MARC Solutions has revised its assessment methodology for providing second party opinions on sustainable finance instruments and frameworks. The revisions are intended to better align with recent trends in sustainable financing, reflecting the company’s continuous emphasis on a forward-looking perspective.

The change in the document title to “Impact Assessment Methodology” from “Impact Bond Assessment Methodology” reflects the methodology’s expanded application to banking and debt capital market transactions. MARC Solutions has also detailed the assessment criteria for sustainability-linked financing (SLF) and integrated sustainable financing frameworks, i.e. frameworks that support the issuance of green, social, and sustainability (GSS) financing instruments and SLF instruments. Furthermore, the updated methodology includes enhancements to the overall structure and language for greater clarity and usability.

Similar to the previous methodology, MARC Solutions’ scope of review consists of three components: (1) an impact significance analysis of the underlying funded project(s) and/or the corresponding key performance indicator(s); (2) a compliance evaluation against the applicable principles, frameworks, and guidelines; and (3) a sustainability performance assessment of the issuer. Specifically, for integrated sustainable financing frameworks, MARC Solutions will assign separate impact significance and compliance scores, as well as separate gradings for GSS and SLF components.

All impact bond assessments that have applied the preceding methodology will continue to be valid.

MARC Solutions’ revised methodology supersedes the previous assessment methodology and can be accessed on MARC’s corporate website here.