeds, which can be based on allocations to either individual projects or project portfolios.

This document does not, at this stage, cover impact reporting on projects under the GBP category
of “environmentally sustainable management of living natural resources and land use”. However, the
authors of this document acknowledge the importance of harmonised metrics also for such projects,
for which additional suitable indicators are to be developed in the future and added to this handbook.

It is acknowledged that there are also other initiatives in the market that provide guidance on impact reporting
including by green bond market participants.4

1 See: https://www.icmagroup.org/sustainable-finance/
2 Participants: African Development Bank (AfDB), Agence Française de Développement (AFD), Asian Development Bank (ADB), European Bank
for Reconstruction and Development (EBRD), European Investment Bank (EIB), Inter-American Development Bank (IDB), International Bank for
Reconstruction and Development (IBRD), International Finance Corporation (IFC), Kreditanstalt für Wiederaufbau (KfW), Nederlandse Financierings-
Maatschappij voor Ontwikkelingslanden (FMO), and Nordic Investment Bank (NIB).
3 The members of the respective working groups are mentioned under II. Background History
4 For example: Nordic Public Sector Issuers’ “Position Paper on Green Bonds Impact Reporting” https://www.kuntarahoitus.fi/app/uploads/
sites/2/2020/02/NPSI_Position_paper_2020_final.pdf

Handbook – Harmonised Framework for Impact Reporting June 2021 4

II. Background History

• In November 2013, a group of investors, issuers and market intermediaries gathered at a Symposium
hosted by the World Bank5 to discuss the green bond market and what is needed to help it achieve
its purpose. Investors recognised a need for more transparency around the use of proceeds as well as
further development in the area of impact reporting, and encouraged participating MDBs to help develop
guidance on a common approach, building on ongoing work among a broader group of IFIs to develop
harmonised approaches for GHG accounting.
• In January 2014, the Green Bond Principles (GBP), a voluntary set of guidelines, were published at the
initiative of capital market intermediaries that recommended transparency and disclosure to promote
integrity in the development of the green bond market by clarifying the cornerstones of green bond
issuance.
• In February 2015, a statement of investor expectations for the green bond market convened by Ceres
for the Investor Network on Climate Risk, highlighted investors’ requests for issuers to report on the
environmental impact issuers expected their projects to generate.
• In March 2015, a second edition of the Green Bond Principles was published with the support of the
International Capital Market Association (ICMA) as the Secretariat to the GBP. This edition benefited
from extensive dialogue with representative groups of issuers, investors and intermediaries to reflect
the evolution of the green bond market and to identify best practice. The updated GBP identified four
components of green bonds: (1) use of proceeds (eligibility criteria); (2) process for project evaluation
and selection (due diligence procedures); (3) management of proceeds (allocation procedures); and (4)
reporting. With regard to reporting, the updated GBP specified that:

“In addition to reporting on the use of proceeds and the temporary investment of unallocated proceeds,
issuers should provide at least annually a list of projects to which green bond proceeds have been
allocated including - when possible with regards to confidentiality and/or competitive considerations - a
brief description of the projects and the amounts disbursed, as well as the expected environmentally
sustainable impact. [...]

The GBP acknowledge that there are currently no established standards for impact reporting on Green
Projects, and welcome and encourage initiatives, including those by leading green bond issuers,
that help establish a model for impact reporting that others can adopt and/or adapt to their
needs.”

• In March 2015, based on investor interest in impact reporting and the positive influence that higher
transparency and comparability in this area may have for the green bond market and the call by investors
such as BlackRock and Zurich Insurance for shared impact assessment approaches, AfDB, EIB, IFC,
and the World Bank came together as a working group convened by the World Bank Treasury to develop
a Harmonised Framework for Impact Reporting. The first version of this document was discussed with
and distributed to investors and other market participants for broader consideration and published.
• In May 2015, ICMA, as GBP Secretariat, distributed the document to the GBP Members and Observers,
to broaden its reach and increase its potential use by more market participants.
• In September 2015, seven additional IFIs joined the working group and their comments are reflected in
the revised version of the document that was published in December 2015 under an initiative coordinated
by the EIB timed to coincide with COP 21, hosted in Paris.
• In August 2016, the GBP Executive Committee established the Impact Reporting Working Group
(“IRWG”). It was agreed that the IRWG would be co-chaired by Blackrock and EBRD.
• In September 2016, the kick-off meeting of the IRWG agreed to broaden sectoral coverage beyond
renewables and energy efficiency, which were already covered by the aforementioned document,
incrementally tackling other GBP project categories.
• In June 2017, the 30 members of the IRWG, led by an informal technical working group comprising
EBRD, KfW, NIB and the World Bank, published Suggested Impact Reporting Metrics for Sustainable
Water and Wastewater Projects. Building on and referencing the previous framework of the Harmonised
Framework for Impact Reporting, the document proposed core metrics for reporting on sustainable
water and wastewater projects, while highlighting the importance of key qualitative and contextual

5 See: http://pubdocs.worldbank.org/en/980521525116735167/Green-Bond-Symposium-Summary.pdf

Handbook – Harmonised Framework for Impact Reporting June 2021 5

 information, proposing benchmarks and baselines, and offering additional sustainability indicators that
may enhance reporting. Illustrative templates, similar to those proposed under the earlier document were
provided both for project-by-project reporting and for portfolio-based reporting.
• In February 2018, the 36 members of the IRWG still led by an informal technical working group comprising
EBRD, KfW, NIB and the World Bank and co-chaired by BlackRock and EBRD published Suggested
Impact Reporting Metrics for Waste Management and Resource Efficiency Projects. It followed exactly
the same format as the June 2017 document.
• In June 2018, 37 members of the IRWG led by an expanded informal technical working group that
included EIB, published Suggested Impact Reporting Metrics for Clean Transportation Projects.
• In March 2019, under the co-chairmanship of EBRD and KfW, 45 members of the IRWG led by the
informal technical working group of EBRD, KfW, NIB and the World Bank, published Suggested Impact
Reporting Metrics for Green Building Projects.
• In April 2020, under the co-chairmanship of EBRD and KfW, 43 members of the IRWG led by the
informal technical working group of EBRD, KfW, NIB and the World Bank published “Suggested Impact
Reporting Metrics for Biodiversity Projects”.
• In December 2020, under the co-chairmanship of EBRD and KfW, 42 members of the IRWG led by the
informal technical working group of EBRD, KfW, NIB and the World Bank published “Suggested Impact
Reporting Metrics for Climate Change Adaptation Projects”.
• In June 2021, under the co-chairmanship of EBRD and KfW, 52 members of the IRWG led by the
informal technical working group of EBRD, KfW, NIB and the World Bank published “Suggested Impact
Reporting Metrics for Circular Economy and/or Eco-Efficient Projects”.

Handbook – Harmonised Framework for Impact Reporting June 2021 6

III. Core Principles and Recommendations
for Reporting

1. Reporting is a core component of the GBP, and green bond issuers are required to report on
both the use of green bond proceeds, as well as the expected environmental impacts at least
on an annual basis.

2. Issuers are recommended to define and disclose the period and process for including projects
in their report. There are several options for choosing when to add/remove projects to/from the report.
Some of these options are described below. Projects can be added/removed to/from an impact report
either directly, or indirectly via adding/removing them to/from a portfolio when reporting on a portfolio level.

• Projects can be added to the report once the issuer has approved and determined a project as
eligible, or once green bond proceeds have been allocated to eligible disbursements.
• Projects can be removed from a report when no allocations to eligible disbursements have taken
place in the reporting period, or after the underlying loans have been repaid.

As part of its due diligence in monitoring projects included in its green bond programme, an issuer may
elect to remove a project from its green bond programme, in which case it could cease reporting on
such a project until a subsequent decision to restore the project’s eligibility.6

3. It is recommended that the report indicates the total signed amount7 and the amount of green
bond proceeds allocated to eligible disbursements8. It would also be beneficial for issuers to
show additional information such as year of signing (or other measures to describe the seasoning of a
portfolio) or project stage from a financing point of view (such as signed, disbursed, repaying).

4. A defining characteristic of green bonds is that the issuance proceeds (or an amount equal to the
proceeds) are to be allocated only to those projects that meet the issuer’s predefined eligibility criteria.
Issuers are encouraged to put in place a formal internal process for the allocation of proceeds
linked to their lending and investment operations for Green Projects and to report on the
allocation of proceeds. Issuers are encouraged to explain the key characteristics of the approach
they select for their allocations and to provide reference to external audit/verification, when applicable,
regarding their allocation criteria.

5. Depending on the process put in place for the allocation of proceeds, it is recommended that
issuers either provide a list of projects to which green bond proceeds have been allocated, or
report solely on a portfolio level. The latter might be necessary if confidentiality considerations restrict
the detail that can be disclosed, or useful if a large number of small-sized projects is financed by a
green bond (e.g. green bonds financing a loan programme). Issuers are encouraged to explain the key
characteristics of the approach they select for their report.

6. Depending on the way in which proceeds are allocated, there can be differences in the approach
to impact reporting.

If allocations are to individual projects, it is recommended that the report:

• Identifies the specific projects and clearly defines, for each project, the total project results (including
financing from all financiers) with information about the total project size and/or the issuer’s share
of total financing (project-by-project report); and/or
• Aggregates project-by-project results including only the pro-rated share (as a percentage of the
issuer’s share of the total financing) of the total projects’ results (portfolio report based on project-
by-project allocations).

6 Possible reasons for removing a project from a green bond programme include, but are not limited to, cancellation of the project, or restructuring
that results in the project no longer meeting the eligibility criteria. Issuers are encouraged to disclose their approach to removing projects from their
green bond programmes, if applicable.
7 Total approved and legally committed amount of financing for a project or the components thereof eligible under a green bond programme. Where
only a portion of the overall financing is eligible, only the eligible portion should be reported. For example, if the total approved project size is CCY 10
million, of which CCY 6 million is eligible under the green bond program, the signed amount reported would be CCY 6 million.
8 For projects with partial eligibility (see par. 14), the issuer should disclose the procedure for attributing disbursements to the eligible components.

Handbook – Harmonised Framework for Impact Reporting June 2021 7

 If allocations are to a portfolio of projects, issuers typically report on the overall results of the portfolio
(portfolio report based on portfolio allocations). Issuers are however encouraged to also report the
pro-rated share of the overall results.

7. The impact report should illustrate the expected environmental impact made possible as a result
of projects to which green bond proceeds have been allocated. It should be based on ex-ante
estimates (developed prior to project implementation) of expected annual results for a representative
year once a project is completed and operating at normal capacity. In the case of reporting on a portfolio
level, ex-ante estimates can be based on the annual analyses per portfolio and, if several categories are
financed, per category, if possible. The method of estimating the impacts should be made transparent.
As the report would include the estimated results of projects that are still in the construction or
implementation phase, there is no guarantee that these results will ultimately materialise. The reporting
is thus not intended to provide actual results achieved in a specific year or reporting period.

8. It could also be beneficial to report the estimated lifetime results and/or project economic life
(in years) to provide users with a basis for understanding the impact of the project over its
lifetime. A simple multiplication of the project economic life by the estimated annual impact may not
always provide a good estimate of the lifetime impact results, because this would not take into account
ramp-up and ramp-down phases of the project life cycle. Also, in some project types, it may be difficult
to aggregate all the measures being implemented at a project site given the heterogeneous nature of
processes and/or equipment.

9. In case the issuer samples ex-post verification of specific projects, it is recommended that
the relevant results are included in the reporting. An important consideration in estimating impact
indicators is that they are often based on a number of assumptions. While technical experts aim to make
sound and conservative assumptions that are reasonable based on the information available at the
time, the actual environmental impact of the projects may diverge from initial projections. For example,
social, economic, technical, political and legal changes can cause deviations from projections. In any
case, transparency on the assumptions would clarify the reasons behind divergences between ex-ante
and ex-post assessments.

10. To facilitate comparison of project results, it is suggested that issuers aim to report on at least
a limited number of sector specific core indicators for projects included in their green bond
programmes. This document proposes sector specific core indicators for all but one of the GBP
project categories in Chapter IV of the handbook. However, other indicators might be deemed relevant
as well.

11. For the calculation of indicators, where there is no single commonly-used standard, issuers may
follow their own methodologies while making these available to investors. For the calculation of
greenhouse gas (“GHG”) emissions reduced/avoided, for instance, there are a number of calculation
methodologies both within and across institutions. While there are on-going efforts to harmonise
GHG accounting methodologies for relevant sectors among a broad group of IFIs, given the current
differences in calculation approaches, reporting GHG emission data based on a uniform, consistent and
published methodology remains a challenge. Issuers are encouraged to provide full transparency
on the applicable GHG accounting methodology and assumptions, which can be referenced.

12. Investors should be aware that comparing projects, sectors, or whole portfolios is difficult
because general assumptions on inputs in calculations, like grid factors and calculation
methods, also vary significantly. In addition, the cost structures between countries also vary,
so that developing cost-efficiency calculations (results per unit of amount invested in eligible projects)
could place smaller countries with limited economies of scale at a disadvantage and will not take into
consideration country-specific context.

13. Issuers may elect, for consistency reasons, to convert units reported for individual projects.
This should be based on a standard conversion factor to facilitate comparison and aggregation
for example converting tons of coal equivalent (“TCE”) to megawatt hours (“MWh”), with appropriate
disclosure of the conversion approach. However, complex recalculations that are not publically
disclosed in project documentation, such as re-estimating GHG emissions based on consistent
baseline assumptions, should be avoided.

Handbook – Harmonised Framework for Impact Reporting June 2021 8

14. Issuers are encouraged to be transparent about projects with partial eligibility. Some projects
may have components that meet the issuer’s green bond eligibility criteria and other components that
do not. Issuers should disclose whether and to what extent they accept partial eligibility. Should an
issuer use criteria that require allocating green bond proceeds to a project with partial eligibility, then it
is recommended to explain all assumptions about which component each disbursement relates to (e.g.
if it is assumed that disbursements are first made to the ‘green’ component, or pro-rated between the
‘green’ and ‘other’ components). In addition, issuers may also report the portion of the total project that
is green bond eligible.

15. In case the expected impacts of different project components (such as for example energy
efficiency (“EE”) and renewable energy (“RE”) components of the same project) may not be
reported separately, issuers may attribute the results to each component based on their relative
share in the related financing, disclosing the attribution approach. Alternatively, issuers could
combine the reporting metrics for both sectors into a single table (option 2 in the reference
reporting templates).

16. Issuers should be transparent on how they report all green bond-related cash-flows in one
currency when they allocate green bond proceeds and report on the projects to which green
bond proceeds have been allocated.

17. Issuers may facilitate the smooth collection and/or transfer of data by investors through using
the reporting templates in Chapter V of this handbook and/or through uploading impact data on
impact reporting databases. The Guidelines for Green, Social, Sustainability and Sustainability-
Linked Bonds’ Impact Reporting Databases were released in June 2021 and include advice for
issuers on engagement with database providers.

Handbook – Harmonised Framework for Impact Reporting June 2021 9

 Renewable
IV. Sector Specific Guidance and Reporting Metrics

Energy
1. Renewable Energy
The following section suggests core indicators for renewable energy projects. However, there may be
projects for which the proposed core indicators are either not applicable or the data is not available. In such

Efficiency
Energy
cases, issuers are encouraged to use metrics appropriate for these projects. Users of the reports should
recognise that while issuers will make efforts to improve the consistency and availability of reported metrics
over time, projects with climate impacts can cover a wide diversity of sectors and sub-sectors making
complete harmonisation of reporting metrics challenging. All the same, the reports will provide a convenient
summary of the projects and the scope of their impacts that are considered of particular interest to green

Sustainable Water
bond investors.

and Wastewater
Management
Core Indicators
#1) Annual GHG emissions reduced/avoided in tonnes of CO2 equivalent/a

#2) Annual renewable energy generation in MWh/GWh (electricity) and GJ/TJ (other energy)

#3) Capacity of renewable energy plant(s) constructed or rehabilitated in MW

and Resource
Management
Efficiency

Waste
Other Indicators (Examples)
• Capacity of renewable energy plant(s) to be served by transmission systems (MW)
• Annual Absolute (gross) GHG emissions from the project in tonnes of CO2 equivalent/a/b

Notes:

Transportation
a. Where CO2 emissions figures are reported, the GHG accounting methodology and assumptions should be referenced.

Clean
b. Depending on their own GHG reporting requirements, some institutions may report Absolute (gross) GHG emissions from the
project, alongside the reduced/avoided emissions (under indicator #1). Together with baseline emissions, Absolute (gross)
emissions allow for the calculation of emissions reduced/avoided.

In the context of climate change, data on emissions of GHG (often quoted in tonnes of CO2 equivalent)
is a commonly used indicator to assess the climate impact of certain types of projects. However, there
exist a number of different methodologies for estimating and reporting GHG emissions. The differences

Buildings
mainly relate to the assumptions used for estimating the future output (e.g. plant efficiency), the emission

Green
conversion factors (e.g. project specific combined margin vs UNFCCC standardised baseline for the host
country/region), definitions for the boundaries of a specific project (e.g. physical infrastructure/system
boundary vs geographic/administrative boundary), scope of the GHG emission reductions attributable to
the project, and the baseline alternative used for comparison with the project. While many organisations have
existing, published methodologies for project GHG accounting, there are on-going efforts to harmonise GHG
accounting methodologies for relevant sectors among a broad group of International Financial Institutions
Biodiversity

(IFIs).9 However, this is an ongoing process and, in the absence of one single standard, institutions may follow
their own methodologies while striving to make them publically available and transparent. Green bond impact
reporting will increase market-wide transparency on the status quo.
Climate Change
Adaptation
Circular Economy
Efficient Projects
and/or Eco-

9 An overarching harmonised framework has already been agreed.

See https://www.worldbank.org/content/dam/Worldbank/document/IFI_Framework_for_Harmonized_Approach%20to_Greenhouse_Gas_Accounting.pdf

Handbook – Harmonised Framework for Impact Reporting June 2021 10

 Renewable
2. Energy Efficiency

Energy
The following section suggests core indicators for energy efficiency projects. However, there may be projects
for which the proposed core indicators are either not applicable or the data is not available. In such cases,
issuers are encouraged to use metrics appropriate for these projects. Users of the reports should recognise
that while issuers will make efforts to improve the consistency and availability of reported metrics over time,
projects with climate impacts can cover a wide diversity of sectors and sub-sectors making complete
harmonisation of reporting metrics challenging. All the same, the reports will provide a convenient summary

Efficiency
Energy
of the projects and the scope of their impacts that are considered of particular interest to green bond
investors.

Core Indicators
#1) Annual energy savings in MWh/GWh (electricity) and GJ/TJ (other energy savings)/a

Sustainable Water
and Wastewater
Management
#2) Annual GHG emissions reduced/avoided in tonnes of CO2 equivalent/b

Other Indicators (Examples)

• Number of people who benefitted
• Annual Absolute (gross) GHG emissions from the project in tonnes of CO2 equivalent/b/c

and Resource
Management
Efficiency
Notes:

Waste
a. Energy savings depend on benchmarks
b. Where CO2 emissions figures are reported, the GHG accounting methodology and assumptions should be referenced.
c. Depending on their own GHG reporting requirements, some institutions may report Absolute (gross) GHG emissions from the
project, alongside the reduced/avoided emissions (under indicator #2). Together with baseline emissions, Absolute (gross)
emissions allow for the calculation of emissions reduced/avoided.

Transportation
In the context of climate change, data on emissions of GHG (often quoted in tonnes of CO2 equivalent)

Clean
is a commonly used indicator to assess the climate impact of certain types of projects. However, there
exist a number of different methodologies for estimating and reporting GHG emissions. The differences
mainly relate to the assumptions used for estimating the future output (e.g. plant efficiency), the emission
conversion factors (e.g. project specific combined margin vs UNFCCC standardised baseline for the host
country/region), definitions for the boundaries of a specific project (e.g. physical infrastructure/system
boundary vs geographic/ administrative boundary), scope of the GHG emission reductions attributable to
the project, and the baseline alternative used for comparison with the project. While many organisations have

Buildings
existing, published methodologies for project GHG accounting, there are ongoing efforts to harmonise GHG

Green
accounting methodologies for relevant sectors among a broad group of International Financial Institutions
(IFIs).10 However, this is an ongoing process and, in the absence of one single standard, institutions may
follow their own methodologies while striving to make them publically available and transparent. Green bond
impact reporting will increase market-wide transparency on the status quo.
Biodiversity
Climate Change
Adaptation
Circular Economy
Efficient Projects
and/or Eco-

10 An overarching harmonised framework has already been agreed. See https://www.worldbank.org/content/dam/Worldbank/document/IFI_Framework_for_Harmonized_

Approach%20to_Greenhouse_Gas_Accounting.pdf

Handbook – Harmonised Framework for Impact Reporting June 2021 11

 Renewable
3. Sustainable Water and Wastewater Management

Energy
The indicators proposed herein aim to capture and illustrate the environmental and sustainability benefits of
projects relating to sustainable water and wastewater management, which are recognised by the GBP for
Green Projects under one of the ten broad categories of eligibility for Green Projects:

“sustainable water and wastewater management (including sustainable infrastructure for clean and/
or drinking water, wastewater treatment, sustainable urban drainage systems and river training and

Efficiency
Energy
other forms of flooding mitigation)”.

Relevant projects may also reference categories focused on pollution prevention and control, environmentally
sustainable management of living natural resources and land use, as well as climate change adaptation.
While this handbook does not yet cover environmentally sustainable management of living natural resources

Sustainable Water
and land use projects, the authors of this document acknowledge the importance of harmonisation also for

and Wastewater
Management
such projects.

The proposed indicators are designed to facilitate quantitative reporting at a project and/or at a portfolio level
across geographies. The importance of the geographic context in the assessment of solutions reinforces the
benefit of providing additional contextual information. We therefore encourage disclosure on the local and
regional context, including river basin or regional sea specific baselines, to help understand the environmental
impacts/benefits of the project in its context. Additional qualitative reporting is also encouraged.

and Resource
Management
Efficiency
It is recognised that water use, wastewater treatment and energy consumption are often closely interlinked,

Waste
and therefore where such projects result in energy savings, these, and related Greenhouse Gas reductions,
can be reported using the core indicators for Energy Efficiency and corresponding reporting timetables.

For meaningful aggregation of indicators across projects, consistency in the methods of calculation, baselines
and benchmarks would be required. Thus for the purpose of data quality, issuers are encouraged to disclose
additional technical reports and/or data verification protocols where additional information could be provided

Transportation
as well as links to the sources of such data and methods of calculation.11

Clean
Buildings
Green
Biodiversity
Climate Change
Adaptation
Circular Economy
Efficient Projects
and/or Eco-

11 For example, the International Benchmarking Network for Water and Sanitation Utilities (IBNET) is the world largest database for water and sanitation
utilities performance data. https://www.ib-net.org/ or guidance on definitions and data sources for water-related metrics that are commonly used
by companies to disclose aggregated data at site or company level, such as the Global Reporting Initiatives G4 standard water metrics.

Handbook – Harmonised Framework for Impact Reporting June 2021 12

 Renewable
Core Indicators

Energy
A. Sustainable Water Management - Water Use Sustainability and Efficiency Projects
#1) Annual water savings
Annual water savings for example from:
– reduction in water losses in water transfer and/or distribution

Efficiency
Energy
– reduction in water consumption of economic activities (e.g. industrial processes, agricultural
activities including irrigation, buildings, etc.)12
– water reuse and/or water use avoided by waterless solutions and equipment, (e.g. for sanitation,
cooling systems for power plants, industrial processes, etc.)

Sustainable Water
Indicators:

and Wastewater
Management
• Annual absolute (gross) water use before and after the project in m3/a, reduction in water use in %

Benchmarks:
– Internationally recognised benchmark standards for water use efficiency (e.g. EU Directives and
Best Available Techniques reference standards or industry/sector good/best practice standards)
– The Water Exploitation Index Plus (WEI+) or internationally recognised tools such as WRI’s

and Resource
Management
Aqueduct, and the WWF’s Water Risk Filter

Efficiency

Waste
– The average monthly water consumption as a percentage of the sustainable basin water

B. Wastewater Treatment Projects (including Sewage Sludge Management)

#2) Annual volume of wastewater treated or avoided13
Annual amount of:

Transportation
– wastewater treated to appropriate standards or raw/untreated wastewater discharges avoided

Clean
– wastewater avoided, reused or minimised at source

Indicators:
• Annual absolute (gross) amount of wastewater treated, reused or avoided before and after the project
in m3/a and p.e./a and as %

Buildings
Population equivalent (1 p.e.) or 60 g of BOD5 (EU definition)

Green
#3) Treatment and disposal and/or reuse of sewage sludge
Treatment, disposal and/or reuse of sewage sludge (according to country legislation compatible with
internationally recognised standards):
– Sludge that is treated and disposed of (e.g. dewatering, sanitisation, composting, digestion without
Biodiversity

biogas extraction)
– Sludge that is reused (e.g. digestion with biogas recovery, phosphorous recovery, agriculture use,
co-combustion)

Indicators:
• Annual absolute (gross) amount of raw/untreated sewage sludge that is treated and disposed of (in
Climate Change

tonnes of dry solids p.a. and in %)

Adaptation

• Annual absolute (gross) amount of sludge that is reused (in tonnes of dry solids p.a. and in %)

Note: Projects which involve sludge that is dumped in landfill or stored in the wastewater treatment plant (WWTP) premises or
sludge that is recycled without approved safeguards will be excluded. In portfolio reporting, this may be combined with utilisation,
recycling and/or disposal of other types of (solid) waste for one aggregated figure.
Circular Economy
Efficient Projects
and/or Eco-

12 Improvements in sustainable water management may also come via small interventions (e.g. distributed sustainable water assets include
composting toilets, low-flow water fixtures, efficient washing machines, micro-irrigation systems and rainwater tanks).
13 Water and wastewater projects may be deemed to have multiple benefits which can be broken out or reported according to the most meaningful
impact. For instance, a project may be reported solely as a reduction in Water Consumption (under A.#1 of the respective templates under V.
Reporting Templates), or by differentiating between the water use avoided and the generation of wastewater avoided.

Handbook – Harmonised Framework for Impact Reporting June 2021 13

 Renewable
Benchmarks:

Energy
– Internationally recognised benchmark standards for wastewater/effluent quality at discharge and
treatment efficiency (e.g. EU Directive, HELCOM recommendations or national standards)
– Total discharges in m3 or p.e. (if known) or concentrations of pollutants (BOD5 and/or Ntot and/or
Ptot) in the recipient surface water body (a river basin, a lake or a regional sea)
– Water quality indices, such as UN Global Water Quality Index (WQI), could be used to characterise

Efficiency
the baseline environmental conditions of the recipient surface water body

Energy
Other Sustainability Indicators
#1) Improved water supply infrastructure and facilities and/or improved quality of the supplied
drinking water as a result of the project

Sustainable Water
and Wastewater
Indicators:

Management
• Number of people with access to clean drinking water (or annual volume of clean drinking water in
m3/a supplied for human consumption) through infrastructure supporting sustainable and efficient
water use (where average consumption per person is consistent with internationally recognised
standards for sustainable water use)

Benchmarks:

and Resource
Management
Efficiency
– The definition of “clean drinking water” follows internationally recognised drinking water quality

Waste
standards, such as WHO or EU.

#2) Improved sanitation facilities that have been constructed under the project
The increase in the share of the population connected to wastewater collection and treatment systems helps
in domestic water pollution abatement and prevents long lasting environmental damage to the aquifers.

Transportation
Indicators:

Clean
• Number of people with access to improved sanitation facilities under the project

Benchmarks:
– The definition of “improved sanitation facilities” follows the UNICEF-WHO Joint Monitoring Program
definition.

Buildings
Green
#3) Improved measures to reduce the risk from adverse flooding impact
This may include, for example, improved hydrometeorological forecasting, improved early warning systems,
infrastructure for flood mitigation (levees and reservoirs), flood zoning and improved basin planning.

Indicators:
• Number of people and/or enterprises (e.g. companies or farms) benefitting from measures to mitigate
Biodiversity

the consequences of floods and droughts

#4) Sustainable land and water resources management (SLM) systems in place
SLM for the preservation and restoration of natural landscapes (such as floodplains, forests, watersheds, and
wetlands) will be site-specific as different areas require different interventions. These may include land use
regimes (e.g. watershed plans, soil and water conservation zones); agronomic and vegetative measures (e.g.
Climate Change
Adaptation

intercropping, afforestation); water-efficient irrigation; structural measures (e.g. flood control and drainage
measures, water harvesting, run-off management, gully control measures); and/or active recharge by
upstream activities to ensure a sustainable quantity of water. Land area may not be considered a pertinent
indicator for localised actions that are not significant at a watershed level.

Indicators:
Circular Economy
Efficient Projects

• Area covered by sustainable land and water resources management practices

and/or Eco-

• Annual catchment of water (m3/year) that complies with quantity (m3/year) and quality (e.g. turbidity)
requirements by utilities.

Handbook – Harmonised Framework for Impact Reporting June 2021 14

 Renewable
4. Waste Management and Resource Efficiency

Energy
The indicators proposed herein aim to capture and illustrate the environmental and sustainability benefits of
projects relating to waste management and resource-efficiency, which are recognised by the GBP for Green
Projects under one of the ten broad categories of eligibility for Green Projects:

“pollution prevention and control (including…waste prevention, waste reduction, waste recycling and
energy/emission-efficient waste to energy…)”

Efficiency
Energy
This guidance builds on the previous work on Sustainable Water and Wastewater Projects, and thus the
indicators proposed here focus only on supplementary waste management projects.14

Although relevant projects may also reference categories focused on “eco-efficient and/or circular economy

Sustainable Water
adapted products, production technologies and processes…”, this is a separate eligible category under the

and Wastewater
Management
GBP and for the reporting of such projects, users should reference the relevant indicators (see section 9
below) and reporting template (see Chapter V).

While this document proposes certain quantitative impact reporting metrics, the GBP also encourages issuers
to provide qualitative information in relation to their waste management projects, whether they be focused on
reducing pollution by introducing or improving waste management systems or focused on improved use of
resources. Such qualitative information is also encouraged to provide for a meaningful contextualisation of

and Resource
the baseline situation and the improved solution as a result of the project. For waste management projects,

Management
Efficiency
this information may be especially meaningful when it covers the entire management system, including

Waste
characterisation of waste sources, collection system (separate collection or not), waste recovery and reuse
solutions (including which materials are being reused/recycled) and waste disposal, rather than isolated parts
of it. In evaluating the environmental and sustainability benefits of waste management projects, it is especially
useful for issuers to reference the broadly acknowledged “waste hierarchy” in any qualitative reporting on
their waste strategy. This seeks to prioritise those activities that are optimal in managing resources and
protecting the environment through extracting the greatest benefit with the minimum of waste generated.

Transportation
Clean
This waste hierarchy is typically presented in the following schematic form:

Most
Favoured Option Prevention

Buildings
Green
Minimisation

Reuse

Recycling
Biodiversity

Energy Recovery

Disposal
Least
Favoured Option
Climate Change
Adaptation

As can be seen from this diagrammatic representation, waste prevention is the preferred option, followed
sequentially by minimisation, reuse, recycling, energy recovery and finally safe disposal. Descriptive examples
for each of these options are contained under Guidance and Definitions below.
Circular Economy
Efficient Projects
and/or Eco-

14 This document therefore excludes wastewater projects, and, in alignment with the EU waste Framework Directive http://eur-lex.europa.eu/legal-
content/EN/TXT/PDF/?uri=CELEX:32006L0012&from=EN it also excludes gaseous effluents, radioactive waste, waste from waste resulting from
prospecting, extraction, treatment and storage of mineral resources and the working of quarries, animal carcasses and natural, non-dangerous
agricultural waste, as well as decommissioned explosives.

Handbook – Harmonised Framework for Impact Reporting June 2021 15

 Renewable
The proposed core and other sustainability indicators are designed to facilitate quantitative reporting at

Energy
a project and/or at a portfolio level across geographies. The importance of the geographic context in the
assessment of solutions reinforces the benefit of providing additional contextual information. We therefore
encourage disclosure on the national and regional context, including waste volume and waste management
solution specific baselines, to help understand the environmental impacts/benefits of the project in its
context. Additional qualitative reporting is also encouraged.

Greenhouse gas (GHG) emission reductions are an important green benefit of waste management and

Efficiency
Energy
resource recovery interventions through avoidance of methane emissions from waste disposed of by
preventing, minimising, reusing or recycling waste, production of energy from waste that substitutes for more
emissions intensive energy sources and mitigating GHG emissions from waste disposal sites. These projects
(such as composting; waste reduction, recycling and reuse; landfill gas capture and collection; anaerobic
digestion; waste to energy (thermal treatment) etc.) are motivated significantly by reducing GHG and there

Sustainable Water
are approaches for estimating these emissions.

and Wastewater
Management
For meaningful aggregation of indicators across projects, consistency in the methods of calculation, baselines
and benchmarks would be required. Thus for the purpose of data quality, issuers are encouraged to disclose
additional technical reports and/or data verification protocols where additional information could be provided
as well as links to the sources of such data and methods of calculation.

Guidance and Definitions

and Resource
Management
Efficiency
Waste Management activities at each level of the Waste Management hierarchy may be described

Waste
as follows:
Waste Prevention:
• Any operation that reduces at source the quantity of waste before recycling, composting, energy
recovery and landfilling become options.

Transportation
Waste Minimisation:

Clean
Any operation that:

• reduces the quantity of material used in the creation of products and increases the efficiency with
which products, once created, are used;
• limits unnecessary consumption by designing and consuming products that generate less waste; and/
or

Buildings
Green
• checks, cleans or repairs products or components that have become waste in preparation for reuse
without any other pre-processing.

Waste Reuse:
• Any operation that reuses products or components for the same purpose for which they were
conceived.
Biodiversity

Waste Recycling:
• Any operation that recovers and reprocesses waste materials into materials or substances whether for
the same purpose for which they were conceived, or for other purposes.

Energy Recovery:
Climate Change
Adaptation

• Any operation that converts non-recyclable waste materials into usable heat, electricity or fuel.

Waste Disposal:
• Any operation which is not waste recovery.
Circular Economy
Efficient Projects
and/or Eco-

Handbook – Harmonised Framework for Impact Reporting June 2021 16

 Renewable
Core Indicators

Energy
A. Waste Management Projects – Resource Efficiency
#1) Waste prevented, minimised, reused or recycled
Indicators:
• Waste that is prevented, minimised, reused or recycled before and after the project in % of total waste

Efficiency
and/or in absolute amount in tonnes p.a.

Energy
• For certain waste management projects that reduce the amount of waste disposed of, it may also be
possible to capture GHG emissions from waste management before and after the project in tCO2–e
p.a.

Benchmarks:

Sustainable Water
and Wastewater
Management
– Internationally recognised benchmark standards for waste management (e.g. EU Waste Policy and
Waste Framework Directive statistics and reports)
– Internationally recognised tools for calculating Greenhouse Gases (GHG) in Solid Waste
Management (SWM), such as the SWM-GHG Calculator (https://www.ifeu.de/en/project/tool-
for-calculating-greenhouse-gases-ghg-in-solid-waste-management-swm/) or EPA’s Waste
Reduction Model
(WARM, https://www.epa.gov/warm)

and Resource
Management
Efficiency

Waste
B. Energy Recovery from Waste Including Energy/Emission-Efficient Waste to Energy Projects
#2) Energy recovered from waste
Annual amount of energy that is recovered from waste before and after the project in an environmentally
sound manner through specified methods:

Transportation
– Energy recovered (e.g. through landfill gas collection, anaerobic digestion plants, waste-to-energy
generation, biomass gasification, Mechanical Biological Treatment etc.)

Clean
Indicators:
• Annual energy generation from non-recyclable waste in energy/emission-efficient waste to energy
facilities in MWh/GWh (electricity) and GJ/TJ (other energy)
• Energy recovered from waste (minus any support fuel) in MWh/GWh/KJ of net energy generated p.a.15

Buildings
• GHG emissions from waste management before and after the project in tCO2–e p.a.

Green
Benchmarks:
– Internationally recognised tools for calculating Greenhouse Gases (GHG) in Solid Waste
Management (SWM), such as the SWM-GHG Calculator (https://www.ifeu.de/en/project/tool-
for-calculating-greenhouse-gases-ghg-in-solid-waste-management-swm/) or EPA’s Waste
Reduction Model
Biodiversity

(WARM, https://www.epa.gov/warm)
– Internationally recognised standards for air emissions from waste to energy facilities (e.g. EU
Directive on Waste Incineration, EU Industrial Emissions Directive and Best Available Techniques
reference document for waste incineration)
Climate Change
Adaptation
Circular Economy
Efficient Projects
and/or Eco-

15 Where supporting fuel is added in order to facilitate the combustion of waste, the energy from this fuel should be subtracted from the total energy
generated.

Handbook – Harmonised Framework for Impact Reporting June 2021 17

 Renewable
C. Pollution Control Projects

Energy
#3) Waste collected and treated or disposed
Collection and treatment or disposal of waste (according to country legislation compatible with internationally
recognised standards):
– Waste that is separated and/or collected, and treated (including composted) or disposed of in
an environmentally sound manner before and after the project. (This presumes no leakage of

Efficiency
contaminants.)

Energy
Indicators:
• Annual absolute (gross) amount of waste that is separated and/or collected, and treated (including
composted) or disposed of (in tonnes p.a. and in % of total waste)

Sustainable Water
and Wastewater
Management
Benchmarks:
– Internationally recognised benchmark standards for waste separation and/or collection and
environmentally sound waste disposal, such as EU Landfill Directive.

and Resource
Management
Efficiency

Waste
Transportation
Clean
Buildings
Green
Biodiversity
Climate Change
Adaptation
Circular Economy
Efficient Projects
and/or Eco-

Handbook – Harmonised Framework for Impact Reporting June 2021 18

 Renewable
Other Sustainability Indicators

Energy
#1) Resource efficiency/reduction in raw materials used in manufacturing
Indicators:
• KG of raw material per produced unit before and after
• Added monetary value created using waste

Efficiency
Energy
#2) Improved access to municipal waste collection (including separation)
The increase in the share of the population with access to waste collection helps in domestic waste
pollution abatement.

Indicators:

Sustainable Water
and Wastewater
Management
• Number of people or % of population with access to waste collection under the project
• Area with improved regular (daily, weekly or bi-weekly) waste collection service
• How many fractions of waste were separated before and after the project
• The absolute amount or % of residual non-separated waste before and after the project

#3) Improved and regular access to street sweeping

and Resource
Management
Efficiency
Indicators:

Waste
• Number of people or % of population with access to street sweeping under the project
• Km of street with regular (daily, weekly or bi-weekly) street sweeping service coverage

#4) Improved municipal waste treatment or disposal services

Transportation
Indicators:

Clean
• Number of people or % of population provided with improved municipal waste treatment or disposal
services

#5) Improved recycling programmes

Indicators:
• Number of people benefitting from selective collection of recyclables

Buildings
Green
• Number of informal recyclers integrated into a formal system

#6) Reduced local pollution to air and/or water

Indicators:
• Absolute or % reduction in local pollutants Biodiversity

#7) Manufacturing for the circular economy

Indicators:
• Tons of waste reduced
• Products changed to increase waste reduction
Climate Change

• Tons of secondary raw materials or compost produced

Adaptation
Circular Economy
Efficient Projects
and/or Eco-

Handbook – Harmonised Framework for Impact Reporting June 2021 19

 Renewable
5. Clean Transportation

Energy
The indicators proposed herein aim to capture and illustrate the environmental and sustainability benefits of
projects relating to clean transportation, which are recognised by the GBP for Green Projects under one of
the ten broad categories of eligibility for Green Projects:

“clean transportation (such as electric, hybrid, public, rail, non-motorised, multi-modal transportation,
infrastructure for clean energy vehicles and reduction of harmful emissions)”.

Efficiency
Energy
This guidance builds on the previous work on Sustainable Water and Wastewater Projects as well as
Waste Management and Resource-Efficiency Projects and thus the indicators proposed here focus only
on additional factors specific to clean transportation projects.16

Sustainable Water
This section does not cover impact reporting on projects focused specifically on the design and manufacturing

and Wastewater
Management
of clean vehicles and vehicle parts, which may be deemed to fall under another GBP category: “eco-efficient
products, production technologies and processes…”. For the reporting of such projects, users should
reference the relevant indicators (see section 9 below) and reporting template (see Chapter V).

While this document proposes certain quantitative impact reporting metrics, the GBP also encourages
issuers to provide qualitative information in relation to their clean transportation projects, whether they be
focused on reducing pollution or focused on improved use of resources. Such qualitative information is also

and Resource
encouraged to provide for a meaningful contextualisation of the baseline situation and the improvement as

Management
Efficiency
a result of the project. For clean transportation projects, this information may be especially meaningful when

Waste
it covers the entire life-cycle, including the decommissioning of vehicles, as well as the local and/or regional
context in which the project is undertaken. In evaluating the environmental and sustainability benefits of clean
transportation projects, it may be useful for issuers to reference the “sustainable transport hierarchy” in any
qualitative reporting on their transportation strategy. This seeks to prioritise those activities that are optimal
in managing resources and protecting the environment.

Transportation
While the GBP category, as noted above, uses the term “clean transportation”, the green bond market aims

Clean
to finance projects that make a significant contribution to environmental sustainability. This therefore may be
deemed to encompass all ambitious “cleaner” transport projects that represent meaningful progress towards
this goal. Furthermore, examples of benchmarks developed by internationally recognised conventions and
initiatives are given below. These should not be seen as baselines for the determination of clean transportation
projects: in certain jurisdictions, meeting an internationally recognised standard may require a significant
improvement beyond “business as usual”, whereas in other geographies the same standard may represent
a mandatory baseline. In such cases, an eligible transportation project may be expected to drive for a

Buildings
Green
meaningful outperformance of the benchmark.

Biodiversity
Climate Change
Adaptation
Circular Economy
Efficient Projects
and/or Eco-

16 This document therefore excludes, for example, the management of ship-generated waste and associated waste reception facilities, the
decommissioning of vehicles, as well as improvements to water usage associated with the clean transportation project.

Handbook – Harmonised Framework for Impact Reporting June 2021 20

 Renewable
This sustainable transport hierarchy may be presented in the following schematic form:

Energy
A - S - I Approach

Avoid / Reduce Shift / Maintain Improve

Efficiency
Energy
Shift to or maintain Improve the energy
Reduce or avoid share of more efficiency of transport

Sustainable Water
the need to

and Wastewater
environmentally modes and

Management
travel or transport friendly modes vehicles technology

System Trip Vehicle

Efficiency Efficiency Efficiency

and Resource
Management
Efficiency

Waste
As can be seen from this diagrammatic representation17 of the “Avoid-Shift-Improve (ASI)” approach, demand
reduction is the preferred option, followed sequentially by modal shift, and finally by transport efficiency improvements.
Descriptive examples for each of these options are contained under Guidance and Definitions below.

The proposed core and other sustainability indicators are designed to facilitate quantitative reporting at a project

Transportation
and/or at a portfolio level across geographies. The importance of the geographic context in the assessment of
solutions reinforces the benefit of providing additional relevant information. We therefore encourage disclosure

Clean
on the national, regional and local context, including information on the population served, pollution levels,
and specific CO2 electricity grid baselines. Such information, as well as the rate and level of shift under the ASI
approach helps to understand and provide more accurate assessments of the environmental impacts/benefits
of the project in its context. Additional qualitative reporting is also encouraged.

For a meaningful assessment of the aggregate impact of projects, consistency in the methods of calculation,
baselines and benchmarks is necessary. Thus for the purpose of data quality, issuers are encouraged to

Buildings
Green
disclose additional technical reports and/or data verification protocols where additional information could be
provided as well as links to the sources of such data and methods of calculation. The robustness of disclosures
and/or the underlying methodology may be enhanced by making available any independent assessment from
consultants, verification bodies and/or institutions with recognised expertise in environmental sustainability.

Guidance and Definitions

Biodiversity

Clean transportation activities at each level of the ASI sustainable transport hierarchy may be
described as follows:
Avoid/Reduce:
• Any operation that avoids the need to travel or reduces the length of travel, including through
integrated land-use planning, and transport demand management18.
Climate Change
Adaptation

Shift/Maintain:
• Any operation that moves people or freight to a more sustainable and less polluting means of
transportation, such as cycling, walking, buses, ferries, trains and trams.

Improve:
Circular Economy
Efficient Projects

• Any operation that reduces the emissions (both GHG and local pollutants) of vehicles or the
and/or Eco-

transport system.
17 Ref: Deutsche Gesellschaft für Internationale Zusammenarbeit (GIZ) GmbH
18 Improved internet connectivity may also contribute significantly, to the avoidance or reduction of travel, however, it does not fit readily into the Clean
Transportation project category.

Handbook – Harmonised Framework for Impact Reporting June 2021 21

 Renewable
Core Indicators

Energy
A. Clean Transportation Projects
– Procurement and/or deployment of clean transportation (modal shift)
Any operation that moves people or freight to a significantly more sustainable and less polluting
means of transportation
– Deployment of clean transportation (low emissions)

Efficiency
Energy
Any operation that reduces GHG emissions and/or air pollutants per unit of service provided
through, for example, fuel switch or technology switch taking account of fuel production and
electricity generation, including projected changes19

B. Construction of Clean Transport Infrastructure20

Sustainable Water
– Construction, extension and/or improvement to core sustainable transport infrastructure

and Wastewater
Management
e.g. constructing or electrifying train tracks, clean utility connections in port, constructing or
improving bicycle lanes, bicycle parking and bicycle sharing schemes
– Construction and/or improvement to the auxiliary sustainable transport infrastructure
e.g. stations, terminals, electric vehicle charging infrastructure, network and traffic management
systems, connected and automated transport technologies, smart mobility systems, and the
development and deployment of alternative transport fuels

and Resource
Management
Indicators:

Efficiency

Waste
• Passenger-kilometres (i.e. the transport of one passenger over one kilometre) and/or passengers; or
tonne-kilometres (i.e. the transport of one tonne over one kilometre) and/or tonnes
• Annual GHG emissions reduced/avoided in tCO2–e p.a.
• Reduction of air pollutants: particulate matter (PM), sulphur oxides (SOx), nitrogen oxides (NOx),
carbon monoxide (CO), and non-methane volatile organic compounds (NMVOCs)

Transportation
Clean
Benchmarks:
– Internationally recognised benchmark standards for Clean Transport (e.g. EURO VI Standard, IMO,
MARPOL, and WHO guidelines for particulate matter concentration)
– Internationally recognised tools for calculating Greenhouse Gases (GHG) in sustainable
transportation projects such as the Global Fuel Economy Initiative (GFEI) in the IEA 2DS.
– Internationally recognised benchmark standards for sustainable transport infrastructure.

Buildings
Green
– IEC/IEEE 80005 -2:2016 for utility connections in port

Biodiversity
Climate Change
Adaptation
Circular Economy
Efficient Projects
and/or Eco-

19 For example, deployment of electric vehicles may be considered a clean transportation project although it may not necessarily reduce GHG
emissions in the near term.
20 Tracks or auxiliary infrastructure projects that are substantially for the transportation of fossil fuel related freight should be excluded.

Handbook – Harmonised Framework for Impact Reporting June 2021 22

 Renewable
Other Sustainability Indicators

Energy
#1) Deployment of clean transportation
Indicators:
• Annual Absolute (gross) GHG emissions in tCO2–e
• Number of clean vehicles deployed (e.g. electric)

Efficiency
• Estimated reduction in car/truck use in number of kilometres driven or as share of total transport

Energy
ridership
• Estimated reduction in fuel consumption

#2) Construction or improvement to core infrastructure

Sustainable Water
and Wastewater
Indicators:

Management
• Annual Absolute (gross) GHG emissions in tCO2–e
• Total in kilometres of new or improved train lines/dedicated bus, BRT, LRT corridors bicycle lanes
• Reduction in weather-related disruption (days p.a). and/or risk frequency (%)
• Ambient noise reduction from the transport infrastructure in decibels
• Estimated change in land consumption for transport infrastructure

and Resource
Management
Efficiency
• Number of hectares compensated21

Waste
• Number of wildlife crossings created
• Volume of reused or recycled rail material for rail, or port infrastructure in tons

#3) Construction or improvement to auxiliary infrastructure

Indicators:

Transportation
• Annual Absolute (gross) GHG emissions in tCO2–e

Clean
• Improved luminance or road surface reflection coefficient (cd/m2)
• Number of LED or SSL lighting fixtures with lumen/watt (Lm/W)
• Ambient noise reduction in decibels

#4) Projects aimed at avoidance or reduction of transport use

Buildings
Green
Indicators:
• Annual Absolute (gross) GHG emissions in tCO2–e
• Land use density including ‘transit oriented development’ (people and jobs per unit of land area)
• Estimated reduction in car use in number of kilometres driven or as share of total transport ridership
• Increase of households with internet access (absolute or percentage)
Biodiversity

• Reduction in congestion22
Climate Change
Adaptation
Circular Economy
Efficient Projects
and/or Eco-

21 The securing of an equivalent area to the land utilised by the infrastructure project should have comparable conservation value
22 Calculated on the vehicle speed (based on https://ec.europa.eu/jrc/en/publication/eur-scientific-and-technical-research-reports/measuring-
road-congestion)

Handbook – Harmonised Framework for Impact Reporting June 2021 23

 Renewable
6. Green Buildings

Energy
The indicators proposed herein aim to capture and illustrate the environmental and sustainability benefits of
projects relating to green buildings, which are recognised by the GBP for Green Projects under one of the
ten broad categories of eligibility for Green Projects:

“green buildings which meet regional, national or internationally recognised standards or

certifications”.

Efficiency
Energy
The GBP category for Green Buildings is understood to address broad considerations such as water usage and
waste management in addition to energy consumption, whereas a focus solely on energy-efficiency and low
carbon in buildings would come under the GBP category “energy efficiency (such as in new and refurbished
buildings…)”, and it is therefore recommended that these projects be reported using the relevant indicators and

Sustainable Water
templates outlined in reference to Energy Efficiency in Chapter IV.2 and Chapter V respectively.

and Wastewater
Management
This document does not cover impact reporting on projects focused specifically on resilience to climate
change, which may be deemed to fall under another GBP category: “climate change adaptation”. For the
reporting of such projects, users should reference the relevant indicators (see section 8 below) and reporting
template (see Chapter V).

While this document proposes certain quantitative impact reporting metrics, the GBP also encourages

and Resource
issuers to provide qualitative information in relation to their green building projects, whether they be for new

Management
Efficiency
buildings or the retrofitting of existing buildings. Such qualitative information is also encouraged to provide

Waste
for a meaningful contextualisation of the baseline situation and the improvement as a result of the project.
For green building projects, as is highlighted in the aforementioned wording of this GBP category, regional,
national or (optimally) internationally recognised standards or certifications are key, providing important
baselines against which the green building project can be benchmarked. Other salient information such
as the siting of the building and its purpose may be critical to understanding the design of the project, and
its benefits in managing resources and protecting the environment. Indeed, while, as aforementioned, this

Transportation
document does not cover impact reporting on projects focused specifically on resilience to climate change,

Clean
which may be deemed to fall under the GBP category of “climate change adaptation” for which specific
metrics are yet to be proposed, the reporting of pertinent information on building resiliency to address such
risks as flood prevention, heat stress and water shortages is nevertheless strongly encouraged.

While the GBP category, as noted above, uses the term “green buildings”, the green bond market aims
to finance projects that make a significant contribution to environmental sustainability. This therefore may
be deemed to encompass all ambitious “sustainable” building projects that represent meaningful progress

Buildings
Green
towards this goal across all core dimensions. Although the highest potential to reduce energy consumption
will result from improvements made to the existing building stock, we recognise that the needs of society
and the economy will continue to drive demand for new buildings. While the construction phase will have a
significant impact on the environment, including the climate, and few if any new buildings are, in reality, “zero
energy buildings”, we nonetheless understand the GBP’s Green Building category to encompass any new
building that minimises the impact of both its construction and life-cycle use on the environment in line with
ambitious regulatory requirements and best industry practice.
Biodiversity

Furthermore, examples of benchmarks developed by internationally recognised conventions and initiatives

are given below. These should not be seen as baselines for the determination of green building projects: in
certain jurisdictions, meeting an internationally recognised standard may require a significant improvement
beyond “business as usual”, whereas in other geographies the same standard may represent a mandatory
baseline. In such cases, an eligible green building project may be expected to drive for a meaningful
Climate Change

outperformance of the benchmark.

Adaptation

The proposed core and other sustainability indicators are designed to facilitate quantitative reporting at
a project and/or at a portfolio level across geographies. The importance of the geographic context in the
assessment of solutions reinforces the benefit of additional disclosures, such as the national, regional
and local context, information on the population served, pollution levels, and specific CO2 electricity grid
baselines. Where fossil fuels are used on-site, it will be important to understand whether these are lower
Circular Economy
Efficient Projects

carbon content fuels and how the project promotes the transition to “Zero Net Carbon”. While the Core
and/or Eco-

Indicators proposed focus on the construction, development and refurbishment of Green Buildings, and are
thus also relevant to their purchase, several Other Sustainability Indicators are relevant to the management
of Green Buildings over time.

Handbook – Harmonised Framework for Impact Reporting June 2021 24

 Renewable
For a meaningful assessment of the aggregate impact of projects, consistency in the methods of calculation,

Energy
baselines and benchmarks is necessary. Thus for the purpose of data quality, issuers are encouraged to
disclose additional technical reports and/or data verification protocols where additional information could be
provided as well as links to the sources of such data and methods of calculation. The robustness of disclosures
and/or the underlying methodology may be enhanced by making available any independent assessment from
consultants, verification bodies and/or institutions with recognised expertise in environmental sustainability
such as LEED, BREEAM and BEAM. We note, however, that many of these assessments and standards
incorporate evaluations that extend beyond environmental factors, and thus issuers should seek to provide

Efficiency
Energy
greater transparency on their scores against the “green” requirements.

Guidance and Definitions

New Buildings: New construction and the development of buildings must take account of
their impact on ecosystems and biodiversity. Where no certification standard

Sustainable Water
and Wastewater
Management
is available or where the certification standard referenced does not provide an
analysis of location considerations, these should be highlighted in reporting in
particular to demonstrate how construction activities have avoided building
on land that should be protected, how access to public transportation is
incorporated, and any measures taken to offset negative impacts on biodiversity.

Retrofitted Buildings: The retrofit, upgrade or renovation of an existing building, building unit,
or any building component or system should take into consideration

and Resource
Management
Efficiency
all efforts to improve energy performance (or reduce energy use for

Waste
comparable quality of enabling environment and for comparable
services) in order to meet some minimum energy efficiency criteria
whenever this is technically, functionally and economically feasible.

Where both the purpose of the building and its use remain unchanged, the
improved performance of the building can be reported against that attained

Transportation
prior to the project. Where the purpose and/or use of the building has been

Clean
altered, the improved performance should be measured against baselines
and benchmarks applicable to new buildings.

Energy Use: The annual energy input to the building in order to satisfy the energy needs
associated with a typical use of the building and by the building services that
provide an enabling environment in the building. It encompasses the amount of
energy needed to meet the energy demand associated with, inter alia, energy

Buildings
Green
used for heating, cooling, air-conditioning, ventilation, hot water and lighting.

Primary Energy Use: Energy from renewable and non-renewable sources used in buildings and
which has not undergone any conversion or transformation process. For
further guidance on calculation of Primary Energy Use including renewable
energy generated on site, ISO EN standards or applicable national
methodologies for energy and carbon performance assessment in buildings.
Biodiversity

Final Energy Use: The total energy consumed by end-users in their building assets. It is the
energy which reaches the final user’s asset and excludes the energy used
by the energy sector itself.

Gross Building Area (GBA): Gross Building Area, also named Gross Floor Area (“GFA”) corresponds to
Climate Change

the total floor area contained in a building measured to the external walls. The
Adaptation

physical environmental impact comes from the entire building, and therefore
Gross Building Area is more relevant than Gross Letting Area, which is the
amount of floor space available to be rented.

Certification Schemes: While the importance of international certification schemes as industry

benchmarks is highlighted by their prime position in the proposed Core
Circular Economy
Efficient Projects

Indicators, the associated costs and processes may be deemed prohibitive

and/or Eco-

for small local players, or large portfolios of very small assets. Locally
applicable proxies may therefore provide a relevant baseline when compatible
with the major international certification schemes.

Handbook – Harmonised Framework for Impact Reporting June 2021 25

 Renewable
Core Indicators23

Energy
A. Energy Performance
#1 Final and/or Primary Energy Use - in new buildings or retrofitted buildings
Indicators:
• kWh/m² of GBA p.a.; and % of energy use reduced/avoided vs local baseline/building code; and, if

Efficiency
relevant % of renewable energy (RE) generated on site (specifying the relevant RE form)

Energy
B. Carbon Performance
#2 Carbon reductions - in new buildings or retrofitted buildings
Indicators:

Sustainable Water
and Wastewater
Management
• kgCO2/m² of GBA p.a; and
• Annual GHG emissions reduced/avoided24 in tonnes of CO2 equiv. vs local baseline/baseline
certification level; and/or
• % of carbon emissions reduced/avoided vs local baseline/baseline certification level

C. Water Efficiency and Savings

and Resource
Management
#3 Water efficiency - in new buildings or retrofitted buildings

Efficiency

Waste
Indicators:
• m³/m² of GBA p.a; and Annual absolute (gross) water use before and after the project in m³/a (for
retrofitted buildings) and/or
• % of water reduced/avoided vs local baseline/baseline certification level/IGCC/International Plumbing
Code

Transportation
D. Waste Management

Clean
#4 Waste management in the construction/demolition/refurbishment process in new or retrofitted
buildings
Indicators:
• Amount p.a. of waste minimised, reused or recycled in % of total waste and/or in absolute (gross)
amount in tonnes p.a.

Buildings
Green
• Waste removed in tonnes

E. Certification Standard, if available

#5 Type of scheme, certification level and m2 GBA
Benchmarks:
Biodiversity

Internationally and nationally recognised standards for Green Buildings such as LEED (Leadership in Energy
and Environmental Design), BREEAM (Building Research Establishment Environmental Assessment Method),
ANSI/ASHRAE/IES/USGBC Standard 189.1 Standard for the Design of High-Performance Green Buildings
and/or the International Green Construction Code; other standards for Green Buildings widely known and/or
used in the industry locally, such as CEEQUAL, DGNB, EDGE, the International Energy Conservation Code
(IECC), the US Property Assessed Clean Energy Programs (PACE), Passive House or Swiss Minergie, when
Climate Change

compatible with the aforementioned standards; National Minimum Requirements for Energy Efficiency in
Adaptation

Buildings in EU states (based on the EU Energy Efficiency Directive) and Energy Performance Certificates
(EPCs), or national certification schemes.
Circular Economy
Efficient Projects
and/or Eco-

23 Issuers that report on energy-efficient buildings are recommended to refer to core indicators and reporting templates of the energy efficiency section
of this handbook (please see Chapters IV.2 and V. respectively).
24 International guidelines for the calculation of emissions avoided, such as the GHG Protocol may provide further guidance for calculations.

Handbook – Harmonised Framework for Impact Reporting June 2021 26

 Renewable
Other Sustainability Indicators

Energy
#1) Use of materials with lower environmental footprint - for both new buildings and retrofitted
buildings
Indicators:
• Embodied energy (and carbon) over life-cycle (“cradle to grave”), in tons CO2

Efficiency
• % of embodied energy (and carbon) reduced over life-cycle (“cradle to grave”), vs local benchmark/

Energy
baseline

#2) Land Use and Biodiversity – for new buildings

Indicators:

Sustainable Water
• Land remediated/decontaminated/regenerated, in ha or m²

and Wastewater
Management
• % of unadulterated Green spaces before and after the project

#3) Water Efficiency - for both new buildings and retrofitted buildings
Indicators:
• Amount of rainwater harvested and reused in m³/a

and Resource
• Recharge to groundwater in mm/d, mm/a

Management
Efficiency

Waste
#4) Waste Management - in the use of both new buildings or retrofitted buildings
Indicators:
• Recycling, re-use or composting of non-hazardous waste in %

#5) Indoor Air Quality - for both new buildings and retrofitted buildings

Transportation
Indicators:

Clean
• Reduction of particulate matter vs local baseline: sulphur oxides (SOx), and nitrogen oxides (NOx)
carbon monoxide (CO), (PM2.5/PM10) and non-methane volatile organic compounds (NMVOCs)

#6) Light quality and energy efficiency - for both new buildings and retrofitted buildings
Indicators:

Buildings
Green
• Number of LED or SSL lighting fixtures with lumen/watt (Lm/W)
• Energy efficiency from installation of motion detectors (kWh) vs baseline/previous equipment
• Energy efficiency from installation of low-E window glass panels vs baseline/previous equipment

#7) Transport connectivity and clean transportation infrastructure – for both new buildings and
retrofitted buildings
Biodiversity

Indicators:
• Land use density including ‘transit oriented development’ (people and jobs per unit of land area)
• Number of Electric vehicle charging stations as a % of total parking and/or number of bicycle facilities
provided
• Distance (in Km) to public transportation (thereby reducing the scope 3 emissions of the building)
Climate Change
Adaptation
Circular Economy
Efficient Projects
and/or Eco-

Handbook – Harmonised Framework for Impact Reporting June 2021 27

 Renewable
7. Biodiversity

Energy
The indicators proposed herein aim to capture and illustrate the environmental and sustainability benefits of
projects relating to biodiversity, which are recognised by the GBP for Green Projects under one of the ten
broad categories of eligibility for Green Projects:

“terrestrial and aquatic biodiversity conservation (including the protection of coastal, marine and
watershed environments)”.

Efficiency
Energy
While we understand biodiversity projects to also include those that are focused on the conservation and
restoration of natural landscapes, including forests, this document only partially covers biodiversity in agricultural
production systems, e.g. the transfer of unsustainable agricultural production into biodiverse food systems
(agroecology) or biodiversity in urban environments. The authors of this document acknowledge the importance

Sustainable Water
of developing harmonised indicators for such projects as well, which predominantly fall under the separate

and Wastewater
Management
GBP project category of “environmentally sustainable management of living natural resources and land use”.

Biodiversity describes the variety of life on earth and the natural pattern it forms. It is understood in terms
of a wide variety of plants, animals and microorganisms. Fragmentation, degradation, and outright loss of
forests, wetlands, coral reefs, and other ecosystems pose the gravest threat to biological diversity.

According to the Convention on Biological Diversity (CBD) 25, three dimensions are key to biodiversity:

and Resource
Management
Efficiency
• The conservation of biological diversity (genetic diversity, species diversity and habitat diversity).

Waste
• The sustainable use of biological diversity.
• The fair and equitable sharing of the benefits arising out of the utilisation of genetic resources.

Biodiversity should be the primary or secondary goal of any project or portfolio of projects reported under this
GBP category. Projects that focus primarily on other targets and approach biodiversity from the perspective of

Transportation
minimising damage or managing biodiversity risks in projects should not fall under the biodiversity project category.

Clean
Projects targeting biodiversity are, for example, focused on safeguarding and/or developing protected
terrestrial and marine areas and systems, forest conservation, or REDD (Reducing Emissions from
Deforestation and Forest Degradation) and typically require a preliminary analysis and inventory of core
species that need protection.

As the focus and objectives of biodiversity projects are highly dependent on individual circumstances of

Buildings
the relevant habitat, it is crucial to provide information on the core dimensions of the project, its specific

Green
characteristics and the metrics to analyse the results. The importance of the geographic context in the
assessment of solutions reinforces the benefit of additional disclosures, such as the national, regional and
local context and information on the population served.

While this document proposes certain specific quantitative impact reporting metrics, providing qualitative
information, including all strategies, actions and plans for managing the impacts on biodiversity, appears to
Biodiversity

be of particular relevance for biodiversity projects. Such qualitative information is also encouraged to provide
a meaningful context for understanding and assessing the baseline situation and the improvement as a
result of the project, which may be further complemented by more general indicators such as Mean Species
Abundance (MSA) and Potentially Disappeared Fraction (PDF) of species.

A key aspect should be the improvement of income and living conditions for the communities living adjacent
Climate Change

to protected areas, for example through tourism or forest management. These measures aim to ensure that
Adaptation

local people benefit from conservation and the sustainable use of natural resources, thus enhancing the
conservation of protected areas’ buffer zones and biological corridors.

For the purpose of data quality, issuers are encouraged to disclose additional technical reports, environmental
impact assessments and/or data verification protocols where additional information could be provided, as
well as links to the sources of such data and methods of calculation. The robustness of disclosures and/
Circular Economy
Efficient Projects

or the underlying methodology may be enhanced by making available any independent assessment from
and/or Eco-

consultants, verification bodies and/or institutions with recognised expertise in environmental sustainability26.
25 The Convention on Biological Diversity (CBD) is a multilateral treaty that was opened for signing at the UN Conference on Environment and Development in Rio de Janeiro in
1992. It has been ratified by the vast majority of countries worldwide.
26 There are a number of organisations working on biodiversity impacts, especially focusing on biodiversity accounting, biodiversity footprint measurement and/or qualitative
guidance for projects, which may provide a helpful reference, including ASN Bank, Biodiversity Accounting Financials, Capitals Coalition, CDC Biodiversité, EU Business@

Handbook – Harmonised Framework for Impact Reporting June 2021 28

 Renewable
Core Indicators

Energy
A. Protected areas and Other Effective Area-based Conservation Measures (OECM)27
#1 Preserving terrestrial natural habitats
#2 Preserving marine natural habitats
Indicators:

Efficiency
Energy
• Maintenance/safeguarding/increase of protected area/OECM/habitat in km² and in % for increase
• Absolute number of predefined target organisms and species per km² (bigger fauna) or m² (smaller
fauna and flora) before and after the project
• Absolute number of protected and/or priority species that are deemed sensitive in protected/
conserved area before and after the project

Sustainable Water
and Wastewater
Management
• Changes in the CO2, nutrient and/or pH levels for coastal vegetation, and coral reefs in %28
• Absolute number of invading species and/or area occupied by invading species in m² or km² before
and after the project

Benchmarks:
• IUCN Categories for Protected Areas (https://www.iucn.org/theme/protected-areas/about/
protected-area-categories) and Management Effectiveness Tool (https://www.iucn.org/sites/dev/

and Resource
Management
Efficiency
files/import/downloads/maangementeffectiveness2008.pdf)

Waste
Note: Indicators referencing differences “before and after the project” may use ex-ante estimates of the project results before project
completion.

B. Landscape conservation/restoration

Transportation
Including Reducing Emissions from Deforestation and Forest Degradation (REDD)

Clean
Indicators:
• Maintenance/safeguarding/increase of natural landscape area (including forest) in km² and in % for
increase
• Maintenance/safeguarding/increase of natural landscape area in urban areas in km² and in % for
increase

Buildings
• Increase of area under certified land management29 in km² or m² and in % (in bufferzones of protected

Green
areas) 30
• Absolute number of indigenous species, flora or fauna (trees, shrubs and grasses…) restored through
the project
• Annual GHG emissions reduced in tCO2-e p.a.
Biodiversity
Benchmarks:
• Internationally recognised benchmark standards for sustainable forest management (e.g. FSC, PEFC,
Rainforest Alliance)
Climate Change
Adaptation

Biodiversity, GIIN, IUCN, UNEP FI, WBCSD and WWF.

27 IUCN-WCPA 2018 definition of OECM is “A geographically defined space, not recognised as a protected area, which is governed and managed over the long-term in ways
Circular Economy
Efficient Projects

that deliver the effective in-situ conservation of biodiversity, with associated ecosystem services and cultural and spiritual values”.
28 Issuers are encouraged to provide additional information for coastal and marine areas, for example on maintenance and restoration of coastal vegetation like mangroves; the
and/or Eco-

increase of health of coral reefs by reducing disease (degree of bleaching, age and size of living corals), as well as by reducing the sedimentation rate, nutrients in water and
direct human damage.
29 Certified land management is an externally audited set of processes and activities that seek to improve environmental and animal welfare outcomes together with
improvements in the productivity and risk management of landholdings.
30 This should not be reported as a sole indicator, but in conjunction with information on the corresponding protected area.

Handbook – Harmonised Framework for Impact Reporting June 2021 29

 Renewable
Other Sustainability Indicators

Energy
• Number of conservation workers (e.g. game wardens, rangers, natural park officials) trained in
biodiversity conservation
• Number of forestry personnel trained in biodiversity conservation
• Number of farmers trained in sustainable farming and biodiversity
• Improvement of income of local populations in percentage

Efficiency
Energy
• Number and/or capacity of nurseries created under the project in terms of seedlings or number of
individual trees/shrubs per year

Guidance and Definitions for Additional Human Rights and Social Disclosures

Sustainable Water
Assessing the improvements in living conditions for communities upholds the primacy of human

and Wastewater
Management
rights considerations, which may include:

1. The right to free, prior and informed consultation and consent (FPIC) of indigenous peoples,

2. Other participation and co-determination rights, including complaint mechanisms,

3. Resettlements and restricted access to and use of natural resources (physical and economic displacement)

and Resource
Management
resulting from the establishment and management of protected areas,

Efficiency

Waste
4. Rebuilding the livelihoods of the local population, compensation arrangements,

5. Human rights violations in the context of combating poaching and law enforcement,

6. Handling historical cases of injustice concerning the establishment of protected areas (e.g. lack of

Transportation
consultation, lack of support for rebuilding lost livelihoods) that still have an impact on the present day-
situation.

Clean
Buildings
Green
Biodiversity
Climate Change
Adaptation
Circular Economy
Efficient Projects
and/or Eco-

Handbook – Harmonised Framework for Impact Reporting June 2021 30

 Renewable
8. Climate Change Adaptation

Energy
The indicators proposed herein aim to capture and illustrate the environmental and other sustainability
benefits of projects relating to climate change adaptation, which are recognised by the GBP for Green
Projects under one of the ten broad categories of eligibility for Green Projects:

“climate change adaptation (including efforts to make infrastructure more resilient to impacts of climate
change, as well as information support systems, such as climate observation and early warning systems)”

Efficiency
Energy
Climate change adaptation projects are sector and context specific, and therefore no proposed set of
indicators will likely cover all sectors and contexts. Nevertheless, the authors believe that there is a significant
benefit in offering exemplars for a range of such projects.

Sustainable Water
We understand adaptation projects to be those that are focused on enhancing preparedness and resilience

and Wastewater
Management
to expected changes in climate, as well as any actual changes experienced. This would not only include
projects that seek to moderate or avoid its likely or potential harmful effects on people, nature and/or
economic activities and assets (e.g. infrastructure, buildings), but may also encompass those investments
that provide sustained adaptive solutions, such as fireproof roofs and other building elements to withstand
higher temperatures, water-management systems for irrigation, and climate change monitoring systems.
While the terms “climate change adaptation” and “climate resilience” may be defined distinctly to differentiate
between the adaptation actions taken in order to achieve the goal of resilience, we believe that for the

and Resource
purposes of providing indicators, climate change adaptation and/or resilient projects and investments may

Management
Efficiency
be used interchangeably.

Waste
According to the Climate Bond Initiative’s Climate Resilience Principles31, there are two types of climate
resilience investments: those that are primarily focused on enhancing the resilience of an asset; and those
that principally seek to enhance the resilience of the broader system. There are nevertheless interlinkages
between the two, and it is important in evaluating the impact of any climate adaptation investment that there
is no negative impact on the system of which it forms part. A context-specific approach is always required

Transportation
in climate change adaptation32, reflecting the importance of the geographic and location specific context

Clean
in the assessment of the project’s climate vulnerabilities and the identification of appropriate solutions. This
highlights the importance of additional disclosures, such as the national, regional and local vulnerabilities
and physical climate-related risks.

The following flow chart provides guidance for projects that are primarily focused on enhancing the resilience
of an asset:

Buildings
Green
Process-based approach to climate change adaptation

Biodiversity
Climate Change
Adaptation
Circular Economy
Efficient Projects
and/or Eco-

Source: KfW 2020

31 http://www.climatebonds.net/adaptation-and-resilience
32 As set out in the Joint MDB Adaptation Finance Tracking Methodology.

Handbook – Harmonised Framework for Impact Reporting June 2021 31

 Renewable
While this document proposes certain quantitative impact reporting metrics, providing qualitative information

Energy
is of particular relevance for climate change adaptation/resilience projects. This document aims to provide a
meaningful context for understanding the baseline situation and the amelioration of the assessed vulnerability
as a result of the project. Relevant disclosures may include climate change scenarios, time horizons and
processes employed for determining the key weather and climate-related risks and their likely relative
probability and severity, as well as all strategies, actions and plans for managing the vulnerabilities.

Where a project is deemed to deliver significant climate resilience benefits to GHG emission intensive assets

Efficiency
Energy
or operations, issuers should disclose their approach and their assessment of the extent of the relative trade-
off between climate mitigation and climate resilience.

Impact reporting on climate resilience investments is typically at an outcome level33 on an ex-ante basis measured
against the expected situation in a “no action” scenario. Such assets may be most easily categorised relative to

Sustainable Water
the climate-related hazard34 that the climate change adaptation/resilience project(s) seek(s) to address, withstand

and Wastewater
Management
and/or ameliorate. Some projects may be deemed to relate to more than one climate hazard, such as the
reforesting of coastal land, which may serve to reduce wave and flood damage, as well as reducing erosion, and
the expected impacts of such projects may therefore be reported in relation to all relevant climate hazards.

This document builds on the previous work published by the GBP Impact Reporting Working Group,
including for impact reporting on sustainable water and wastewater projects, clean transportation, green
buildings and biodiversity projects. The indicators proposed here focus only on supplementary indicators

and Resource
associated with climate change adaptation/resilience projects, and issuers are encouraged to report the

Management
Efficiency
co-benefits of projects with reference to such other suggested metrics.

Waste
For the purpose of data quality, issuers are encouraged to disclose additional technical reports and/or data
verification protocols where supplementary information could be provided, as well as links to the sources of
such data and methods of calculation. The robustness of disclosures and/or the underlying methodology
may be enhanced by making available any independent assessment from consultants, verification bodies
and/or institutions with recognised expertise in environmental sustainability.

Transportation
Clean
Examples of Climate-Related Hazards and Adaptation/Resilience Outcomes

Climate Hazard: Examples: Adaptation Outcomes

Heatwaves
Cold snaps
Wildfires
Temperature-Related: Reduce or avoid damage/disruption
Temperature variability
Thawing of the permafrost

Buildings
Increasing heat stress

Green
Typhoons/hurricanes
Wind-Related: Dust Reduce or avoid damage/disruption
Storms/sandstorms
Floods/heavy precipitation
Droughts Reduce or avoid damage/disruption
Glacial flooding
Water-Related:
Rising sea-levels
Increasing water stress Increase water availability
Hydrological variability
Biodiversity

Landslides
Reduce or avoid damage/disruption
Avalanches
Land-Related: Subsidence
Soil erosion
Increase productivity
Soil degradation

Climate-related damage to assets may result in a rise in risk frequency and/or harm to assets/life/livelihoods
or in a reduction in the serviceable life of assets.
Climate Change
Adaptation

Climate-related disruption may result in lost revenue or income through the reduction in the amount of
time that a system or a component of a system is operable, or due to a lowering of the productivity of the
system or asset.

It is also possible to categorise climate change adaptation projects in terms of sectors (e.g. health,
Circular Economy

infrastructure, agriculture), as another means of reflecting that projects may need to be designed to cope
Efficient Projects
and/or Eco-

with multiple hazards, and an illustrative guide is provided in the Appendix.

33 In line with the Climate Resilience Metrics Framework developed by the Multilateral Development Banks and development finance institutions:
https://www.ebrd.com/cs/Satellite?c=Content&cid=1395285114859&pagename=EBRD%2FContent%2FDownloadDocument
34 A classification of climate-related hazards is set out in the EU Sustainable Finance Taxonomy: https://ec.europa.eu/info/publications/sustainable-finance-teg-taxonomy_en

Handbook – Harmonised Framework for Impact Reporting June 2021 32

 Renewable
Exemplary Indicators

Energy
A. Temperature-Related
Indicators:
#1 Reducing or avoiding weather-related damage
• Increase in grid resilience, energy generation, transmission/distribution and storage in MWh

Efficiency
Energy
• Reduction in the number of wildfires, and/or in the area damaged by wildfires in km²
• Reduction in emergency and unplanned rail and tarmac replacement in km

#2 Reducing or avoiding weather-related disruption

• Increase in grid resilience, generation and storage in MWh

Sustainable Water
and Wastewater
Management
B. Wind-Related
Indicators:
#3 Reducing or avoiding weather-related damage
• Reduction in repair costs due to storms (to all kinds of infrastructure and assets)

and Resource
Management
#4 Reducing or avoiding weather-related disruption

Efficiency

Waste
• Reduction in the number of customers/employees suffering loss of power/transport services
• Reduction in the number of power lines incapacitated due to storms

C. Water-Related
Indicators:

Transportation
#5 Reducing or avoiding weather-related damage

Clean
• Reduction in flood damage costs
• Reduction in number of operating days lost to floods
• Reduced/avoided water loss (in reservoirs/waterways/natural habitats etc.) in m³
• Reduction in land-loss from inundation and/or coastal erosion in km²

Buildings
#6 Reducing or avoiding weather-related disruption

Green
• Reduction in number of operating days lost to floods

#7 Increased water availability

• Additional water availability and/or increased water catchment in m³/year
• Reduction in household demand for clean water in m³/year
Biodiversity

D. Land-Related
Indicators:
#8 Reducing or avoiding weather-related damage
• Reduction in repair costs and/or operating days lost due to landslides
Climate Change
Adaptation

• Increase in area under wetland management in km²

#9 Reducing or avoiding weather-related disruption

• Reduction in the number of operating days lost to disrupted transport networks or other infrastructure

#10 Increased agricultural productivity

Circular Economy
Efficient Projects
and/or Eco-

• Reduction in changes in the nutrient and/or pH level for agricultural soils

• Increase in agricultural land using more drought resistant crops in hectares
• Area cultivated by precision agriculture in km²

Handbook – Harmonised Framework for Impact Reporting June 2021 33

 Renewable
Other Sustainability Indicators

Energy
• Increased number of urban residents with access to thermally safe conditions in buildings/transport
systems
• Increased number of households with access to resilient energy systems
• Increased number of people/businesses/acres with secure water supply
• Decrease in climate-related risk insurance premia

Efficiency
Energy
• Reduced number of people suffering from flood-related infections
• Reduced number of people evacuated/injured/displaced/economically unproductive due to climate-
related hazards
• Reduction in workforce absenteeism due to climate-related health impacts

Sustainable Water
and Wastewater
• Reduced/avoided loss of livestock and/or crops

Management
• Number of kms of road, rail or other infrastructure adapted
• Decrease in the number of days between a disaster and the related response and recovery

and Resource
Management
Efficiency

Waste
Transportation
Clean
Buildings
Green
Biodiversity
Climate Change
Adaptation
Circular Economy
Efficient Projects
and/or Eco-

Handbook – Harmonised Framework for Impact Reporting June 2021 34

 Renewable
Appendix

Energy
A sectoral categorisation of climate adaptation/resilience projects may include, but is not limited to the
following examples:

- Health
• Direct effect (drowning from floods, stroke from temperature, etc.) and non-communicable
disease

Efficiency
Energy
• Vector-borne
• Water-borne
• Malnutrition
• Labour productivity (especially outdoor)

Sustainable Water
and Wastewater
- Infrastructure

Management
• Power system
– Repairs (in pecuniary value)
– Reliability of service (in days with disruptions)
• Water system
– Repairs

and Resource
Management
– Reliability of service

Efficiency

Waste
• Transport system
– Repairs
– Reliability of service
• Communication system
– Repairs

Transportation
– Reliability of service

Clean
• Flood management
- Human settlements and buildings
• Operation and maintenance (e.g, air conditioning costs)
• Repairs (e.g., flood damages)
• Quality of life (e.g., thermal comfort, death risks)

Buildings
Green
- Agriculture and forestry and food security
• Food production and costs
• Soil and water conservation
- Ecosystem and environment
• Biodiversity
Biodiversity

• Services (e.g., water filtration, flood control)

- Social systems
• Social protection
• Financial inclusion
• Health care coverage
Climate Change

- Information and decision-making

Adaptation

• Data collection
• Early warning systems
• Data dissemination and decision support to include future climate risks in decision-making
Circular Economy
Efficient Projects
and/or Eco-

Handbook – Harmonised Framework for Impact Reporting June 2021 35

 Renewable
9. Circular Economy and/or Eco-Efficient Projects

Energy
The indicators proposed herein aim to capture and illustrate the environmental and sustainability benefits of
circular economy and/or eco-efficient projects, which are recognised by the GBP under one of the ten broad
categories of eligibility for Green Projects:

“circular economy adapted products, production technologies and processes (such as the design
and introduction of reusable, recyclable and refurbished materials, components and products; circular tools

Efficiency
Energy
and services); and/or certified eco-efficient products”

This document builds on previous work published by the GBP Impact Reporting Working Group, including
that entitled “Suggested Impact Reporting Metrics for Waste Management and Resource-Efficiency Project”
in February 2018, and thus the indicators proposed here are supplementary and specific for circular economy

Sustainable Water
and/or eco-efficiency projects.

and Wastewater
Management
While this document proposes certain quantitative impact reporting metrics, the GBP also encourages issuers
to provide qualitative information, which is especially relevant in relation to circular economy projects. Such
qualitative information is encouraged to provide for a meaningful contextualisation of the baseline situation
and the improved solution as a result of the project (e.g. achievement of circularity). For circular economy
projects, qualitative information is especially important in order to highlight how a project, a component of
a project and/or a business contributes substantially to the circular economy, thereby differentiating it from

and Resource
linear resource efficiency projects that optimise or reduce resource use, but without increasing value retention

Management
Efficiency
or value recovery. The geographical context is relevant, for instance, in understanding what biodegradable

Waste
waste may be considered as waste. Qualitative information is also critical in understanding, the management
and mitigation of risks associated with projects such as when the use of bio-based inputs may be deemed
to jeopardise food sources.

In contrast to the linear economy of “take-make-waste”, the circular economy may be understood to design
out waste and pollution, maintain the utility and the value of materials and products for as long as possible

Transportation
while minimising the need for material and other resource inputs, such as energy, water and land, as well

Clean
as to use/reuse waste productively for alternative eco-efficient resources and products. While the definition
may also be extended to the regeneration of natural systems, this may be better covered through the Green
Bond Principles eligible Green Project category of “environmentally sustainable management of living natural
resources and land use”. The authors of this document acknowledge the importance of harmonisation for
such projects, for which additional suitable indicators will need to be developed in the future.

While it is acknowledged that energy recovery from waste is not only preferable to landfill, it may also

Buildings
Green
contribute to climate change mitigation through minimising the use of fossil fuels, it is not deemed to
contribute substantially to the circular economy, especially by comparison with projects that reprocess waste
into new products or materials. Any climate change mitigation co-benefits should, therefore, reference the
suggested impact reporting metrics for Renewable Energy/Energy-Efficiency projects (see sections 1 and
2 above).
Biodiversity
Climate Change
Adaptation
Circular Economy
Efficient Projects
and/or Eco-

Handbook – Harmonised Framework for Impact Reporting June 2021 36

 Renewable
The circular economy has been presented in the following Value Hill Business Model35 schematic form:

Energy
Efficiency
Energy
Sustainable Water
and Wastewater
Management
and Resource
Management
Efficiency

Waste
Transportation
As can be seen from this diagrammatic representation, the circular economy focuses on the following key

Clean
components:

Repair Repair and maintain a product to restore it to its original function.

Reuse Reusing a product for its original function that is in good condition.
Refurbish Restoring, reconditioning and updating an old product to a requisite quality.

Buildings
Remanufacture Reusing and refurbishing parts of a discarded products for a new product with the

Green
same function, or repurpose the product or part for a new product with a different
function.
Recycle Recovering materials from waste for reprocessing into new products or materials,
whether for the original or other purposes.
Biodiversity
Note: A high-quality circularity of material should be favoured over downcycling. Also, energy recovery
should not be included.

These 5 “R’s” of the circular economy have been further extended to cover the importance of “rethinking”
the design of products and their use, including through the design of multi-functional products and through
a focus on re-use through sharing. The “removal” of toxic chemicals in a redesigned product further extends
the list of “R”s.
Climate Change
Adaptation

As reflected both in the schematic and the “Rs”, in contrast to linear resource efficiency projects, the positive
impact of circular economy projects may be assessed by the reduced input and/or substitution of virgin, finite
resources (e.g. through the use of recycled or renewable content), increased asset utilisation (e.g. through
designing for durability or sharing models) and in the extended or enhanced value of the output (e.g. through
product design for repair, new products with circular features or regenerated natural assets).
Circular Economy
Efficient Projects

Further guidance and criteria to assist issuers in identifying circular economy projects or components can be
and/or Eco-

found in the European Commission report: “Categorisation system for the circular economy” which provides

35 From: Elisa Achterberg, Jeroen Hinfelaar, Nancy Bocken, “The Value Hill Business Model Tool: identifying gaps and opportunities in a circular network” (2016)

Handbook – Harmonised Framework for Impact Reporting June 2021 37

 Renewable
a sector-agnostic approach for activities contributing to circular economy.36 In addition, the Ellen MacArthur

Energy
Foundation’s paper “Financing the circular economy - Capturing the opportunity”37 provides an overview of
circular practices, growth drivers and examples in 10 key sectors, selected to demonstrate a broad range
of circular economy opportunities.

The proposed core and other sustainability indicators are designed to facilitate quantitative reporting at a
project and/or at a portfolio level across geographies.

Efficiency
Energy
For meaningful aggregation of indicators across projects, consistency in the methods of calculation, baselines
and benchmarks would be required. Thus, for the purpose of data quality, issuers are encouraged to disclose
additional technical reports and/or data verification protocols where additional information could be provided
as well as links to the sources of such data and methods of calculation38.

Sustainable Water
While an evaluation of circular economy projects should typically be assessed on a lifecycle basis, in

and Wastewater
Management
connection with Green Bond issuance that may be significantly shorter than the expected lifetime of the
project, this can be translated into a per annum impact, as reflected in the suggested indicators.

Core Indicators for Circular Economy and Eco-Efficiency Projects:

A. Circular Design and Production Projects
#1) Design, development, sustainable production and/or use of materials (including bio-based

and Resource
Management
materials), components and products that are reusable, recyclable or certified compostable

Efficiency

Waste
Indicators:
• The % increase in materials, components and products that are reusable, recyclable, and/or certified
compostable as a result of the project and/or in absolute amount in tonnes p.a.
• The increased proportion of circular materials produced as a % of the total material production of the
project

Transportation
• Waste that is prevented, minimised, reused or recycled before and after the project in % of total waste

Clean
and/or as absolute amount in tonnes p.a.
• Reduction or removal of harmful substances (persistent, carcinogenic, mutagenic, reprotoxic) used in
% in comparison to the original design and/or in absolute amount in tonnes p.a.

#2) Design and production of components, products and assets that support the circular economy
through increasing the functionality, durability, modularity and ease of repair

Buildings
Green
Indicators:
• Increase in components, products or assets with circular design as a result of the project in valorised
amount, in % of the total product portfolio, and/or absolute amount in tonnes p.a.
• The extended warranty period compared to the market standard in years, or the expected extension of
lifetime in years (compared to the equivalent linear product’s expected lifetime) Biodiversity
• The % of single use products replaced by products designed and produced for reuse

#3) Substitution of virgin materials with secondary raw materials and by-products
Indicators:
• The % and/or absolute amount in tonnes p.a. of virgin raw materials that are substituted by secondary
raw materials and by-products from manufacturing processes
Climate Change
Adaptation

Benchmarks:
Internationally recognised benchmark standards, including current EU standards for the quality of materials/
products as well as use of chemical substances (e.g. REACH), Cradle to Cradle Product Institute’s C2C
Guideline39, the ISCC Certification System40, or APR Postconsumer Resin (PCR) Certification Program41
Circular Economy
Efficient Projects

36 In future, the EU taxonomy is expected to provide a framework with specific criteria to support the identification and validation of activities that substantially contribute to the
circular economy across various sectors
and/or Eco-

37 https://www.ellenmacarthurfoundation.org/assets/downloads/Financing-the-circular-economy.pdf
38 Issuer-level tools exist e.g. Circulytics: https://www.ellenmacarthurfoundation.org/resources/apply/circulytics-measuring-circularity
39 https://cdn.c2ccertified.org/resources/certification/standard/v4_2nd_draft_docs_FOR_PUBLIC_COMMENT_FINAL_071420.pdf
40 https://www.iscc-system.org/about/circular-economy/certification-examples
41 https://plasticsrecycling.org/apr-pcr-certification

Handbook – Harmonised Framework for Impact Reporting June 2021 38

 Renewable
Notes:

Energy
• Bio-based materials should be clearly traceable to regenerative or sustainable biomass production and
not induce significant competition for land and water use regarding the sourcing of raw agricultural
material
• Clear labelling for recyclability and compostability is best practice, (e.g https://www.oneplanetnetwork.
org/resource/can-i-recycle-global-mapping-and-assessment-standards-labels-and-claims-plastic-
packaging and https://bpiworld.org/products.html)

Efficiency
Energy
• Reference should be made to relevant legislation, international conventions and/or protocols to ensure
that the secondary raw materials and by-products are not harmful

B. Circular Use
#4) Production of new products or assets from redundant products and assets that have been

Sustainable Water
and Wastewater
repurposed, refurbished or remanufactured

Management
Indicators:
• Increase in products or parts derived from redundant products or components in valorised amount, in
% of the total product portfolio, and/or in absolute amount in tonnes p.a.
• Increase in the number of end-of-design life or redundant immovable assets that have been refurbished
and/or repurposed and/or area in m²

and Resource
Management
• Redundant products that have been repurposed, refurbished or remanufactured as a result of the

Efficiency

Waste
project as a % of total products to be discarded and/or in absolute amount in tonnes p.a.
• The expected extension of lifetime in years (compared to the equivalent linear product’s expected
lifetime)

Notes:

Transportation
• Efforts to promote the life extension of products or assets must not compromise the ability to:
– recover or recycle the products/movable assets or their associated materials at the end of a new

Clean
life-cycle,
– disassemble the immovable asset(s) (buildings/infrastructure/facilities) and reuse/recycle their
associated materials at the end of life, and
– align with the fundamental environmental goals of minimising energy use and reducing pollution.

• Refurbished/remanufactured products/movable assets should meet a generally accepted specific

Buildings
international standard including current EU standards (as new condition in the case of remanufactured

Green
products/assets) and accompanied by relevant warranties for the refurbished assets
• Refurbishing/remanufacturing of products/movable assets should retain a substantial proportion of the
original components/parts/products/assets

C. Circular Value Recovery Biodiversity

#5) Development and sustainable production of new materials from secondary raw materials, by-
products and/or waste
Indicators:
• New materials derived from secondary raw materials, by-products and/or waste in % compared to
total production capacity, and/or in absolute amount in tonnes p.a.
Climate Change

• Annual absolute (gross) amount of secondary raw materials, by-products and/or waste that is
Adaptation

recovered42 in tonnes p.a. and/or in % of total waste that will be used to develop new materials

Notes:
• New materials should be of the same or similar quality and/or suitable for the same or equivalent
application as those made from virgin raw materials
Circular Economy
Efficient Projects
and/or Eco-

42 This excludes energy recovery through waste-to-energy generation.

Handbook – Harmonised Framework for Impact Reporting June 2021 39

 Renewable
#6) Recovery, recirculation and valorisation of biodegradable waste and/or by-products (including

Energy
through anaerobic digestion) for food, feed nutrients, fibres, fertilisers, and, where legally allowed in
the relevant country, cosmetics and medicals
Indicators:
• Annual absolute (gross) amount of biodegradable waste, digestate and compost that is recovered in
tonnes p.a. and/or in % of total waste

Efficiency
• Amount of food, feed nutrients product, fibres or fertiliser produced from biodegradable waste and/or

Energy
by-products in tonnes p.a. or in valorised amount
• Annual absolute amount of secondary raw materials and chemicals recovered in tonnes p.a.

Benchmarks:

Sustainable Water
• Internationally recognised benchmark standards including current EU standards for allowable biomass

and Wastewater
Management
extraction to avoid soil degradation

D. Circular Support and Products

#7) Circular support through tools and services (e.g. sharing platforms and digital infrastructure/
software) that enable circular economy strategies and business models e.g. through reuse and/or
sharing

and Resource
Management
Indicators:

Efficiency

Waste
• Increase in number of clients for tools or services enabling circular economy strategies
• % increase of annual income derived through tools and services enabling circular economy

#8) Eco-efficient products

Indicators:

Transportation
• The increase in number of products and/or the share of production awarded an internationally

Clean
recognised eco-label, or energy, eco-efficiency or other relevant environmental certification

Benchmarks:
• Relevant environmental certification, such as the Nordic eco-label, EU eco-label, FSC PEFC, Cradle to
Cradle Blue Angel and ISO 14021, that serves to recognise products that have a smaller environmental
footprint over their lifecycle than other products serving the same use

Buildings
Green
Other Sustainability Indicators for Circular Economy and Eco-Efficiency Projects:
#1) Rehabilitation of contaminated or depleted areas and brownfield sites
Indicators:
• Rehabilitated areas in km², and the share of which is redeveloped for the same or other use in %
Biodiversity

• Reduction in contaminant levels in mg contaminant kg-¹ soil

#2 Reuse/recycling of wastewater
Indicators:
• Annual absolute (gross) amount of treated wastewater reused/recycled before and after the project in
Climate Change

m³/a
Adaptation

#3 Reduction in carbon intensity through the manufacture of circular economy and/or eco-efficient
products and/or through the provision of services that enable circular economy strategies and
business models
Indicators:
Circular Economy
Efficient Projects

• Reduction in carbon intensity of service in tCO2 eq/unit of service

and/or Eco-

• Reduction in lifecycle GHG emissions of materials through reuse, recycling or composting

Handbook – Harmonised Framework for Impact Reporting June 2021 40

 Renewable
#4 Reduction in air pollution in circular economy and/or eco-efficient production

Energy
Indicators:
• Reduction of NOx or SOx or particulates (PM2.5 and PM10) or VOC before and after the project

#5 Components and processes that are deemed closed loop recycling

Indicator:

Efficiency
Energy
• Number of components/processes or as percentage share of the portfolio or of total production

#6 Improvements in recycling to meet virgin material quality (e.g. for food grade containers)
Indicator:

Sustainable Water
• Number of recycling cycles that the recycled material can withstand

and Wastewater
Management
• % of new products that meet virgin material quality (e.g. eligible food grade packaging)

#7 Components produced through additive manufacturing (3D printing)

Indicator:
• Number of components or as percentage share of the portfolio or of total production

and Resource
Management
#8 Patent applications/commercialisation of patent applications for eco-efficient/circular economy

Efficiency

Waste
products
Indicator:
• Number of patent applications/number of commercialised patent applications

#9 Corporate focus on the design of eco-efficient/circular economy products

Transportation
Indicator:

Clean
• % of corporate workforce dedicated to eco-design
• Number of employees trained in circular economy and/or ecodesign

#10 Collection of products from customers for recycling and/or refurbishment

Indicator:

Buildings
Green
• Number of used products collected from customers for recycling and/or refurbishment

#11 Improved industrial symbiosis and product sharing through clarity of disclosures
Indicator:
• % of products covered by ingredients’ disclosure/ingredients’ passport Biodiversity

Glossary of Terms Used for Circular Economy and Eco-Efficiency Projects:

Bio-based inputs: Inputs of biological origin excluding inputs embedded in geological and/or fossilised
formations.

Biodegradable waste: Any organic matter or residue capable of undergoing anaerobic or aerobic
Climate Change

decomposition from municipal, commercial, industrial or agricultural sources, including (i) biodegradable
Adaptation

garden and park waste, food and kitchen waste from households, offices, restaurants, retail premises and
comparable waste from food processing plants; (ii) organic by-products from agriculture, aquaculture,
fisheries, forestry and related industries; and (iii) organic sludge.

Circular Value Recovery: Recovering secondary raw materials and other valuable by-products from waste
and redundant products to re-use as new products/materials thereby replacing virgin materials.
Circular Economy
Efficient Projects
and/or Eco-

Closed loop recycling: Products returned to circulation for reuse of the materials or components keeping
the original properties.

Handbook – Harmonised Framework for Impact Reporting June 2021 41

 Renewable
Contaminated areas: Areas which are polluted by contaminants including heavy metals (such as lead,

Energy
arsenic, mercury), or organic pollutants.

Downcycling: Recycling a product/material into one of lower quality and functionality.

Eco-efficient products: Products that have a smaller environmental footprint over their life-cycle than other
products serving the same use, and which meet the criteria of internationally recognised eco-labels or other
relevant environmental certifications.

Efficiency
Energy
High-quality circularity: Materials, components or products that derive from reused or recycled sources and
that can be used for longer and/or with greater intensity than the industry average for the relevant material,
component or product.

Sustainable Water
Industrial symbiosis: Engaging traditionally separate industries in a collective approach involving physical

and Wastewater
Management
exchange of materials, energy, water, and/or by-products in order to collectively optimise material and energy
use at efficiencies beyond those achievable by any individual process alone.

Life cycle assessment: An impact evaluation of all relevant energy, material inputs and environmental
releases associated with each process, component product, and/or service over the cycles of design,
production, use, consumption and disposal.

and Resource
Recover: Recovering materials from waste for the purpose of replacing other (virgin) materials.

Management
Efficiency

Waste
Recycle: Recovering materials from waste for reprocessing into new products, materials or substances with
a high-quality circularity of materials favoured over downcycling, and with energy recovery excluded.

Redundant products: Products that are not in use anymore but would still work or have become completely
non-functional.

Transportation
Refurbish: Restoring, reconditioning and updating an old product to a requisite quality.

Clean
Remanufacture: Reusing and refurbishing parts of a discarded products for a new product with the same
function, or repurpose the product or part for a new product with a different function without compromising
the quality and functionality of the product, such that a remanufactured component is in as-new condition
with the same warranty as a new component.

Repair: Restore to working order and maintain a product in its original function.

Buildings
Green
Reuse: Reusing a product or component in its original function.

Secondary raw materials: Waste material which has been recycled and injected back into use as productive
material.

Sustainable biomass: Any type of organic matter, including plant or animal materials, residues and waste
Biodiversity

that is cultivated and harvested in a sustainable manner.

Sustainable production: Manufacture of products that incorporates best practices to minimise resource
use, pollution and waste generation.

Upcycling: Process of transforming by-products, waste materials, useless, or unwanted products into new
Climate Change

materials or products perceived to be of greater quality and increased functionality.

Adaptation

Virgin materials: Materials in unprocessed or minimally processed states.

Waste: Unwanted materials or substances, including electronic waste (e-waste).

Circular Economy
Efficient Projects
and/or Eco-

Handbook – Harmonised Framework for Impact Reporting June 2021 42

 Waste
Sustainable Water Circular Economy
Renewable Energy Management Clean Green Climate Change
and Wastewater Biodiversity and/or Eco-
Energy Efficiency and Resource Transportation Buildings Adaptation
Management Efficient Projects
Efficiency

V. Reporting Templates

Notes a/ to f/ in the below templates can be found in page 62

Renewable Energy
Illustrative Summary Template for Project-by-Project Report:

Share of #2) Annual #3) a) #1) Annual

Signed Allocated Project #3) b) Renewable
Renewable Total Project Eligibility for RE generation Renewable GHG emissions
Amount Amount lifetime energy capacity Other Indicators
Energy (RE) Financing green bonds component (electricity/ energy reduced/avoided
a/ c/ d/ rehabilitated
b/ other) capacity added e/
Project name % of signed % of signed MW/ GJ/ in tonnes of CO2
currency % currency in years MW MW
f/ amount amount GWh TJ equivalent
Capacity of RE
plant(s) to be served
by transmission
e.g. Project 2 XX XX XX XX XX XX XX XX XX XX XX systems (MW)
XX t CO2 eq.
Absolute annual
project emissions

Illustrative Summary Template for Portfolio-based Report43:

#1) Annual
Share #2) Annual #3) b) Renewable
Average #3) a) Renewable GHG emissions
Signed of Total Eligibility Allocated generation energy capacity Other Indicators
Renewable RE portfolio energy capacity reduced/avoided
Amount Portfolio for green Amount (electricity/other), rehabilitated (possibly per unit
Energy (RE) component lifetime added (possibly per (possibly per
a/ Financing bonds c/ possibly per unit (possibly per unit of financing)
d/ unit of financing) unit of financing)
b/ of financing of financing)
e/
Portfolio MWh/ in tonnes of CO2
currency % % % currency years GJ/TJ MW MW
name GWh equivalent

Capacity of RE
plant(s) to be served
by transmission
e.g.
XX XX XX XX XX XX XX XX XX XX XX systems (MW)
Portfolio 2
XX t CO2 eq.
Absolute annual
portfolio emissions

43 The issuer should disclose the approach underlying the results (see item 6. of the core principles/recommendations), i.e. specify whether the portfolio report:
• Aggregates project-by-project results including only the pro-rated share (as a percentage of the issuer’s share of the total financing) of the total projects’ results (portfolio report based on project-by-project
allocations), or
• Reports only of the overall results of the portfolio (portfolio report based on portfolio allocations).

Handbook – Harmonised Framework for Impact Reporting June 2021 43

 Waste
Sustainable Water Circular Economy
Renewable Energy Management Clean Green Climate Change
and Wastewater Biodiversity and/or Eco-
Energy Efficiency and Resource Transportation Buildings Adaptation
Management Efficient Projects
Efficiency

Energy Efficiency

Illustrative Summary Template for Project-by-Project Report:

Share of #1) Annual #2) Annual GHG

Signed Allocated Project
Energy Efficiency Total Project Eligibility for green energy savings emissions reduced/
Amount EE component Amount lifetime Other Indicators
(EE) Financing bonds (electricity/ avoided
a/ c/ d/
b/ other) e/
Project name % of signed MWh/ in tonnes of CO2
currency % % of signed amount currency in years GJ/TJ
f/ amount GWh equivalent
XX people benefitted;
XXX t CO2 eq.
e.g. Project 1 XX XX XX XX XX XX XX XX XX
Absolute annual
project emissions

Illustrative Summary Template for Portfolio-based Report:

Share of Total #2) Annual GHG emissions Other Indicators

Signed Eligibility Allocated Average #1) Annual energy savings
Energy Portfolio EE reduced/avoided (possibly per unit (possibly
Amount for green Amount portfolio lifetime (electricity/other), possibly
Efficiency (EE) Financing component per unit of financing) per unit of
a/ bonds c/ d/ per unit of financing
b/ e/ financing)
MWh
Portfolio name currency % % % currency years GJ/TJ in tonnes of CO2 equivalent
/GWh
XX people benefitted;
e.g. XX t CO2 eq.
XX XX XX XX XX XX XX XX XX
Portfolio 1 Absolute annual
project emissions

Handbook – Harmonised Framework for Impact Reporting June 2021 44

 Waste
Sustainable Water Circular Economy
Renewable Energy Management Clean Green Climate Change
and Wastewater Biodiversity and/or Eco-
Energy Efficiency and Resource Transportation Buildings Adaptation
Management Efficient Projects
Efficiency

Sustainable Water and Wastewater Management

Illustrative Summary Template for Project-by-Project Report:

Sustainable Share of #1) Annual absolute

Signed Sustainable Water Allocated Project
Water Total Project Eligibility for (gross) water
Amount Management Amount lifetime Other Indicators
Management Financing green bonds savings
a/ component c/ d/
Projects b/ e/
~ No. of people with access to clean drinking water (or volume of clean
drinking water in m3/a) through infrastructure supporting sustainable
Project name % of signed
currency % % of signed amount currency in years in m /a
3
in % and efficient water use
f/ amount
~N umber of people, or enterprises benefitting from measures to
mitigate the consequences of floods etc.
e.g. Project 1 XX XX XX XX XX XX XX XX

#3) i) Annual absolute

#3) ii) Annual
Share of Sustainable #2) Annual absolute (gross) (gross) amount of raw/
Wastewater Signed Allocated Project absolute (gross)
Total Project Eligibility for Wastewater amount of wastewater untreated sewage sludge
Treatment Amount Amount lifetime amount of sludge Other Indicators
Financing green bonds Management treated, reused or avoided that is treated and
Projects a/ c/ d/ that is reused
b/ Component e/ disposed of
e/
e/
in tonnes of in tonnes ~ No. of people with
Project name % of signed % of signed
currency % currency in years in m3/a in p.e./a in % dry solids in % of dry in % access to improved
f/ amount amount
p.a. solids p.a. sanitation facilities
e.g. Project 2 XX XX XX XX XX XX XX XX XX XX XX XX XX

Handbook – Harmonised Framework for Impact Reporting June 2021 45

 Waste
Sustainable Water Circular Economy
Renewable Energy Management Clean Green Climate Change
and Wastewater Biodiversity and/or Eco-
Energy Efficiency and Resource Transportation Buildings Adaptation
Management Efficient Projects
Efficiency

Sustainable Water and Wastewater Management (continued)

Illustrative Summary Template for Portfolio-based Report:

Share of Average
Sustainable Water Signed Sustainable Water Allocated #1) Annual absolute
Total Projects Eligibility for green Portfolio
Management Amount Management Amount (gross) water savings Other Indicators
Financing bonds lifetime
Portfolios a/ component c/ e/
b/ d/
~No. of people with access to clean drinking water
(or volume of clean drinking water in m3/a) through
in % infrastructure supporting sustainable and efficient
% of signed
Portfolio name currency % % of signed amount currency in years in m3/a (weighted water use
amount
average) ~Number of people, or enterprises benefitting from
measures to mitigate the consequences of floods
etc.
e.g. Portfolio 1 XX XX XX XX XX XX XX XX

#3) i) Annual absolute

Share of Sustainable Average #2) Annual absolute (gross) (gross) amount of raw/ #3) ii) Annual absolute
Wastewater Signed Allocated
Total Project Eligibility for Wastewater Portfolio amount of wastewater treated, untreated sewage sludge (gross) amount of Other
Treatment Amount Amount
Financing green bonds Management lifetime reused or avoided that is treated and sludge that is reused Indicators
Portfolios a/ c/
b/ Component d/ e/ disposed of e/
e/
~No. of
people with
in % in tonnes of in % in tonnes in %
Portfolio % of signed % of signed access to
currency % currency in years in m3/a in p.e./a (weighted dry solids (weighted of dry (weighted
name amount amount improved
average) p.a. average) solids p.a. average)
sanitation
facilities
e.g. Portfolio 2 XX XX XX XX XX XX XX XX XX XX XX XX XX

Handbook – Harmonised Framework for Impact Reporting June 2021 46

 Waste
Sustainable Water Circular Economy
Renewable Energy Management Clean Green Climate Change
and Wastewater Biodiversity and/or Eco-
Energy Efficiency and Resource Transportation Buildings Adaptation
Management Efficient Projects
Efficiency

Waste Management and Resource-Efficiency

Illustrative Summary Template for Project-by-Project Report:

Share of #1) i) Waste prevented, #1) ii) Annual

Waste Management Signed Eligibility Waste Allocated Project
Total Project minimised, reused or GHG emissions
Projects – Resource Amount for green Management Amount lifetime Other Indicators
Financing recycled reduced
Efficiency a/ bonds component c/ d/
b/ e/ e/
~K G of raw material per produced unit before and
after
% of in %
Project name % of signed in tonnes in tonnes of CO2 ~ Added monetary value created using waste
currency % signed currency in years of total
f/ amount p.a. equivalent p.a. ~ Products changed to increase waste reduction
amount waste
~ Tons of secondary raw materials or compost
produced
e.g. Project 1 XX XX XX XX XX XX XX XX XX

Share of Energy #2) i) Annual energy generation #2) ii) Annual energy recovered
Signed Eligibility Allocated Project #2) iii) Annual GHG
Energy Recovery Total Project Recovery from non-recyclable waste from waste (minus any support
Amount for green Amount lifetime emissions reduced
from Waste Projects Financing from Waste (electricity/other energy) fuel) of net energy generated
a/ bonds c/ d/ e/
b/ component e/ e/
% of
Project name % of signed in tonnes of CO2
currency % signed currency in years in MWh/GWh in GJ/TJ in MWh/GWh/KJ
f/ amount equivalent p.a.
amount
e.g. Project 2 XX XX XX XX XX XX XX XX XX XX

#3) Waste separated and/

Share of
Signed Eligibility Pollution Allocated Project or collected and treated or
Pollution Control Total Project
Amount for green Control Amount lifetime disposed in environmentally Other Indicators
Projects Financing
a/ bonds component c/ d/ sound manner
b/
e/

~N umber of people or % of population with access to waste

collection
% of ~ Area with improved regular waste collection service
Project name % of signed in % of total
currency % signed currency in years in tonnes p.a. ~ How many fractions of waste were separated
f/ amount waste
amount ~ Absolute amount or % of residual non-separated waste
~ Number of people or % of population with access to street
sweeping etc.

e.g. Project 3 XX XX XX XX XX XX XX XX

Handbook – Harmonised Framework for Impact Reporting June 2021 47

 Waste
Sustainable Water Circular Economy
Renewable Energy Management Clean Green Climate Change
and Wastewater Biodiversity and/or Eco-
Energy Efficiency and Resource Transportation Buildings Adaptation
Management Efficient Projects
Efficiency

Waste Management and Resource-Efficiency (continued)

Illustrative Summary Template for Portfolio-based Report:

Average #1) i) Waste prevented,

Waste Management Signed Share of Total Waste Allocated #1) ii) Annual GHG
Eligibility for Portfolio minimised, reused or
Portfolios – Amount Projects Financing Management Amount emissions reduced Other Indicators
green bonds lifetime recycled
Resource Efficiency a/ b/ component c/ e/
d/ e/
~ KG of raw material per produced unit before
and after
in % ~ Added monetary value created using waste
% of signed % of signed in tonnes in tonnes of CO2
Portfolio name currency % currency in years of total ~ Products changed to increase waste
amount amount p.a. equivalent p.a.
waste reduction
~ Tons of secondary raw materials or compost
produced
e.g. Portfolio 1 XX XX XX XX XX XX XX XX XX

Share of Energy Average #2) i) Annual energy generation from #2) ii) Annual energy recovered
Energy Recovery Signed Eligibility Allocated #2) iii) Annual GHG
Total Projects Recovery Portfolio non-recyclable waste (electricity/ from waste (minus any support
from Waste Amount for green Amount emissions reduced
Financing from Waste lifetime other energy) fuel) of net energy generated
Portfolios a/ bonds c/ e/
b/ component d/ e/ e/
% of
% of signed in tonnes of CO2
Portfolio name currency % signed currency in years in MWh/GWh in GJ/TJ in MWh/GWh/KJ
amount equivalent p.a.
amount
e.g. Portfolio 2 XX XX XX XX XX XX XX XX XX XX

#3) Waste separated and/

Share of Average
Signed Eligibility Pollution Allocated or collected and treated or
Pollution Control Total Projects Portfolio
Amount for green Control Amount disposed in environmentally Other Indicators
Portfolios Financing lifetime
a/ bonds component c/ sound manner
b/ d/
e/
~ Number of people or % of population with access to waste collection
~ Area with improved regular waste collection service
% of
% of signed in % of total ~ How many fractions of waste were separated
Portfolio name currency % signed currency in years in tonnes p.a.
amount waste ~ Absolute amount or % of residual non-separated waste
amount
~ Number of people or % of population with access to street sweeping
~ Km of street with regular street sweeping service coverage etc.
e.g. Portfolio 3 XX XX XX XX XX XX XX XX

Handbook – Harmonised Framework for Impact Reporting June 2021 48

 Waste
Sustainable Water Circular Economy
Renewable Energy Management Clean Green Climate Change
and Wastewater Biodiversity and/or Eco-
Energy Efficiency and Resource Transportation Buildings Adaptation
Management Efficient Projects
Efficiency

Clean Transportation

Illustrative Summary Template for Project-by-Project Report:

Passenger-kilometres
Share Annual GHG
Clean and/or passengers
Clean Signed of Total Eligibility Allocated Project emissions Reduction of air
Transportation or
Transportation Amount Project for green Amount lifetime reduced/ pollutants Other Indicators
project tonne-kilometres and/or
Projects a/ Financing bonds c/ d/ avoided e/
component tonnes
b/ e/
e/
~ Annual Absolute (gross) GHG
Particulate matter (PM), emissions in tCO2–e
sulphur oxides (SOx), ~ Number of clean vehicles deployed
Passenger Tonne in tonnes
% of nitrogen oxides (NOx), (e.g. electric)
Project name % of signed kilometres kilometres of CO2
currency % signed currency in years carbon monoxide (CO), ~ Estimated reduction in car/truck use
f/ amount and/or and/or equivalent
amount and non-methane volatile in number of kilometres driven or as
passengers tonnes p.a.
organic compounds share of total transport ridership
(NMVOCs) ~ Estimated reduction in fuel
consumption
e.g. Project 1 XX XX XX XX XX XX XX XX XX XX XX

Construction Passenger-kilometres and/

Construction Share Annual GHG
of Clean or passengers
of Clean Signed of Total Eligibility Allocated Project emissions Reduction of air
Transportation or
Transportation Amount Project for green Amount lifetime reduced/ pollutants Other Indicators
Infrastructure tonne-kilometres and/or
Infrastructure a/ Financing bonds c/ d/ avoided e/
project tonnes
Projects b/ e/
component e/
~ Annual Absolute (gross) GHG emissions
Particulate matter
in tCO2–e
(PM), sulphur oxides
~ Total in kilometres of new or improved
Passenger Tonne in tonnes (SOx), nitrogen
% of train lines/dedicated bus, BRT, LRT
Project name % of signed kilometres kilometres of CO2 oxides (NOx), carbon
currency % signed currency in years corridors bicycle lanes
f/ amount and/or and/or equivalent monoxide (CO), and
amount ~ Reduction in weather-related disruption
passengers tonnes p.a. non-methane volatile
(days p.a). and/or risk frequency (%)
organic compounds
~ Ambient noise reduction from the
(NMVOCs)
transport infrastructure in decibels etc.
e.g. Project 1 XX XX XX XX XX XX XX XX XX XX XX

Handbook – Harmonised Framework for Impact Reporting June 2021 49

 Waste
Sustainable Water Circular Economy
Renewable Energy Management Clean Green Climate Change
and Wastewater Biodiversity and/or Eco-
Energy Efficiency and Resource Transportation Buildings Adaptation
Management Efficient Projects
Efficiency

Clean Transportation (continued)

Illustrative Summary Template for Portfolio-based Report:

Passenger-kilometres
Share Annual GHG
Clean and/or passengers
Clean Signed of Total Eligibility Allocated Portfolio emissions Reduction of air
Transportation or
Transportation Amount Project for green Amount lifetime reduced/ pollutants Other Indicators
portfolio tonne-kilometres and/or
Portfolios a/ Financing bonds c/ d/ avoided e/
component tonnes
b/ e/
e/
~A  nnual Absolute (gross) GHG
Particulate matter (PM), emissions in tCO2–e
sulphur oxides (SOx), ~ Number of clean vehicles deployed
Passenger Tonne in tonnes
% of nitrogen oxides (NOx), (e.g. electric)
% of signed kilometres kilometres of CO2
Portfolio name currency % signed currency in years carbon monoxide (CO), ~ Estimated reduction in car/truck use
amount and/or and/or equivalent
amount and non-methane volatile in number of kilometres driven or as
passengers tonnes p.a.
organic compounds share of total transport ridership
(NMVOCs) ~ Estimated reduction in fuel
consumption
e.g. Portfolio 1 XX XX XX XX XX XX XX XX XX XX XX

Construction Passenger-kilometres and/

Construction Share Annual GHG
of Clean or passengers
of Clean Signed of Total Eligibility Allocated Portfolio emissions Reduction of air
Transportation or
Transportation Amount Project for green Amount lifetime reduced/ pollutants Other Indicators
Infrastructure tonne-kilometres and/or
Infrastructure a/ Financing bonds c/ d/ avoided e/
portfolio tonnes
Portfolios b/ e/
component e/
~ Annual Absolute (gross) GHG
emissions in tCO2–e
Particulate matter (PM), ~ Total in kilometres of new or improved
sulphur oxides (SOx), train lines/dedicated bus, BRT, LRT
Passenger Tonne in tonnes
% of nitrogen oxides (NOx), corridors bicycle lanes
% of signed kilometres kilometres of CO2
Portfolio name currency % signed currency in years carbon monoxide (CO), ~ Reduction in weather-related
amount and/or and/or equivalent
amount and non-methane volatile disruption (days p.a). and/or risk
passengers tonnes p.a.
organic compounds frequency (%)
(NMVOCs) ~ Ambient noise reduction from the
transport infrastructure in decibels
etc.
e.g. Portfolio 1 XX XX XX XX XX XX XX XX XX XX XX

Handbook – Harmonised Framework for Impact Reporting June 2021 50

 Waste
Sustainable Water Circular Economy
Renewable Energy Management Clean Green Climate Change
and Wastewater Biodiversity and/or Eco-
Energy Efficiency and Resource Transportation Buildings Adaptation
Management Efficient Projects
Efficiency

Green Buildings

Illustrative Core Indicator Summary Template for Project-by-Project Report 26

Share
Gross
Green Signed of Total Eligibility Green Allocated Project #1) Final and/or Primary #3) Water #4) Waste
Building #2) Carbon reductions #5) Certification
Building Amount Project for green Building Amount lifetime Energy Use efficiency management
Area e/ Standard
Projects a/ Financing bonds component c/ d/ e/ e/ e/
(GBA)
b/
waste
minimised,
tonnes annual
% of % of % of reused,
kWh/ kgCO2/ of CO2 m³/ water
Project % of % of energy renewable carbon recycled waste
m² of m² of equiv. m² of savings certification
name currency % signed signed currency in years in m² use energy emissions in % of removed type
GBA GBA reduced/ GBA in m³/a level
f/ amount amount reduced/ generated reduced/ total waste in tonnes
p.a. p.a. avoided p.a. and/or
avoided on site avoided and/or in
p.a. in %
tonnes
p.a.
e.g.
XX XX XX XX XX XX XX XX XX XX XX XX XX XX XX XX XX XX XX
Project 1

Illustrative Core Indicator Summary Template for Portfolio-based Report44:

Share
Average Gross
Green Signed of Total Eligibility Green Allocated #1) Final and/or Primary #3) Water #4) Waste
Portfolio Building #2) Carbon reductions #5) Certification
Building Amount Project for green Building Amount Energy Use efficiency management
lifetime Area e/ Standard
Portfolios a/ Financing bonds component c/ e/ e/ e/
d/ (GBA)
b/

waste
tonnes minimised,
annual
% of % of kgCO2/ of CO2 % of reused, waste
kWh/ m³/ water
% of % of energy renewable carbon recycled in re-
Portfolio m² of m² of equiv. m² of savings certification
currency % signed signed currency in years in m² use energy emissions % of total moved type
name GBA GBA reduced/ reduced/ GBA in m³/a level
amount amount reduced/ generated waste in
p.a. p.a. avoided p.a. and/or
avoided on site avoided and/or in tonnes
p.a. in %
tonnes
p.a.

e.g.
XX XX XX XX XX XX XX XX XX XX XX XX XX XX XX XX XX XX XX
Portfolio 1

44 Please add other indicators (see “Other Sustainability Indicators” in Chapter on Green Buildings) as applicable.

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 Waste
Sustainable Water Circular Economy
Renewable Energy Management Clean Green Climate Change
and Wastewater Biodiversity and/or Eco-
Energy Efficiency and Resource Transportation Buildings Adaptation
Management Efficient Projects
Efficiency

Biodiversity

Illustrative Summary Template for Portfolio-based Report:

Changes Number of
Share Maintenance/ Number of predefined in the CO2, invading species
Signed of Total Allocated Project safeguarding target or protected nutrient and/ and/or area
Protected areas/ Eligibility for Biodiversity Other
Amount Projects Amount lifetime increase7 of organisms/species before or pH levels occupied by
OECM projects green bonds component Indicators
a/ Financing c/ d/ protected area/ and after the project for coastal invading species
b/ OECM/habitat Other Indicators vegetation, and before and after
coral reefs8
the project

per m²
Project name % of signed % of signed per km²
currency % currency in years km² % (smaller % per km² per m²
f/ amount amount (bigger fauna)
fauna, flora)

e.g. number of
game wardens/
e.g. Project 1 XX XX XX XX XX XX XX XX XX XX XX XX XX rangers trained
in biodiversity
conservation etc.

Number of
Share Maintenance/ indigenous
Increase of area under Annual GHG
Landscape Signed of Total Allocated Project safeguarding/ species,
Eligibility for Biodiversity certified land management emissions
conservation and Amount Projects Amount lifetime increase4 of flora or fauna Other Indicators
green bonds component (in bufferzones of protected reduced
restoration projects a/ Financing c/ d/ natural landscape restored
areas) e/
b/ area through the
project

Project name % of signed % of signed absolute in tonnes of CO2

currency % currency in years km² % km² %
f/ amount amount number equivalent

e.g. number of
farmers trained
e.g. Project 1 XX XX XX XX XX XX XX XX XX XX XX XX in sustainable
farming and
biodiversity etc.

4 5 4 6

45 Issuers should specify if “maintenance”, “safeguarding” or “increase” applies.

46 Issuers are encouraged to provide additional information for coastal and marine areas, for example on maintenance and restoration of coastal vegetation like mangroves; the increase of health of coral reefs by reducing disease (degree of bleaching, age and size of living corals), as
well as by reducing the sedimentation rate, nutrients in water and direct human damage.

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 Waste
Sustainable Water Circular Economy
Renewable Energy Management Clean Green Climate Change
and Wastewater Biodiversity and/or Eco-
Energy Efficiency and Resource Transportation Buildings Adaptation
Management Efficient Projects
Efficiency

Biodiversity (continued)

Illustrative Summary Template for Portfolio-based Report:

Changes Number of
Share Maintenance/ in the CO2, invading species
Average Number of predefined
Signed of Total Allocated safeguarding/ nutrient and/ and/or area
Protected areas/ Eligibility for Biodiversity portfolio target or protected
Amount Projects Amount increase9 of or pH levels occupied by Other Indicators
OECM projects green bonds component lifetime organisms/species before
a/ Financing c/ protected area/ for coastal invading species
d/ and after the project
b/ OECM/ habitat vegetation, and before and after
coral reefs10 the project

per m²
% of signed % of signed per km²
Portfolio name currency % currency in years km² % (smaller % per km² per m²
amount amount (bigger fauna)
fauna, flora)

e.g. number of
game wardens/
e.g. Portfolio 1 XX XX XX XX XX XX XX XX XX XX XX XX XX rangers trained
in biodiversity
conservation etc.

Number of
Share Maintenance/ indigenous
Landscape Average Increase of area under Annual GHG
Signed of Total Allocated safeguarding/ species,
conservation Eligibility for Biodiversity portfolio certified land management emissions
Amount Projects Amount increase4 of flora or fauna Other Indicators
and restoration green bonds component lifetime (in bufferzones of protected reduced
a/ Financing c/ natural landscape restored
portfolios d/ areas) e/
b/ area through the
project

% of signed % of signed absolute in tonnes of CO2

Portfolio name currency % currency in years km² % km² %
amount amount number equivalent

e.g. number of
farmers trained
e.g. Portfolio 1 XX XX XX XX XX XX XX XX XX XX XX XX in sustainable
farming and
biodiversity etc.

47 48

47 Issuers should specify if “maintenance”, “safeguarding” or “increase” applies.

48 Issuers are encouraged to provide additional information for coastal and marine areas, for example on maintenance and restoration of coastal vegetation like mangroves; the increase of health of coral reefs by reducing disease (degree of bleaching, age and size of living corals), as
well as by reducing the sedimentation rate, nutrients in water and direct human damage.

Handbook – Harmonised Framework for Impact Reporting June 2021 53

 Waste
Sustainable Water Circular Economy
Renewable Energy Management Clean Green Climate Change
and Wastewater Biodiversity and/or Eco-
Energy Efficiency and Resource Transportation Buildings Adaptation
Management Efficient Projects
Efficiency

Climate Change Adaptation

Note: Recognising that qualitative impact information is especially important in the case of climate change adaptation/resilience projects, exemplary indicators are proposed in
Chapter IV.8 Adaptation instead of core indicators as in other Chapters. Issuers are welcome to fill in the indicators relevant to their quantitative reporting when using below templates.

Illustrative Summary Template for Project-by-Project Report:

Climate change
<Indicator x>
adaptation/ Share <Indicator z>
e.g. <Indicator y>
resilience Signed of Total Eligibility Climate change Allocated Project e.g.
Increase in grid resilience, e.g.
projects Amount Project for green adaptation Amount lifetime Reduction in emergency - Other Indicators
energy generation, Reduction in the area
a/ Financing bonds component c/ d/ and unplanned rail and
transmission/ damaged by wildfires
Temperature- b/ tarmac replacement
distribution and storage
related projects

% of
Project name % of signed <unit x> <unit y> <unit z>
currency % signed currency in years -
f/ amount in MWh in km² in km
amount

e.g. increased number of

e.g. Project 1 XX XX XX XX XX XX XX XX XX XX households with access to
resilient energy systems etc.

<Indicator y>
Climate change
e.g. <Indicator z>
adaptation/ Share
<Indicator x> Reduction in e.g.
resilience Signed of Total Eligibility Climate change Allocated Project
e.g. the number Reduction in the
projects Amount Project for green adaptation Amount lifetime - Other Indicators
Reduction in repair costs of customers/ number of power lines
a/ Financing bonds component c/ d/
due to storms employees suffering incapacitated due to
Wind-related b/
loss of power/ storms
projects
transport services

% of <unit x>
Project name % of signed
currency % signed currency in years Valorised <unit y> <unit z> -
f/ amount
amount ($/€/£ etc)

e.g. increased number of

e.g. Project 1 XX XX XX XX XX XX XX XX XX XX households with access to
resilient energy systems etc.

Handbook – Harmonised Framework for Impact Reporting June 2021 54

 Waste
Sustainable Water Circular Economy
Renewable Energy Management Clean Green Climate Change
and Wastewater Biodiversity and/or Eco-
Energy Efficiency and Resource Transportation Buildings Adaptation
Management Efficient Projects
Efficiency

Climate Change Adaptation (continued)

Illustrative Summary Template for Project-by-Project Report:

Climate change <Indicator y>

adaptation/ Share e.g. <Indicator z>
<Indicator x>
resilience Signed of Total Eligibility Climate change Allocated Project Reduced/avoided e.g.
e.g.
projects Amount Project for green adaptation Amount lifetime water loss/household Reduction in land loss - Other Indicators
Reduction in flood damage
a/ Financing bonds component c/ d/ demand or increased from flooding/coastal
costs
Water-related b/ water availability/ erosion
projects catchment

% of <unit x>
Project name % of signed <unit y> <unit z>
currency % signed currency in years Valorised -
f/ amount in m³ in km²
amount ($/€/£ etc)

e.g. increased number of

e.g. Project 1 XX XX XX XX XX XX XX XX XX XX households with access to
resilient energy systems etc.

Climate change <Indicator y>

adaptation/ Share e.g. <Indicator z>
<Indicator x>
resilience Signed of Total Eligibility Climate change Allocated Project Increase in area e.g.
e.g.
projects Amount Project for green adaptation Amount lifetime under wetland Reduction in changes in - Other Indicators
Reduction in repair costs
a/ Financing bonds component c/ d/ management/ the nutrient and/or pH
due to landslides
Land-related b/ drought resistant level for agricultural soils
projects crop farming

% of <unit x> <unit y>

Project name % of signed <unit z>
currency % signed currency in years Valorised in km²/ -
f/ amount in %
amount ($/€/£ etc) hectares

e.g. increased number of

e.g. Project 1 XX XX XX XX XX XX XX XX XX XX households with access to
resilient energy systems etc.

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 Waste
Sustainable Water Circular Economy
Renewable Energy Management Clean Green Climate Change
and Wastewater Biodiversity and/or Eco-
Energy Efficiency and Resource Transportation Buildings Adaptation
Management Efficient Projects
Efficiency

Climate Change Adaptation (continued)

Illustrative Summary Template for Portfolio-based Report:

Climate change
adaptation/ <Indicator x>
Share <Indicator z>
resilience Average e.g. <Indicator y>
Signed of Total Eligibility Climate change Allocated e.g.
projects portfolio Increase in grid resilience, e.g.
Amount Portfolio for green adaptation Amount Reduction in emergency - Other Indicators
lifetime energy generation, Reduction in the area
a/ Financing bonds component c/ and unplanned rail and
Temperature- d/ transmission/ damaged by wildfires
b/ tarmac replacement
related distribution and storage
portfolios

% of
Portfolio name % of signed <unit x> <unit y> <unit z>
currency % signed currency in years -
f/ amount in MWh in km² in km
amount

e.g. increased number of

e.g. Portfolio 1 XX XX XX XX XX XX XX XX XX XX households with access to
resilient energy systems etc.

<Indicator y>
Climate change
<Indicator x> e.g. <Indicator z>
adaptation/ Share
Average e.g. Reduction in e.g.
resilience Signed of Total Eligibility Climate change Allocated
portfolio Reduction in repair costs the number Reduction in the
projects Amount Portfolio for green adaptation Amount - Other Indicators
lifetime due to storms (to all kinds of customers/ number of power lines
a/ Financing bonds component c/
d/ of infrastructure and employees suffering incapacitated due to
Wind-related b/
assets) loss of power/ storms
portfolios
transport services

% of <unit x>
Portfolio name % of signed
currency % signed currency in years Valorised <unit y> <unit z> -
f/ amount
amount ($/€/£ etc)

e.g. increased number of

e.g. Portfolio 1 XX XX XX XX XX XX XX XX XX XX households with access to
resilient energy systems etc.

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 Waste
Sustainable Water Circular Economy
Renewable Energy Management Clean Green Climate Change
and Wastewater Biodiversity and/or Eco-
Energy Efficiency and Resource Transportation Buildings Adaptation
Management Efficient Projects
Efficiency

Climate Change Adaptation (continued)

Illustrative Summary Template for Portfolio-based Report:

Climate change <Indicator y>

adaptation/ Share e.g. <Indicator z>
Average <Indicator x>
resilience Signed of Total Eligibility Climate change Allocated Reduced/avoided e.g.
portfolio e.g.
projects Amount Portfolio for green adaptation Amount water loss/household Reduction in land loss - Other Indicators
lifetime Reduction in flood damage
a/ Financing bonds component c/ demand or increased from flooding/coastal
d/ costs - Valorised ($/€/£ etc)
Water-related b/ water availability/ erosion
portfolios catchment

% of <unit x>
% of signed <unit y> <unit z>
Portfolio name currency % signed currency in years Valorised -
amount in m³ in km²
amount ($/€/£ etc)

e.g. increased number of

e.g. Porfolio 1 XX XX XX XX XX XX XX XX XX XX households with access to
resilient energy systems etc.

Climate change <Indicator y>

adaptation/ Share e.g. <Indicator z>
Average <Indicator x>
resilience Signed of Total Eligibility Climate change Allocated Increase in area e.g.
portfolio e.g.
projects Amount Portfolio for green adaptation Amount under wetland Reduction in changes in - Other Indicators
lifetime Reduction in repair costs
a/ Financing bonds component c/ management/ the nutrient and/or pH
d/ due to landslides
Land-related b/ drought resistant level for agricultural soils
portfolios crop farming

% of <unit x>
% of signed <unit y> <unit z>
Portfolio name currency % signed currency in years Valorised -
amount in km²/ hectares in %
amount ($/€/£ etc)

e.g. increased number of

e.g. Portfolio 1 XX XX XX XX XX XX XX XX XX XX households with access to
resilient energy systems etc.

Handbook – Harmonised Framework for Impact Reporting June 2021 57

 Waste
Sustainable Water Circular Economy
Renewable Energy Management Clean Green Climate Change
and Wastewater Biodiversity and/or Eco-
Energy Efficiency and Resource Transportation Buildings Adaptation
Management Efficient Projects
Efficiency

Circular Economy and/or Eco-Efficient Projects

Note: Given the range of core indicators recommended for several use cases in the Chapter on circular economy and/or eco-efficient projects, issuers
are welcome to fill in the indicators relevant to their quantitative reporting when using below templates.

Illustrative Summary Template for Project-by-Project Report:

<indicator x> <indicator y> <indicator z>

Share e.g. e.g. e.g.
Signed of Total Circular Allocated Increase in materials, Percentage of Virgin raw materials that are
Circular Design and Eligibility for Project
Amount Projects Economy Amount components, and single use products substituted by secondary raw Other Indicators
Production projects green bonds lifetime d/
a/ Financing component c/ products that are reusable replaced by products materials and by-products from
b/ recyclable, and/or certified designed and manufacturing processes
compostable produced for reuse

% of signed % of signed in tonnes

Project name f/ currency % currency in years % % % in tonnes p.a.
amount amount p.a.

e.g. Number
of recycling
cycles that the
recycled material
e.g. Project 1 XX XX XX XX XX XX XX XX XX XX XX
can withstand,
Number of patent
applications for
CE products, etc.

Share <indicator x> <indicator y> <indicator z>

Signed of Total Circular Allocated e.g. e.g. e.g.
Circular Use Eligibility for Project
Amount Project Economy Amount Increase in products or parts Redundant products that have Expected Other Indicators
projects green bonds lifetime d/
a/ Financing component c/ derived from redundant products been repurposed, refurbished extension of
b/ or components or remanufactured lifetime

in
% of signed % of signed in tonnes
Project name f/ currency % currency in years valorised % % in tonnes p.a. in years
amount amount p.a.
amount

e.g. Number of
components and
e.g. Project 1 XX XX XX XX XX XX XX XX XX XX XX XX processes that are
deemed closed
loop recycling, etc.

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 Waste
Sustainable Water Circular Economy
Renewable Energy Management Clean Green Climate Change
and Wastewater Biodiversity and/or Eco-
Energy Efficiency and Resource Transportation Buildings Adaptation
Management Efficient Projects
Efficiency

Circular Economy and/or Eco-Efficient Projects (continued)

Illustrative Summary Template for Project-by-Project Report:

Share <indicator x> <indicator y> <indicator z>

Signed of Total Circular Allocated e.g. e.g. e.g.
Circular Value Eligibility for Project
Amount Projects Economy Amount New materials derived from Biodegradable waste, Secondary raw Other Indicators
Recovery projects green bonds lifetime d/
a/ Financing component c/ secondary raw materials, digestate and compost that is materials and
b/ by-products and/or waste recovered chemicals recovered

% of signed % of signed in tonnes

Project name f/ currency % currency in years % % in tonnes p.a. in tonnes p.a.
amount amount p.a.

e.g. Number
of recycling
cycles that the
recycled material
e.g. Project 1 XX XX XX XX XX XX XX XX XX XX XX
can withstand,
Number of patent
applications for
CE products, etc.

Share Increase in number Increase of annual Increase in number of products and/

Circular Support Signed of Total Circular Allocated of clients for income derived or the share of production awarded an
Eligibility for Project
and Products Amount Project Economy Amount tools or services through tools and internationally recognised eco-label, or Other Indicators
green bonds lifetime d/
projects a/ Financing component c/ enabling circular services enabling energy, eco-efficiency or other relevant
b/ economy strategies circular economy environmental certification

% of signed % of signed in absolute

Project name f/ currency % currency in years in absolute number in absolute number %
amount amount number

e.g. Percentage
of corporate
e.g. Project 1 XX XX XX XX XX XX XX XX XX workforce
dedicated to eco-
design, etc.

Handbook – Harmonised Framework for Impact Reporting June 2021 59

 Waste
Sustainable Water Circular Economy
Renewable Energy Management Clean Green Climate Change
and Wastewater Biodiversity and/or Eco-
Energy Efficiency and Resource Transportation Buildings Adaptation
Management Efficient Projects
Efficiency

Circular Economy and/or Eco-Efficient Projects (continued)

Illustrative Summary Template for Portfolio-based Report:

<indicator y>
e.g.
<indicator x>
Percentage <indicator z>
Share e.g.
of single use e.g.
Circular Design Signed of Total Circular Allocated Average Increase in materials,
Eligibility for products Virgin raw materials that are
and Production Amount Portfolio Economy Amount portfolio components, and Other Indicators
green bonds replaced by substituted by secondary raw
portfolios a/ Financing component c/ lifetime d/ products that are reusable
products materials and by-products from
b/ recyclable, and/or certified
designed and manufacturing processes
compostable
produced for
reuse

% of signed % of signed in tonnes

Portfolio name currency % currency in years % % % in tonnes p.a.
amount amount p.a.

e.g. Number
of recycling
cycles that the
recycled material
e.g. Portfolio 1 XX XX XX XX XX XX XX XX XX XX XX
can withstand,
Number of patent
applications for
CE products, etc.

Share Increase in number Increase of annual Increase in number of products and/

Signed of Total Circular Allocated Average of clients for income derived or the share of production awarded an
Circular Use Eligibility for
Amount Portfolio Economy Amount portfolio tools or services through tools and internationally recognised eco-label, or Other Indicators
portfolios green bonds
a/ Financing component c/ lifetime d/ enabling circular services enabling energy, eco-efficiency or other relevant
b/ economy strategies circular economy environmental certification

% of signed % of signed in absolute

Portfolio name f/ currency % currency in years in absolute number in absolute number %
amount amount number

e.g. Percentage
of corporate
e.g. Portfolio 1 XX XX XX XX XX XX XX XX XX workforce
dedicated to eco-
design, etc.

Handbook – Harmonised Framework for Impact Reporting June 2021 60

 Waste
Sustainable Water Circular Economy
Renewable Energy Management Clean Green Climate Change
and Wastewater Biodiversity and/or Eco-
Energy Efficiency and Resource Transportation Buildings Adaptation
Management Efficient Projects
Efficiency

Circular Economy and/or Eco-Efficient Projects (continued)

Illustrative Summary Template for Portfolio-based Report:

Share <indicator x> <indicator y> <indicator z>

Signed of Total Circular Allocated Average e.g. e.g. e.g.
Circular Value Eligibility for
Amount Portfolio Economy Amount Portfolio New materials derived from Biodegradable waste, Secondary raw Other Indicators
Recovery portfolios green bonds
a/ Financing component c/ lifetime d/ secondary raw materials, digestate and compost that is materials and
b/ by-products and/or waste recovered chemicals recovered

% of signed % of signed in tonnes

Portfolio name currency % currency in years % % in tonnes p.a. in tonnes p.a.
amount amount p.a.

e.g. Percentage
of new products
that meet virgin
e.g. Project 1 XX XX XX XX XX XX XX XX XX XX XX material quality
(e.g. eligible food
grade packaging),
etc.

Share Increase in number Increase of annual Increase in number of products and/

Circular Support Signed of Total Circular Allocated Average of clients for income derived or the share of production awarded an
Eligibility for
and Products Amount Portfolio Economy Amount Portfolio tools or services through tools and internationally recognised eco-label, or Other Indicators
green bonds
portfolios a/ Financing component c/ lifetime d/ enabling circular services enabling energy, eco-efficiency or other relevant
b/ economy strategies circular economy environmental certification

% of signed % of signed in absolute

Portfolio name currency % currency in years in absolute number in absolute number %
amount amount number

e.g. Percentage
of corporate
e.g. Project 1 XX XX XX XX XX XX XX XX XX workforce
dedicated to eco-
design, etc.

Handbook – Harmonised Framework for Impact Reporting June 2021 61

 Renewable
Notes

Energy
a/ Signed amount represents the amount legally committed by the issuer for the project, a portfolio of
projects or component that is/are eligible for green bond financing.

b/ This is the share of the total project cost that is financed by the issuer. Issuers may also report the total
project cost. When aggregating impact metrics only the pro-rated share should be included in the total.

Efficiency
Energy
c/ This represents the amount of green bond proceeds that has been allocated for disbursements to the
project/portfolio.

d/ Based on either the expected economic life or financial life of the project(s), if applicable. Issuers should
disclose the reporting basis used.

Sustainable Water
and Wastewater
Management
e/ The methodology and assumptions used should be disclosed for calculations in quantitative reporting.

f/ Confidentiality considerations may restrict the project level detail that can be disclosed, but issuers
should aim to report the list of projects and either project level or aggregate level committed and allocated
amounts and core indicator amounts.

and Resource
Management
Efficiency

Waste
Transportation
Clean
Buildings
Green
Biodiversity
Climate Change
Adaptation
Circular Economy
Efficient Projects
and/or Eco-

Handbook – Harmonised Framework for Impact Reporting June 2021 62

Contact details
ICMA Paris Representative Office
62 rue la Boétie
75008 Paris
France

Tel: +33 1 70 17 64 70

[email protected]
www.icmagroup.org