Consideration of accreditation proposals and activities – Addendum I Accreditation assessment of APL163

The GCF Accreditation Panel recommends the accreditation of the Bank of Bhutan Limited (BoB) as a national direct access entity for 'small' projects with a 'medium risk (I-2)' environmental and social category. While BoB demonstrates strong institutional presence as Bhutan's largest commercial bank and a track record in green financing, the assessment identified gaps in internal audit quality assurance, public disclosure of procurement and investigation guidelines, and the operationalization of its grievance redress mechanism. The recommendation is subject to specific conditions to be met both before the issuance of the accreditation certificate and before the submission of the first funding proposal, including the development of a Gender Action Plan and the implementation of risk-based E&S screening tools.

• The Bank of Bhutan Limited (BoB) is recommended for accreditation under the 'normal track' for 'small' individual projects (costs between USD 10 million and USD 50 million) with a maximum environmental and social risk category of 'medium risk (intermediation 2 (I-2))'.
• BoB has a demonstrated track record in financing climate-aligned projects, including USD 17.66 million for Druk Hydro Energy Limited, USD 5.32 million for an electric vehicle project with the Global Environment Facility, and USD 7.66 million for the De Suung Skilling Programming Solar Power Plant.
• The applicant partially meets basic fiduciary standards, with identified gaps in the lack of a process for external or internal quality assurance of the internal audit function and the fact that procurement guidelines have not yet been publicly disclosed.
• BoB's Environmental and Social Safeguards Policy (ESSP) and risk management procedures partially meet GCF standards, but the system lacks risk-based E&S screening and monitoring tools tailored to the size and risk levels of lending, and lacks provisions for regular internal and external reviews of the ESMS.
• While BoB has a Gender Policy and has achieved a gender balance where 52 per cent of employees are women, it lacks detailed procedures and tools to implement the policy at the project level and has not yet developed a formal Gender Action Plan.
• The applicant's grievance redress mechanism (GRM) is partially compliant, but it is not yet operationalized on the bank's website, and the site does not specify that E&S-related grievances can be submitted.
• BoB has established a team for project evaluation but has not yet conducted any actual evaluations of its projects, representing a gap in its track record.

APA

Green Climate Fund (2026). Consideration of accreditation proposals and activities – Addendum I Accreditation assessment of APL163. https://www.greenclimate.fund/sites/default/files/document/11-consideration-accreditation-proposals-and-activities-addendum-i-bob-gcf-b44-03-add01.pdf

Chicago

Green Climate Fund. Consideration of accreditation proposals and activities – Addendum I Accreditation assessment of APL163. 2026. https://www.greenclimate.fund/sites/default/files/document/11-consideration-accreditation-proposals-and-activities-addendum-i-bob-gcf-b44-03-add01.pdf.

Wikipedia

{{cite report |author=Green Climate Fund |title=Consideration of accreditation proposals and activities – Addendum I Accreditation assessment of APL163 |date=4 March 2026 |url=https://www.greenclimate.fund/sites/default/files/document/11-consideration-accreditation-proposals-and-activities-addendum-i-bob-gcf-b44-03-add01.pdf |access-date=23 October 2026 |via=Climate Insights Directory}}

BibTeX

@techreport{greenclimatefund2026consideration, author = {{Green Climate Fund}}, title = {{Consideration of accreditation proposals and activities – Addendum I Accreditation assessment of APL163}}, institution = {Green Climate Fund}, year = {2026}, month = mar, url = {https://www.greenclimate.fund/sites/default/files/document/11-consideration-accreditation-proposals-and-activities-addendum-i-bob-gcf-b44-03-add01.pdf}, urldate = {2026-10-23}, note = {Indexed by Climate Insights Directory} }