State of the Practice: Sustainability Standards for Infrastructure Investors

The report analyzes twelve sustainability standards for infrastructure, categorizing them into project screening tools (e.g., SuRe, Envision, CEEQUAL, ISCA, IFC Performance Standards) and accounting tools (e.g., SASB, TCFD, GHG Protocol, UN PRI). It evaluates these tools based on comprehensiveness, objectivity, clarity, transaction costs, and traction. The study finds that the industry lacks a single global standard, with investors often using multiple tools depending on the project's local context and regulatory regime. It highlights a fundamental tension between 'preservationist' public sector assessments, which determine if a project should be built, and 'conservationist' investor metrics, which focus on implementing projects in the most sustainable way possible.

• The report distinguishes between 'preservationist' standards used by governments to decide if a project should move forward and 'conservationist' standards used by investors to ensure a project is developed in the most sustainable way possible.
• Institutional investors are increasingly adopting ESG factors into decision-making; a Callan Institute survey of 89 US investors found that over 40% incorporated ESG factors in 2018, compared to 22% in 2013.
• The Standard for Sustainable and Resilient Infrastructure (SuRe) is designed for developing economies and uses a materiality assessment to determine if criteria are high, medium, low, or not material for a specific project.
• Envision is a comprehensive system primarily used in the US and Canada that awards points across five categories: Quality of Life, Leadership, Resource Allocation, Natural World, and Climate and Risk.
• CEEQUAL is one of the oldest screening tools, with strong traction in the UK and Ireland, focusing on a three-pillar model of Environmental Quality, Social Success, and Economic Success.
• The IFC Performance Standards and Equator Principles serve as a global benchmark for managing environmental and social risks in project financing and are widely adopted by financial institutions.
• GRESB Infrastructure provides both project and portfolio-level assessments, allowing investors to benchmark the environmental performance of their assets against sector averages.
• The Infrastructure Sustainability Council of Australia (ISCA) rating program is highly rigorous and mandated by many Australian public sector agencies for projects exceeding $50 million.
• The Task Force on Climate-related Financial Disclosures (TCFD) focuses on voluntary, consistent climate-related financial risk disclosures, specifically emphasizing risks and opportunities related to the transition to a lower-carbon economy.
• The GHG Protocol provides internationally accepted accounting and reporting standards for six greenhouse gases, including CO2, methane, and nitrous oxide.
• The UN Principles for Responsible Investment (UN PRI) is a voluntary set of six principles that encourage investors to incorporate ESG issues into analysis and decision-making.
• A central challenge in infrastructure sustainability is 'materiality'—the need to tailor assessments to the unique location, project type, and regulatory regime of an asset, which complicates the ability to aggregate data at a portfolio level.
• There is no single global consensus or uniform tool for infrastructure sustainability; instead, proactive investors use a combination of systems based on their specific needs and the local context of the project.

APA

Bennon, M., & Sharma, R. (2018). State of the Practice: Sustainability Standards for Infrastructure Investors. WWF International. https://www.worldwildlife.org/documents/214/4eb8936od7_SGPC_Sustainable_Infra_State_of_the_Practice_Full_Report_vF.pdf

Chicago

Bennon, Michael, and Rajiv Sharma. State of the Practice: Sustainability Standards for Infrastructure Investors. WWF International, 2018. https://www.worldwildlife.org/documents/214/4eb8936od7_SGPC_Sustainable_Infra_State_of_the_Practice_Full_Report_vF.pdf.

Wikipedia

{{cite report |last1=Bennon |first1=Michael |last2=Sharma |first2=Rajiv |title=State of the Practice: Sustainability Standards for Infrastructure Investors |publisher=WWF International |date=October 2018 |url=https://www.worldwildlife.org/documents/214/4eb8936od7_SGPC_Sustainable_Infra_State_of_the_Practice_Full_Report_vF.pdf |access-date=23 October 2026 |via=Climate Insights Directory}}

BibTeX

@techreport{bennon2018state, author = {Bennon, Michael and Sharma, Rajiv}, title = {{State of the Practice: Sustainability Standards for Infrastructure Investors}}, institution = {WWF International}, year = {2018}, month = oct, url = {https://www.worldwildlife.org/documents/214/4eb8936od7_SGPC_Sustainable_Infra_State_of_the_Practice_Full_Report_vF.pdf}, urldate = {2026-10-23}, note = {Indexed by Climate Insights Directory} }