5 Dec 2018

NIB Environmental Bond Framework rated “Dark Green”

NIB has updated its NIB Environmental Bond Framework to better address environmental challenges. The new framework has received a second opinion from the independent Center for International Climate and Environmental Research in Oslo (CICERO). CICERO rates the NIB Environmental Bond Framework as Dark Green, which is the highest category shading. The research Institute also states that the framework is “aligned with the Green Bond Principles”, emphasizing that the governance structure for project identification, selection and reporting is strong and proven. “The Nordic Investment Bank’s Environmental Bond framework provides a clear and sound framework for climate- and environment friendly investments. The framework has been allocated the highest rating in our methodology, which is dark green”, says Sophie Dejonckheere, Senior Adviser, Climate Finance at CICERO. NIB is the biggest Nordic issuer of green bonds. Since 2011, the Bank has issued NIB Environmental Bonds (NEBs) of EUR 3.5 billion and financed more than 60 projects with NEB proceeds. NIB’s Sustainability & Mandate unit uses its Mandate Rating Framework for assessing the impact from projects. In order to be eligible for receiving green bond proceeds, the mandate rating of the project needs to score good or excellent. Lars Eibeholm, Vice-President and Head of Treasury at NIB, says the strong governance concerning project selection and impact reporting is important in order to maintain the integrity of the green bond market. “We have designed our framework to be dark green and are happy that CICERO confirms this in its second opinion”, says Eibeholm. The main changes The main aim with the update is to further strengthen our framework in the areas of resource efficiency, including circular economy, water related investments, climate adaptation and resilience. One example of a NEB-eligible project is the City of Stockholm’s investment to upgrade the Slussen, the water lock between Lake Mälaren and the Baltic Sea and one of the city’s main traffic hubs. “This project is vital for the protection of the Lake Mälaren surroundings in the events of extreme weather conditions”, says Eibeholm. “The new framework will allow NIB to more widely finance investments that benefit the environment, and to finance adaptation projects, such as the development of climate resilient infrastructure, which evidently will be more needed as climate change is a gloomy reality”, Eibeholm says. NIB Environmental Bond Framework Second opinion CICERO