Benefits of Certification
The Climate Bonds Building Criteria provide definitions
forwhatconstitutes
agreenactivity or investment in buildings stock.
Assets, Use of Proceeds (UoP), Entities, and Sustainability-Linked Debt (SLLs & SLBs) that complywith
theBuildingCriteria
canbeCertified, demonstrating to the market that theCertified instrument meets the highest standards
in climate finance.
The Criteria have been designed with anambition of a zero-carbon future by 2050 andoffers a pathway to reach that outcome in a manner bespoke to each city’s present circumstances.

The importance of trusted Building
Criteria to achieve a Sustainable Future:
1. Buildings account for around 40% of all global
emissions globally.
2. The International Energy Agency (IEA)
highlights that the building sector is behind on
meeting the performance targets required tokeeping global temperature rise, at or below
1.5°C above pre-industrial levels.
3. Early and rapid investment in the sector is
critical to meet these performance targets.
Luckily, the technology already exists in thesector to rapidly decarbonise new andrefurbished building stock.

✓ Demonstrates

to the market that Certified
instruments meet industry best practice for climate
integrity, management of financial proceeds andtransparency.

✓ Indicates to investors that proper environmental

due diligence has been done, on the assets they are
investing in.
✓ Increases visibility to investors and attract new andmore diverse investors with greater engagement✓ Enhances

reputational benefits
companies, or asset owners.

forissuers,Eligible Assets Types
Commercial :A building or portfolio of buildings where more than halfof the floor area is used for commercial purposes and isintended to generate a profit, either from capital gain orrental income. There are sub-categories of Commercial
Buildings, including but not limited to: Offices, Schools &campuses, Shopping centres & retail, Hotels etc.
Residential:
A building or portfolio of buildings where more than halfof the floor area is used or suitable for use for dwelling
purposes, including but not limited to the follow subcategories of residential buildings: Single family, Multifamily, Rentals
Built Environment
Projects or activities that are not specifically buildings
related, but are part of the wider built environment, suchas street lighting upgrade projects. Generally upgrades
should achieve energy performance improvements
through the application of energy efficiency measuresand components that relate to the built environment.

Compliance Process

Disclosure Component:
The disclosure component provides clarity toinvestors on the details of the projects in theCertified Climate Bond. Issuers must provide
the required information (where applicable),however, CBI has no liability on the quality ofthe submitted documentation. This component
was designed to ask for information that isoften publicly disclosed anyway but often notincluded in bond offering documents.

Mitigation Component
All the Criteria developed under the Climate
Bonds Standard have a GHG mitigation component. This is fundamental to showing that projects are in line with a low carbon future. Projects and assets can be compliant with the Climate Bonds Standard in two ways: Absolute
Performance or Relative Performance.

Path 1:
Absolute Performance can be shown through compliance with a Trajectory where the asset must either
meet the performance target for that location over
the term of the bond, or it must comply with a Proxythat has been approved for use by CBI.
○Trajectories: are established for specific building types in a city/region or country where data
is available. The start of the trajectory equates
to the top 15% most emission efficient buildings in a city (rated by carbon intensity,
gCO2/m2).
Trajectories are linear and reach net-zero emissions by2050. The Climate Bonds
CO2 Target calculator automatically calculates
the missions performance targets for an issuer
based on city, building type, bond issuance year
and bond term.

The Trajectory Method Explained
Eligibility for certification can be achieved if their emission intensity is at or below an emissions intensity target calculatedusing the trajectory and the term of the relevant bond. Specifically, the target is equal to the value of the trajectory in theyear that corresponds to the mid-point of the bond’s tenor.

○Proxies: are used to assess current and best
available building codes or rating schemesthat bond issuers must adhere to, to ensure
they achieve Climate Bond Certification.

emissions performance data is unavailable or wherebuildings cannot meet the zero-carbon trajectory hurdle due to constraints such as heritage and historic
protection orders

Proxies are representative of the top 15%
most emission efficient buildings in aparticular market where data is notavailable. Proxies are may be placeholders
until more data become available. This means
proxies can be used as an interim solution
until robust data is available after whichthese proxies will be reassessed or on an ongoing basis, or considered expired.

Additional Requirements for New Buildings: The latest Buildings Criteria update (December 2023) brings
newrequirements to assessing
allnewbuildings (commercial and residential). These go further in achieving net-zero or net-zero ready buildings
by 2050.

Path 2:
Relative Performance can be demonstrated when aretrofitting project (major or minor refurbishment
and fit-out) improves the emissions intensity of theasset against the pre-retrofit baseline. This region
agnostic option is applicable across all different asset
types or public space renovations and it simply needs
to demonstrate an significant improvement (30% to50%) from the current baseline, which isdetermined by the tenor of the bond. This option isdesigned to ensure that even in regions wheremarket-wide

There are three key inclusions under:1.

No fossil fuels may be used for heating, hotwater, cooking, or on-site electricity generation

2.

Conversion to all electric buildings (electrification)

3.

The building supports necessary infrastructure to
support electric mobility where on-site car parking is provided.

Additionally, the New Buildings are also required toreport on the following:
4. Reporting on Whole Life Carbon Assessment(effective from 01 January 2026)
5.

Accounting and reporting in accordance withGHG Protocol, Scope 3 emissions rules
You can find more in our New Criteria documents

Interested in the Climate Bonds
Standards & Certification Scheme?

Get in Touch!

Begin thecertificate process
Contact our Certification team:

Online resources
Building Criteria
Certified Bond Databasecertification@climatebonds.net

Disclaimer: The information contained in this document does not constitute investment advice in any form or any invitation or inducement to engage in investment activity and the Climate Bonds Initiative is not
an investment adviser. Any reference to a financial organisation or debt instrument or investment product is for information purposes only. Links to external websites are for information purposes only. The
Climate Bonds Initiative accepts no responsibility for any content on any external website. Certification under the Climate Bonds Standard relates exclusively to the conformity of one or more designated debt
instruments, designated assets and/or designated entities with the applicable Climate Bonds Standard at the time of certification. Certification under the Climate Bonds Standard carries no implication (andshould not be understood as carrying any implication) as to any other aspect of any debt instrument or investment product or any collection of debt instruments or investment products or any asset or entity orgroup of assets or entities or as to continuing conformity at any time after the time of certification. Such certification carries no implication (and should not be understood as carrying any implication) that any
stated target has been or will at any time be met or that any particular legal or regulatory requirement has been or will be satisfied. The Climate Bonds Initiative is not endorsing, recommending or advising on
the financial merits or (subject to the previous paragraph) any other aspect of any debt instrument or investment product or any collection of debt instruments or investment products or any asset or entity orgroup of assets or entities and no information within this document should be taken as such, nor should any information in this document be relied upon in making any investment decision. The decision toinvest in anything is solely yours. The Climate Bonds Initiative accepts no liability of any kind, for any investment made by an individual or organisation, nor for any investment made by third parties on behalf of
an individual or organisation, based in whole or in part on any information contained within this, or any other Climate Bonds Initiative document.