Greener energy production changes impact reporting – Nordic green bonds impact reporting recommendations updated

MuniFin is part of a Nordic public sector issuer group that has released a new edition of the Position Paper on Green Bonds Impact Reporting. The updates to these reporting recommendations stem from recent market developments, especially from emission reductions in energy production.

Published by Nordic public sector issuers, the Position Paper on Green Bonds Impact Reporting is a practical guide to reporting the environmental impact of projects financed through green bonds. It includes impact indicators, calculation methods and reporting practices.

“The material changes in the 2024 update include revised emission factors for electricity and district heating, new recommendations for vintage reporting and more specific recommendations on topics such as look-back/allocation periods, refinancing, ESG strategy and risk management”, says MuniFin’s Sustainability Manager Mikko Noronen.

In the latest edition of the position paper, the issuer group revised the emission factors for electricity and district heating downwards to reflect the energy sector’s rapid transition towards fossil-free energy sources.

Nordic recommendations harmonise the green bonds market

The purpose of the Nordic reporting recommendations is to create harmonious and transparent green bonds impact reporting principles that cultivate market practices. This allows issuers to report on the environmental impact of their financed projects in a way that offers investors high-quality information that is comparable, transparent and also supports the investors’ own reporting.

“For sustainable bonds to retain and strengthen their credibility as useful tools to finance the transition, it is of importance that market participants undertake issuance and reporting in a diligent and transparent manner”, says Björn Bergstrand, Head of Sustainability at Sweden’s Kommuninvest and coordinator of the Nordic cooperation.

Developed to assist Nordic public sector borrowers in reporting the environmental impact from their investments, the Position Paper on Green Bonds Impact Reporting has come to be used by issuers also in the private sector.

The Position Paper on Green Bonds Impact Reporting was first introduced in 2017 and is now in its fourth edition.

The Nordic public sector issuer group publishing the Position Paper on Green Bonds Impact Reporting includes MuniFin and MuniFin’s Nordic public sector counterparts, Kommunalbanken in Norway, KommuneKredit in Denmark and Kommuninvest in Sweden, as well as the Swedish Export Credit Corporation (SEK) and a number of Swedish municipal and regional issuers.

Press release: Nordic issuers update green bonds reporting guidance

Further information

Mikko Noronen, Sustainability Manager
mikko.noronen(at)munifin.fi
Tel. +358 50 4797 533