Second-Party Opinion Download

Sustainalytics is of the opinion that the Soilbuild Group Holdings Limited Green Finance Framework is credible and impactful and aligns with the four core components of the Green Bond Principles 2018, and the Green Loan Principles 2018. This assessment is based on the following:

USE OF PROCEEDS

The eligible categories for the use of proceeds, (i) Green Buildings, (ii) Renewable Energy, (iii) Energy Efficiency, (iv) Pollution Prevention and Control, (v) Sustainable Water and Wastewater Management, (vi) Clean Transportation, and (vii) Climate Change Adaptation are aligned with those recognized by the Green Bond Principles and Green Loan Principles. Sustainalytics considers that projects in these categories will lead to positive environmental impacts and advance the UN Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs), specifically 6, 7, 9, 11, 12 and 13.

PROJECT EVALUATION/SELECTION

Soilbuild forms a working group to review and select eligible projects, consisting of representatives from Soilbuild’s project management team, finance department, and sales and marketing department. The final approval will be made by the Board of Soilbuild. Sustainalytics considers this to be in line with market practice.

MANAGEMENT OF PROCEEDS

Soilbuild uses an internal register to keep track of the net proceeds from green bonds and green loans, while ensuring that a green project is not double counted towards multiple transactions. Pending full allocation, any unallocated proceeds will be held in Soilbuild’s general account and invested according to the treasury department’s general liquidity guidelines for short term investments. This is aligned with current market practices.

REPORTING

Soilbuild commits to report on the allocation of proceeds and impact metrics on its website on an annual basis. The allocation reporting is aligned with market practice as the reporting will include a list of Eligible Green Projects with the allocated amounts, as well as the balance of unallocated proceeds. Impact reporting will include qualitative and quantitative performance indicators such as building certification achieved (system and level) and energy consumption reduction (kWh), where feasible. Sustainalytics encourages Soilbuild to provide additional disclosure on relevant KPIs for pollution prevention and control, water management, clean transportation, as well as climate change adaptation projects.