GREEN BOND SCREENING METHODOLOGY

The Climate Bonds Initiative (CBI) employs a three-step screening process to identify eligible green bonds and loans for its database: identifying green-labelled bonds, screening assets against the Climate Bonds Taxonomy, and evaluating the allocation of proceeds. To be included, a bond must allocate at least 95% of its proceeds to aligned green assets; any bond where more than 5% of proceeds are used for working capital, social projects, or non-aligned assets is excluded. The methodology explicitly excludes fossil fuel energy and any assets that extend the life of fossil fuel usage, such as 'clean coal'. The Climate Bonds Taxonomy covers eight categories: energy, transport, buildings, water management, waste management & pollution control, nature-based assets, industry & energy-intensive commercial, and information technology & communications (ICT).

• The CBI uses a three-step process to determine if a green bond is eligible for its database: identifying green-themed labelled bonds, screening projects or assets for alignment with the Climate Bonds Taxonomy, and evaluating the allocation of proceeds.
• A bond is only eligible for the CBI Green Bond Database if it is expected to allocate at least 95% of its proceeds to aligned green assets.
• Bonds are excluded if more than 5% of proceeds are allocated to working capital, social assets/projects, or assets not aligned with the Climate Bonds Taxonomy, or if there is insufficient information to determine alignment.
• The Climate Bonds Taxonomy explicitly excludes fossil fuel energy and any assets or processes that extend the operational life of fossil fuel assets, specifically mentioning that 'clean coal' is excluded.
• The Climate Bonds Taxonomy is organized into eight distinct categories: Energy, Transport, Buildings, Water management, Waste management & pollution control, Nature-based assets (including land use, agriculture & forestry), Industry & energy-intensive commercial, and Information technology & communications (ICT).
• Bonds that cannot be immediately classified due to insufficient information are marked as 'Pending' and investigated until the end of the following quarter; if no alignment is found, they are moved to the Excluded Bonds list.

APA

Climate Bonds Initiative (2018). GREEN BOND SCREENING METHODOLOGY. https://www.climatebonds.net/files/drupal-files/files/Climate-Bonds-Initiative_GreenBondMethodology_092018.pdf

Chicago

Climate Bonds Initiative. GREEN BOND SCREENING METHODOLOGY. 2018. https://www.climatebonds.net/files/drupal-files/files/Climate-Bonds-Initiative_GreenBondMethodology_092018.pdf.

Wikipedia

{{cite report |author=Climate Bonds Initiative |title=GREEN BOND SCREENING METHODOLOGY |date=September 2018 |url=https://www.climatebonds.net/files/drupal-files/files/Climate-Bonds-Initiative_GreenBondMethodology_092018.pdf |access-date=17 August 2026 |via=Climate Insights Directory}}

BibTeX

@techreport{climatebondsinitiative2018green, author = {{Climate Bonds Initiative}}, title = {{GREEN BOND SCREENING METHODOLOGY}}, institution = {Climate Bonds Initiative}, year = {2018}, month = sep, url = {https://www.climatebonds.net/files/drupal-files/files/Climate-Bonds-Initiative_GreenBondMethodology_092018.pdf}, urldate = {2026-08-17}, note = {Indexed by Climate Insights Directory} }