11 June 2024

ICMA responds to the technical standards proposed by ESMA for the external reviewers of EuGBs

ICMA hosts the Principles that underpin sustainable bond issuances globally. In 2023, 97% of the global sustainable bond issuance volume aligned with the Green, Social, Sustainability, and Sustainability-linked Bond Principles (the Principles).

As globally accepted market standards, the Principles are the fruit of extensive work and input from over 380 organisations including issuers, investors, and various other stakeholders, such as the external reviewers. ICMA-hosted standards benefitting the sustainable bond market also includes the Guidelines for External Reviews. Being developed as a common undertaking between the Executive Committee of the Principles and the Advisory Council in consultation with a group of leading external reviewers, these provide voluntary guidance relating to professional and ethical standards for external reviewers, as well as to the organisation, content and disclosure for their reports, and thus promote best practice in the provision of external review services for green, social, sustainability and sustainability-linked bonds. As of May 2024, 42 external reviewers from various countries have notified ICMA of their voluntary alignment with these Guidelines. In 2021, the Executive Committee of the Principles also established the External Reviewers’ Forum which convenes approximately three times a year to share information and experience on the interpretation of the Principles and related guidance, existing and future market practice, and the impact of national regulations. Furthermore, ICMA extensively engaged with EU lawmakers during the legislative process of the Regulation for European green bonds, also known as the European Green Bond Standard (EU GBS). We published six papers/statements since the original proposal of July 20211 and engaged bilaterally with EU lawmakers to ensure the complementarity of the EU GBS....

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