Sustainalytics出具的气候债券标准发行前认证报告.pdf

Industrial Bank Co. PRE-ISSUANCE VERIFICATION LETTER WIND ENERGY CRITERIA OF THE CLIMATE BONDS STANDARD SOLAR ENERGY CRITERIA OF THE CLIMATE BOND STANDARD LOW CARBON LAND TRANSPORT CRITERIA OF THE CLIMATE BONDS STANDARD Type of engagement: Assurance Engagement Period engagement was carried out: October 2018 Approved verifier: Sustainalytics Contact address for engagement: De Entrée, 35-37 – 1101BH, P.O. Box 22703 – 1100 DE, Amsterdam, The Netherlands Pre-Issuance Engagement Leader: Mihai Cojocaru, mihai.cojocaru@sustainalytics.com, (+31) 20 888 7292 Scope and Objectives Industrial Bank Co., (“IB” or “the company”) has engaged Sustainalytics to review and verify that Industrial Bank Co.’s green bond meets the requirements under the Wind Energy Criteria, Solar Energy Criteria and the Low Carbon Transport Energy Criteria of the Climate Bonds Standard. Industrial Bank Co. is a publicly listed Chinese bank providing personal banking, corporate banking and institutional banking services in the People’s Republic of China. The company was founded in 1988 and is based in Fuzhou, Fujian, China. IB has transitioned its philosophy from “shareholders’ interest foremost” to “giving consideration to the interests of stakeholders” and the “harmonious unification of the economy, society, and the environment and sustainable development of bank”. To achieve its sustainability vision, IB has promoted green finance in the Chinese market and directly contributed to the design of the People’s Bank of China’s (PBOC) Green Bond Issuance Guidelines.12 To confirm its adherence to green financing, in 2016 IB issued three bonds following the PBOC Green Bond Issuance Guidelines3 with a combined par value of RMB 50 billion (USD 7.2 billion), and used the proceeds to finance projects related environmental protection, energy efficiency, clean energy, resource conservation and recycling, clean transportation, ecological protection and climate change mitigation and adaptation. Industrial Bank Co. is intending to issue green bonds in order to finance or refinance, in whole or in part, ‘Eligible Green Assets’ related to: • • Renewable Energy (onshore wind and solar generation facilities) Clean Transportation (electrified urban rail transit and electric metro lines) In line with its stated philosophy to unify the economy, the society and environment and to promote green finance in China, the objective of IB’s current green bond issuance is to showcase its support for environmentally impactful investments in alignment with current green bond market standards, namely: ICMA’s 2018 Green Bond Principles, The Guidelines for Establishing a Green Finance System, the People’s Bank of China (PBOC), Ministry of Finance, National Development and Reform Commission (NDRC), Ministry of Environmental Protection, China Banking Regulatory Commission), China Securities Regulatory Commission (CSRC), China Insurance Regulatory Commission (CIRC), and the Green Bond Categories established by the People’s Bank of China (PBOC). 1 A CBI overview for the People’s Bank of China Green Bond Issuance Guidelines available at: https://www.climatebonds.net/2017/05/china-issues- special-green-bonds-guidelines-listed-companies-new-china-local-govt-green-bond 2 The People’s Bank of China Green Bond Issuance Guidelines available at: http://www.csrc.gov.cn/pub/zjhpublic/G00306201/201703/p020170303534078925053.pdf 3 IB confirmed that an independent third-party (The Research Center for Energy of the Central University of Finance and Economics in Beijing) verified the compliance of the three issuances with the PBOC Green Bond Issuance Guidelines © Sustainalytics 2018 Pre-Issuance Verification Letter Industrial Bank Co. Ltd. Climate Bonds Standards Criteria Pre-issuance requirements under Climate Bond Standards Version 2.1: • • • Wind Energy4 Solar Energy5 Low Carbon Transport6 Issuing Entity’s Responsibility Industrial Bank Co. was responsible for providing information and documents relating to: • The details concerning the selection process for the Eligible Green Assets • The details of the Eligible Green Assets • The management systems for internal processes and controls for Eligible Green Assets, including: tracking of proceeds, managing unallocated proceeds and Earmarking funds to Eligible Green Assets • The details of commitments for reporting prior to issuance, including: investment areas, management of unallocated proceeds and frequency of periodic Assurance Engagements Independence and Quality Control Sustainalytics, a leading provider of ESG and corporate governance research and ratings to investors, conducted the verification of Industrial Bank Co.’s green bond, issued to finance Eligible Green Assets, and provided an independent opinion informing Industrial Bank Co. as to the conformance of the green bond with the Pre-Issuance requirements of the Wind Energy Criteria, the Solar Energy Criteria and the Low Carbon Transport Criteria of the Climate Bonds Standard. Sustainalytics has relied on the information and the facts presented by Industrial Bank Co. Sustainalytics is not responsible if any aspect of the Eligible Green Assets referred to in this opinion including estimates, findings, opinions, or conclusions are incorrect. Thus, Sustainalytics shall not be held liable if any of the information or data provided by Industrial Bank Co. management and used as a basis for this assessment were not correct or complete. Sustainalytics makes all efforts to ensure the highest quality and rigor during its assessment process and enlisted its Sustainability Bonds Review Committee to provide oversight over the assessment of the bond. Verifier’s Responsibility The work undertaken as part of this engagement included conversations with relevant Industrial Bank Co. employees and review of relevant documentation to confirm the green bond’s conformance with the Climate Bonds Certification Pre-Issuance Requirements, which include: • Conformance of Industrial Bank Co.’s green bond with the Climate Bonds Standard Version 2.1; • Conformance with the Technical Criteria on Wind Energy Sector, Solar Energy Sector and Low Carbon Transport Sector • Conformance with the Internal Processes & Controls requirements • Conformance with Reporting Prior to Issuance requirements Basis of the Opinion 4 Wind Energy Criteria available at: https://www.climatebonds.net/files/files/Sector%20Criteria%20-%20Wind.pdf Solar Energy Criteria available at: https://www.climatebonds.net/files/files/Sector%20Criteria%20-%20Solar%20v2_1.pdf Low Carbon Transport Criteria available at: https://www.climatebonds.net/files/files/Low%20Carbon%20Transport%20Background%20Paper%20Feb%202017.pdf 5 6 2 Pre-Issuance Verification Letter Industrial Bank Co. Ltd. Sustainalytics conducted the verification in accordance with the Climate Bond Standard Version 2.1 and with International Standard on Assurance Engagements 3000 – Assurance Engagements other than Audits or Reviews of Historical Information. Sustainalytics planned and performed the verification by obtaining evidence and other information and explanations that Sustainalytics considers necessary to give reasonable assurance that Industrial Bank Co.’s green bond meets the requirements of the Climate Bond Standard. Upon reviewing evidence and other information, Sustainalytics is of the opinion that Industrial Bank Co. will ensure compliance with Climate Bond Standard requirements. Conclusion Industrial Bank Co.’s green bond will finance or refinance, in whole or in part, Eligible Green Assets related to (i) Renewable Energy (onshore wind and solar power generation facilities) and (ii) Clean Transportation (electrified urban rail transit and electric metro lines). Based on the limited assurance procedures conducted, nothing has come to Sustainalytics’ attention that causes us to believe that, in all material aspects, Industrial Bank Co.’s green bond is not in conformance with the Wind Energy Criteria, the Solar Energy Criteria and the Low Carbon Transport Criteria of the Climate Bond Standard Pre-Issuance Requirements. 3 Pre-Issuance Verification Letter Industrial Bank Co. Ltd. Disclaimer © Sustainalytics 2018. All rights reserved. The intellectual property rights to this Second-Party Opinion (the “Opinion”) are vested exclusively in Sustainalytics. Unless otherwise expressly agreed in writing by Sustainalytics, no part of this Opinion may be reproduced, disseminated, comingled, used to create derivative works, furnished in any manner, made available to third parties or published, parts hereof or the information contained herein in any form or in any manner, be it electronically, mechanically, through photocopies or recordings, nor publicly released without the “Green Bond Framework” in conjunction with which this Opinion has been developed. The Opinion was drawn up with the aim to provide objective information on why the analyzed bond is considered sustainable and responsible, and is intended for investors in general, and not for a specific investor in particular. Consequently, this Opinion is for information purposes only and Sustainalytics will not accept any form of liability for the substance of the opinion and/or any liability for damage arising from the use of this Opinion and/or the information provided in it. As the Opinion is based on information made available by the client, the information is provided “as is” and, therefore Sustainalytics does not warrant that the information presented in this Opinion is complete, accurate or up to date, nor assumes any responsibility for errors or omissions. Any reference to third party names is for appropriate acknowledgement of their ownership and does not constitute a sponsorship or endorsement by such owner. Nothing contained in this Opinion shall be construed as to make a representation or warranty, express or implied, regarding the advisability to invest in or include companies in investable universes and/or portfolios. Furthermore, nothing contained in this Opinion shall be construed as an investment advice (as defined in the applicable jurisdiction), nor be interpreted and construed as an assessment of the economic performance and credit worthiness of the bond, nor to have focused on the effective allocation of the funds’ use of proceeds. The client is fully responsible for certifying and ensuring its commitments’ compliance, implementation and monitoring. 9 Pre-Issuance Verification Letter Industrial Bank Co. Ltd. Sustainalytics Sustainalytics is a leading independent ESG and corporate governance research, ratings and analytics firm that support investors around the world with the development and implementation of responsible investment strategies. With 13 offices globally, the firm partners with institutional investors who integrate ESG information and assessments into their investment processes. Spanning 30 countries, the world’s leading issuers, from multinational corporations to financial institutions to governments, turn to Sustainalytics for second-party opinions on green and sustainable bond frameworks. Sustainalytics has been certified by the Climate Bonds Standard Board as a verifier organization and supports various stakeholders in the development and verification of their frameworks. Global Capital named Sustainalytics the “Most Impressive Second Party Opinion Provider in 2017. In 2018, the firm was recognized as the “Largest External Reviewer” by the Climate Bonds Initiative as well as Environmental Finance. In addition, Sustainalytics received a Special Mention Sustainable Finance Award in 2018 from The Research Institute for Environmental Finance Japan for its contribution to the growth of the Japanese Green Bond Market. For more information, visit www.sustainalytics.com Or contact us info@sustainalytics.com 10