Green Bond Framework
forIndustrial and Commercial Bank of China

September 2017

1Purpose
This green bond framework (the “Green Bond Framework”) has been developed todemonstrate how Industrial and Commercial Bank of China (“ICBC” or the “Bank”) will
issue Green Bonds to fund new and existing projects with environmental benefits withreference to: The Green Bond Principles 2017 (GBP 2017), International Capital Market
Association (ICMA) Guidelines for Establishing the Green Financial System (Yinfa 2016 Doc No.
228) (PBoC, Ministry of Finance, NDRC, Ministry of Environmental Protection,CBRC, CSRC and CIRC)
 Green Bond Categories, the People’s Bank of China (PBoC)
Bonds issued under ICBC’s Green Bond Framework may be certified by Climate
Bond Initiative (CBI) against Climate Bond Standards.
Assertions from the Management
For each green bond (the “Green Bond”) issued, ICBC asserts that it will adopt (i) Useof Proceeds (ii) Project Evaluation and Selection (iii) Management of Proceeds and(iv) Reporting, as set out in this Framework.
BackgroundIndustrial and Commercial Bank of China was established on January 1st 1984. OnOctober 28th, 2005, the Bank was wholly restructured to a joint-stock limited company.
On October 27th, 2006, the Bank was listed on both Shanghai Stock Exchange andStock Exchange of Hong Kong Limited.
Headquartered in Beijing, ICBC has developed into one of the top large listed banks
in the world, possessing a wide customer base, a diversified business structure,strong innovation capabilities and market competitiveness and providing
comprehensive financial products and services to 5,784 thousand corporate and 530
million personal customers. The pattern of internationalized and diversified operation
was further improved, covering 44 countries and territories.
For the fourth consecutive year in 2016, the Bank ranked No.1 in The Banker’s Top
1000 World Banks, the Forbes Global 2000, and the Fortune Global 500 Sub-list ofCommercial Banks.
Rationale of ICBC Green BondICBC has been consciously integrating the social responsibilities into its development
strategy, operation and management activities, gaining wide social recognition in theaspects of supporting targeted poverty relief, protecting environment and resources,
participating in social and public welfare undertakings, and promoting inclusivefinance.

2ICBC has built its Corporate Social Responsibility Model on six dimensions, namelyValue Creator, Brand Bank, Green Bank, Integrity Bank, Harmonious Bank andCharity Bank, based on which the Bank has been making constant efforts to facilitate
many important initiatives such as targeted poverty relief, supply-chain reform, Beltand Road initiative, and green finance.
ICBC was the first Chinese commercial bank to join the UN Global Compact in 2012
and joined the United Nations Environment Programme Finance Initiative ("UNEP FI")in 2014. In China, ICBC is a member of the standing council of Green FinanceCommittee established under China Financial Forum.
ICBC has been an active advocate of green finance both nationally andinternationally as a social and environmental commitment.
The Green Bonds issued by ICBC will be a further elaboration of the Bank’s
consistent green strategy and will also facilitate the implementation of environmental
protection endeavors in accordance with China’s National 13th Five-year Plan. These
Green Bonds will further boost ICBC as a Group in its development strategies related
to sustainability and climate change. This Green Bond Framework will be a further
step in supporting ICBC investors to meet their objectives in the fast-growing green
economy.
Framework Overview
ICBC has developed the Green Bond Framework under which it plans to finance andrefinance, in whole or in part, eligible green assets as defined below (“Eligible GreenAssets”):
1. Use of Proceeds
The proceeds of each ICBC Green Bond will be used to finance, and refinance,
eligible green assets that promote the transition to low-carbon and sustainableeconomy and provide clear environmental sustainability and climate change benefits.
The eligible green assets under the Green Bond Framework comprise financingwithin the eligible green asset categories below which are or have been originated by
the various business units of ICBC (the “Eligible Green Assets”) in and outsideChina.

“EligibleGreen Alignment
Asset Categories Green“for ICBC
Principles(GBP2017)
Renewable Energywith Description and Examples
Bond

Renewableenergy3Generation and transmission of energy
from renewable energy sources.
- Renewable energy sources includeoffshore and onshore wind, solar,
tidal,hydropower
subject
toconditions, biomass and geothermal
Low Carbon and LowEmission
Transportation

Energy EfficiencySustainable Water andWastewater
Management

Clean
transportation

Energyefficiency

Low energy or emission transportation
assets,systems,infrastructure,components and services excluding
any infrastructure or rolling stock
assets used for the transportation offossil fuel products- Examples include Rail Tram, Metro,
Bus Rapid Transit Systems, ElectricVehicles

Development of products or technology
and their implementation that reduces
energy consumption of underlying
asset, technology, product or system(s)- Examples include LED lights,
improved chillers, improved lighting
technology, and reduced powerusage in manufacturing operations Improved efficiency in the delivery ofbulk energy services
Examples include district heating/ coolingsystems, smart grids, energy recovery
technology, and the storage, transmission
and distribution of energy that results in
reduced energy losses

Sustainable

water
and
wastewater
management

Water collection, treatment, recycling,re-use, technologies and related
infrastructure- Examples include water pipes andcollection
facilities
tocollect
water/rainwater, dams, treatment
plant facilities

Note: Assets in all eligible categories shall at least reach the threshold of relevant
official standards of environmental impacts recognized in the local jurisdictions. In
case of no official standards locally recognized, corresponding international
standards shall apply.
For the avoidance of doubt, in any case, the Eligible Green Assets shall exclude
below：
 fossil fuel related assets
 Large scale hydropower plants
 Nuclear and nuclear–related assets
4

2. Project Evaluation and Selection
Eligible Green Assets will firstly be identified and proposed by ICBC business units
globally, including its subsidiaries and branches.
They will then be reviewed by a dedicated green bond working group at ICBC HeadOffice (the “Green Bond Working Group”) which comprises representatives of:

Asset & Liability Management Department
International Banking Department
Credit and Investment Management Department
Finance & Accounting Department
Corporate Strategy and Investor Relations Department
Urban Finance Research Institute
Other departments if relevant

Prior to the issuance, the Green Bond Working Group will review all proposed Eligible
Green Assets to determine their compliance with the ICBC Green Bond Framework
for approval as “Eligible Green Asset” and form an eligible green asset list (each“Eligible Green Asset”, collectively the “Eligible Green Asset Lists”).
In the Green Bond Working Group, representatives shall be nominated if they haveenvironmental experience and knowledge. The experts with environmental
experience and knowledge enjoy a veto power to the final decision on the selection.
The assets vetoed by them shall be excluded from the Eligible Green Asset List.
Annually, the Green Bond Working Group will review the allocation of the proceeds tothe Eligible Green Asset List and determine if any changes are necessary (forexample, if a project has amortized, been prepaid, sold or otherwise becomeineligible) and facilitate ongoing reporting. The Green Bond Working Group will
decide any necessary update of the Eligible Green Asset List (such as replacement,deletion, or addition of projects) to maintain the eligibility of the Use of Proceeds.
3. Management of Proceeds
Prior to the issuance of a Green Bond, ICBC shall evaluate the recent and pipeline
capital spending and develop a preliminary Eligible Green Asset List in accordancewith the procedures as described in the Project Evaluation and Selection section toensure that the Green Bond proceeds can be allocated to the Eligible Green Assets ina timely manner.
A Green Bond “allocation register” (the “Register”) will be established to record theallocation of Green Bond proceeds. The proceeds of each ICBC Green Bond will bedeposited in the general funding accounts and “earmarked” pending allocation.
The Register will contain, for each Green Bond issued, information including:5

(1)Details of Green Bond: ISIN, pricing date, maturity date, etc.
(2)Details of Eligible Green Asset List: information including:Eligible Green AssetSummary of details of investment madeAmount of investment madeOther necessary information so that the aggregate of issuance proceeds
allocated to the Eligible Green Assets is recorded at all times
Issuer’s estimate of the beneficial environmental impact of the Eligible GreenAssets
Any balance of issuance proceeds not allocated to Eligible Green Assets will be heldin accordance with ICBC’s normal sound and prudent liquidity management policy.
The unallocated proceeds could be temporarily used domestically and internationallyin money market instruments with good credit rating and market liquidity until they areallocated to Eligible Green Assets. The unallocated proceeds shall not be invested inhighly polluting or energy intensive projects.
4. Reporting
ICBC commits to publish an annual green bond report (the “Annual Green BondReport”), which will provide information on allocation and impacts.
(1) Allocation Reporting
Information will be provided on amounts equal to the net proceeds of the Green Bondissued and provide:(i) aggregate amount allocated to the various Eligible Green Asset Categories(ii) remaining balance of funds which have not yet been allocated(iii) examples of Eligible Green Assets (subject to confidentiality disclosures)
Furthermore, ICBC will confirm that the use of proceeds of the Green Bond issuanceconforms to the Green Bond Framework.
(2) Impact Reporting
Where possible, ICBC will report on the environmental and social (where relevant)
impacts resulting from Eligible Green Assets.
Subject to the nature of Eligible Green Assets and availability of information, ICBC
aims to include, but not limited to, the following Impact Indicators
Eligible GreenCategories
Renewable energy

Asset Impact Indicators

KWh of power generated from renewableenergyTonnes of CO2 (or other GHG) avoided6Low Carbon and Low
Emission TransportationTonnes of CO2 (or other GHG) avoided
Km of tracks built
No. of passenger

Energy efficiency

KWh of energy saved per year
Percentage energy efficiency achieved
Amount of water saved
Amount of waste water treatedSustainable water andwastewater management

The Annual Green Bond Report will be publicly available via annual updates on
ICBC’s official global website www.icbc-ltd.com.
ICBC will also make disclosure through other channels where feasible, such as
annual reports and corporate social responsibility reports, which will also bepublished on www.icbc-ltd.com.

External Review
ICBC has engaged CICERO to act as an external reviewer of this Green Bond
Framework for GBP alignment and Zhongcai Green Financing Consultants Ltd. to act
as an external reviewer of this Green Bond Framework for Chinese domestic
standards. The Second Party Opinions by CICERO and Zhongcai Green Financing
Consultants Ltd. are publicly available on ICBC official global website
www.icbc-ltd.com.
ICBC will engage an independent third party to provide assurance on its Annual
Green Bond Report which will provide information on allocation and impacts.

7Disclaimer
The information and opinions contained in this Green Bond Framework are provided
as at the date of this document and are subject to change without notice. ICBC does
not assume any responsibility or obligation to update or revise any such statements,
regardless of whether those statements are affected by the results of new information,
future events or otherwise.
This Green Bond Framework is provided for information purposes only and does notconstitute, or form part of, any offer or invitation to underwrite, subscribe for orotherwise acquire or dispose of, or any solicitation of any offer to underwrite,subscribe for or otherwise acquire or dispose of, any debt or other securities(“securities”) of ICBC and is not intended to provide the basis for any credit or any
other third party evaluation of securities. If any such offer or invitation is made, it will
be done so pursuant to separate and distinct documentation in the form of aprospectus, offering circular or other equivalent document (a "prospectus") and any
decision to purchase or subscribe for any securities pursuant to such offer orinvitation should be made solely on the basis of such prospectus and not thesematerials.
This material should not be considered as a recommendation that any investor shouldsubscribe for or purchase any securities. Any person who subsequently acquires
securities must rely solely on the final prospectus published by the ICBC inconnection with such securities, on the basis of which alone purchases of orsubscription for such securities should be made. In particular, investors should pay
special attention to any sections of the final prospectus describing any risk factors.
The merits or suitability of any securities or any transaction described in thesematerials to a particular person’s situation should be independently determined bysuch person. Any such determination should involve, inter alia, an assessment of thelegal, tax, accounting, regulatory, financial, credit and other related aspects of thesecurities or such transaction.
This material is not intended for distribution to, or use by, any person or entity in any
jurisdiction or country where such distribution or use would be contrary to law orregulation.
This Green Bond Framework may contain projections and forward looking statements.
Any such forward-looking statements involve known and unknown risks, uncertainties
and other factors which may cause the ICBC’s actual results, performance orachievements to be materially different from any future results, performance orachievements expressed or implied by such forward-looking statements. Any suchforward-looking statements will be based on numerous assumptions regarding ICBC
present and future business strategies and the environment in which ICBC will
operate in the future. Further, any forward-looking statements will be based uponassumptions of future events which may not prove to be accurate. Any suchforward-looking statements in these materials will speak only as at the date of thesematerials and ICBC assume no obligation to update or provide any additional
information in relation to such forward-looking statements.

8