Green Bonds

Validation and Verification of Sustainable Finance Instruments/Products

Sustainable finance instruments/products are any type of bond or bond programme, loan or other debt instrument the proceeds of which are exclusively used to finance or refinance, in whole or in part, new and/or existing sustainable projects.

Regulatory framework

To assess the environmental, social and governance performance of the organisation holding the sustainable finance instrument/product, RINA uses its own rating tool based on the international standard ISO 26000:2010 “Guidance on social responsibility“ which contains principles, core subjects and issues of social responsibility (governance of the organisation, human rights, labour practices and conditions, environment, best management practices, consumer-specific issues, community involvement and development) and a guide for the integration of these principles, core subjects and issues throughout the organisation.

To assess the sustainability of finance instruments/products and related projects/initiatives, RINA uses criteria/requirements defined in agreed reference standard documents, such as:

• The Green Bond Principles (GBP) and the Green Loan Principles (GLP) issued by the International Capital Market Association (ICMA);
• The 17 Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs), defined by the United Nations within the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development;
• The EU Taxonomy (Regulation (EU) 2020/852 of the European Parliament and of the Council of 18 June 2020 on the establishment of a framework to facilitate sustainable investment, and amending Regulation (EU) 2019/2088).

However, the regulatory scenario is evolving rapidly as Europe is working to create a European standard and a validation and verification scheme for Green Bonds, while ISO is working to create an international standard (ISO 14030).

Description of the service

The validation of sustainable finance instruments/products, in accordance with criteria/requirements defined in agreed regulatory reference documents, is a systematic, independent and ex-ante documented process for issuing an assessment of the sustainability of projects/initiatives that are subject to funding, providing assurance to stakeholders on the quality of sustainable finance instruments/products and the achievement of their objectives.

The verification of sustainable finance instruments/products, in accordance with criteria/requirements defined in agreed regulatory reference documents, is a systematic, independent and documented ex post periodic process, for issuing an assessment and providing assurance to stakeholders that revenues are managed in line with the validated sustainable finance instruments/products.

Certification procedure

• The applicant (organisation) sends the request for validation and/or verification to RINA
• RINA reviews the request and defines the offer
• In case of acceptance of the offer, RINA opens the contract with the organisation
• Forwarding of documents by the organisation
• Analysis of documentation by RINA
• Interviews
• Onsite visits
• Draft of the Report
• Final Report

Why RINA?

RINA has many years of experience in the field of sustainability and is accredited/recognised by the accreditation bodies/owners of the main certification programmes in sustainability sectors.