CITY OF GOTHENBURG

GREEN BOND FRAMEWORKSEPTEMBER 2019

“It is a city that has sustainability in its DNA and is always eager to share best practice”

- GDS-Index Leadership Award 2018

2

Table of Contents

Background03.

City of Gothenburg Green Bonds04.

Use of Proceeds05.

Green Project Categories06.

Renewable Energy06.

Green Buildings07.

Energy Efficiency08.

Clean Transportation09.

Waste Management10.

Water & Wastewater management11.

Sustainable Land Use & Environmental Management12.

Climate Change Adaptation13.

Green Project Evaluation & Selection14.

Management of Proceeds14.

Reporting & Transparency15.

External Review17.

Who we are

The City of Gothenburg (”the City”) is a municipality

on the west coast of Sweden, strategically located

between Oslo and Copenhagen. With a population of

just over half a million, Gothenburg is Sweden’s

second largest city and home to Scandinavia’s largest

port and a variety of strong industries.

Swedish municipalities enjoy extensive fiscal

autonomy and can issue bonds to fund the delivery of

public services. The City is responsible for providing

services such as education, social care, planning and

building, health and environmental protection, waste

collection, water supply and purification, energy

supply and public transport. The City also builds and

manages rental apartments to provide affordable

housing. According to EU directive, the City always

carry out environmental assessments in relation to

larger investments, and Environmental Impact

Assessments if necessary.

Sustainability to us

Gothenburg is governed based on three sustainability

dimensions: social, environmental and economic

sustainability - all of which are mutually dependent on

one another. Collaboration for achieving our

sustainability objectives spans the entire organisation

and include both the municipal and the municipality

owned companies.

As for economic sustainability, anti-corruption is a key

priority for the City. We work actively to combat

corruption and irregularities by continuously

strengthening governance, control and transparency

across all operations. As to social sustainability, our

long-term goal is to reduce gaps in living conditions

and health, and to ensure that the city develops in

a way that is equal and socially sustainable.

The ecological dimension of the sustainable

development of Gothenburg is presented in our

environmental programme. The programme includes

12 environmental goals with the overall aim to create

a good living environment both now and in the future.

These goals form the basis of our environmental work

and they also have several sub-targets that we follow

up on annually. A revision of the programme based on

the goal of limiting global warming to 1.5 C was

recently initiated. The revision will include the target of

a fossil-free local transport by 2030, and for the City to

have a fossil-free vehicle fleet by 2023, at the latest.

We are determined to be one of the world's most

progressive cities when it comes to tackling

environmental issues and climate change.

Gothenburg was the first city in the world to issue a

green bond back in 2013 and the instrument has

become an important tool to reach the City’s climate

and environmental goals. In 2014, the City adopted

‘Sustainable city – Open to the world’ as our official

communication strategy. Our environmental efforts

have been recognized several times over the years.

In 2015, Gothenburg was named the National Earth

Hour Capital by the World Wildlife Fund (WWF) and in

2016, the City won the United Nation’s climate award

Momentum for Change. Other credits include a

number one ranking in the Global Destination

Sustainability Index 2018. In 2019, the City won an

award from the Swedish Environmental Protection

Agency for our perseverance and long-term

perspective related to waste prevention across

different sectors of the City.

BACKGROUND

The City of Gothenburg Green Bond Framework 3

We issued our inaugural green bond in 2013 as

the first city in the world and strive to continue

contributing to the market’s development. We were

one of the founders of the Nordic Public Sector

Issuers’ Position Paper on Green Bond Impact

Reporting, first published in 2017- aiming to provide

guidance on impact reporting for Nordic public sector

issuers.

The green bond market has evolved since we

launched our previous green bond framework in 2015,

with new market constructs such as the Green Bond

Principles updated in June 2018 by the International

Capital Market Association. It is the City of

Gothenburg’s intention to follow best practices as new

market standards develop. By setting up this updated

green bond framework (“Green Bond Framework” or

“Framework”), the City of Gothenburg offers investors

the opportunity to further support the transition

towards a low-carbon, climate change-resilient and

ecologically sustainable society.

This Framework defines the projects and investments

eligible for financing by green bonds issued by the

City of Gothenburg (“Green Bonds”). In addition, the

Framework outlines the process used to identify,

evaluate, select and report on eligible projects and

the set-up for managing the Green Bond proceeds.

The terms and conditions of the underlying

documentation for each Green Bond shall provide

a reference to this Framework.

The City of Gothenburg has worked with Danske Bank

to develop the Framework and CICERO Shades of

Green has provided a second party opinion.

The City of Gothenburg will assign an external auditor

to annually provide a limited assurance of the

management of proceeds.

CITY OF GOTHENBURG GREEN BONDS

The City of Gothenburg Green Bond Framework 4

Allocation of net proceeds

An amount equal to the net proceeds of the Green

Bonds will finance or refinance, in whole or in part,

investments undertaken by the City of Gothenburg

that promote the transition towards a low-carbon,

climate change-resilient and ecologically sustainable

society (“Green Projects”), in each case as

determined by the City of Gothenburg in accordance

with the Green Project categories defined on the next

page. All Green Projects will take place in the City of

Gothenburg or the nearby municipalities. Green

Projects form a portfolio of assets eligible for financing

and refinancing by Green Bonds.

Financing and refinancing

Net proceeds can finance both existing and new

Green Projects. New financing is defined as ongoing

Green Projects or Green Projects completed less than

12 months prior to the approval by the City of

Gothenburg’s Green Bond Committee. Refinancing is

defined as financing for Green Projects completed

more than 12 months prior to the Green Bond

Committee’s approval.

The distribution between new financing and

refinancing will be reported on in the City of

Gothenburg’s annual Green Bond reporting.

Exclusions

Green Bond net proceeds will not be allocated to

projects for which the purpose of the project

is fossil energy production, nuclear energy generation,

weapons and defense, potentially environmentally

harmful resource extraction (such as rare-earth

elements or fossil fuels), gambling or tobacco.

Sustainable Development GoalsAll the 17 UN Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs)

are relevant to the City of Gothenburg, but not all the

169 targets. The City has local goals and strategic

documents that address the most important areas in

the relevant targets. In this Framework, each Green

Project category has been mapped to the SDGs in

accordance with the Position Paper on Green Bonds

Impact Reporting 2019 for Nordic Public Sector

Issuers.

USE OF PROCEEDS

The City of Gothenburg Green Bond Framework 5

Reaching net-zero GHG emissions by 2050 is necessary in order to reach a globally

sustainable and equitable development (IPCC, 2014). This is one of the goals in

the City’s environmental programme and we have also adopted related sub-targets,

being: GHG emissions within the city shall not exceed 2 tonnes per capita and,

consumption-based GHG emissions shall not exceed 3.5 tonnes per capita by 2035.

Key in achieving the goals will be to invest substantially in renewable energy.

The target for 2030 is to produce 500 GWh of renewable energy. We promote both

small-scale production, by installing e.g. solar cells on the roofs of new buildings or

when refurbishing buildings, and investments in larger projects. As an example,

the construction of Sweden’s largest solar park at present - ‘Nya Solevi’ - was

completed in 2018 by one of the City’s municipal companies Göteborg Energi.

Bioenergy

• Facilities producing biofuel, biochar and/or biomass

such as biofuel preparation, pre-treatment,

biorefinery and pyrolysis facilities.

• Facilities for electricity generation or district

heating/cooling, as well as the combination (CHP),

that use biofuel or biomass as fuel.1 Facilities often

use a mix of different sustainable energy sources

such as biomass/fuel, waste2, water-thermal and

recovered energy.

• Rail and shipping related infrastructure needed for

the transport, loading, off-loading and storage of

biomass to production plants.

In the evaluation of all bioenergy projects, the

environmental and social impact of supply chain

elements are taken into account. Biomass/fuel

deriving from sources of high biodiversity that

competes with food sources is excluded.3

Sustainability of the supply chain is preferably proven

by a certification like the Roundtable on Sustainable

Biomass (RSB), Forest Stewardship Council (FSC) or

Programme for the Endorsement of Forest

Certification (PEFC).

Transmission

• Transmission of electricity produced out of

renewable sources from its production site to the

electricity grid.

• Infrastructure related to distribution of biofuels

(in particular biogas).

Wind energy

Onshore and offshore wind energy generation

facilities and other emerging technologies, such as

wind tunnels and cubes.

Solar energy

Solar energy technologies, such as Photovoltaic (PV)

systems, Concentrated Solar Power (CSP) and solar

thermal facilities.

Thermal energy

Water-thermal heating/cooling systems, including

storage facilities in e.g. caverns, and geothermal

heating/cooling systems.4

GREEN PROJECT CATEGORIES

Renewable Energy

The City of Gothenburg Green Bond Framework 6

1The City of Gothenburg does not classify peat as a renewable energy source2Less than 10 per cent fossil or plastic in the mix3Where applicable, compliant with the EU Renewable Energy Directive (RED)4Facilities should operate at lifecycle emissions lower than 100gCO2e/kWh

The financing or refinancing of the production, appliances, establishment, acquisition, expansions,

upgrades/modifications and products of renewable energy, as well as related Research and Development

programmes and/or the associated infrastructure.

Buildings

Buildings that fulfil, or are designed and intended to

fulfil once completed, one of the following

requirements:

• Commercial or Public buildings with an energy

performance of no more than 50kWh/m2, or

• Residential buildings with an energy performance

of no more than 60kWh/m2, or

• Buildings with an Energy Performance Certificate

(EPC) with energy class A or B, or

• Buildings that have, or are designed and intended

to receive, (i) a design stage certification, (ii) a

post-construction certification or (iii) an in-use

certification in any of the following building

certification schemes at the defined threshold level

or better:

– LEED “Gold”,

– BREEAM “Very Good”,

– Miljöbyggnad “Silver”, or

– The Nordic Swan Ecolabel certification.

Major renovations

Energy efficient retrofit or renovation of existing

buildings, reducing energy use (kWh/m2/year) per

heated square meter per year by at least 30 per cent.

Green Buildings

The City of Gothenburg Green Bond Framework 7

The financing or refinancing of the establishment, acquisition, expansion and upgrade of buildings.

In 2016, the building and real estate sector accounted for

21 per cent of Sweden’s total GHG emissions (Boverket, 2019).

The City’s programme for environmentally adapted construction

is an important instrument and tool for reducing the sector’s

environmental impact and contributing to achieving both our

national environmental goals and the City’s own local

environmental goals. The programme includes requirements

throughout the construction phase in areas such as health and

indoor environment, environmental impact, resource management,

and energy consumption. In addition, when we plan for new

construction projects, rising water levels must be accounted for.

Our sustainable building approach The City’s approach to sustainable building is governed in

the Programme for environmentally adapted buildings.

The programme is a framework with requirements on

construction made on land owned by the City. It includes

requirements to account for durability in the construction,

high quality indoor environment, minimal negative

environmental impact from a lifecycle perspective,

minimal energy use, integrating green spaces and

vegetation, stormwater collection, and preserving /

enhancing biodiversity, minimal resource use and waste

during the life of the building, promotion of sustainable

transport, and establishment of an environmental plan for

both the construction and operational phase of the

building.

Energy Efficiency

The City of Gothenburg Green Bond Framework 8

Energy

• Energy system efficiency, such as electric

transmission and district heating distribution, with

the aim to increase system security and to reduce

energy losses.

• Smart distribution systems, storage facilities,

metering systems and other intelligent energy

systems managing the intermittency of renewable

energy.

Buildings

Direct costs (e.g. material, installation and labour) for

installing energy efficient technologies such as heat

pumps, smart control systems, new windows, energy

efficient lighting, or costs for enabling renewable

energy sources. Investments should improve energy

efficiency in the respective area by at least 30 per cent.

Municipal activities

Energy efficiency measures in various municipal

activities and operations, such as exchanging traffic

lights to LED. Investments should improve energy

efficiency in the respective area by at least 30 per cent.

The financing or refinancing of the establishment, acquisition, expansion and upgrade of energy systems, as well

as their associated infrastructure.

Improving efficiency in energy systems contribute

to limiting global warming to 1.5 ºC (IPCC, 2018) and

enables economic growth, reduced emissions and

improved energy security (IEA, Energy Efficiency, 2018).

Energy efficiency is a key priority for the City and we

promote energy efficiency in buildings, transport and

industry, as well as in various municipal activities

and operations.

Low carbon public transportation

Public transport systems such as trains, trams, buses,

ferries and cableway transportation systems, with no

direct emissions (electric or hydrogen5) or associated

with a low carbon footprint (biofuel6 or hybrid

electric7).

Low carbon vehicles

Fully electrified, biofuel6, plug-in hybrid electric8, or

hydrogen5 passenger and freight vehicles9.

Low carbon transportation infrastructure

Infrastructure supporting electrified/hydrogen and low

carbon passenger and freight transport, such as the

following:

• dedicated charging and alternative fuel

infrastructure10,

• bus rapid transit systems, bus lanes and electrified

railways, that support modal shift from private to

public transportation11

• infrastructure for bicycles and pedestrians,

• cross cutting solutions11 such as digital solutions

supporting improved flow and transport modal shift

(e.g. road charging systems, systems for

autonomous vehicles, car-sharing schemes) and

sustainable freight solutions (e.g. electrified city

delivery solutions or deliveries by bike, and

terminals enabling reloading to and from rail or

other sustainable transport modes).

Clean Transportation

The City of Gothenburg Green Bond Framework 9

5 Climate impacts related to hydrogen will be considered from a life-cycle perspective6 Sustainability in the biogas production supply chain is evaluated, preferably proven by

certifications, as described under the Renewable Energy category7 With emissions below 50 grams CO2 equivalent emissions per passenger km, according

to the EU Taxonomy’s threshold for public transport

8 With tailpipe emission intensity of max 50g CO2/km (WLTP)9 Low-emission heavy-duty vehicles with specific direct CO2 emissions of less than 50% of

the reference CO2 emissions of all vehicles in the same sub-group are eligible 10 If separate from fossil fuel filling stations and garages11 Should contribute to significant GHG emission savings on either a passenger/km or a

tonne/km basis)

The financing or refinancing of the production, establishment, acquisition, expansion and upgrades of low carbon

vehicles and their related infrastructure (excluding rolling stocks and related infrastructure dedicated to the

transport of fossil fuels).

The Gothenburg region's growing population puts pressure on

the City’s transport system. The City must be able to meet the

increasing demand for travel while, at the same time, traveling

must become considerably more sustainable.

Our goal is to reduce the environmental impact of the transport

sector, substantially increase sustainable travel in Gothenburg,

and in the long term improve accessibility in the City.

This requires investments in public transport and enabling more

walking and cycling.

Technologies to facilitate carbon sinks

Bioenergy carbon capture and storage (BECCS)

facilities to produce biochar or other carbon sinks.

Recycling

Recycling facilities and related infrastructure, including

treatment and processing of all types of waste, for the

purpose of minimizing the amount of waste to landfill

and bring back valuable raw material to the market.

Pollution prevention

Projects for better waste management supporting

pollution prevention, such as discharges of pollutants

into water.

Waste-to-energy

Waste-based energy facilities, where energy recovery

from waste follows a waste hierarchy to ensure that as

much of the waste as possible is reused and recycled

before being converted into energy. Sustainability

aspects of waste transportation will be accounted for.

Waste Management

The City of Gothenburg Green Bond Framework 10

The financing or refinancing of the establishment, acquisition, expansion and upgrades of waste management

facilities and the associated infrastructure, and projects contributing to reductions in emissions to air, water and land.

Reducing emissions to air and achieving a non-toxic environment

by 2050 are key goals in the City’s environmental programme.

We work strategically with waste management, primarily focusing

on preventing waste from being produced in the first place and,

secondarily, to promote the level of re-use and recycling.

The goal for 2030 is to reduce the volume of waste per capita in

the City by at least 30 per cent compared to 2010. The same target

applies for our own operations and businesses.

• Facilities and technologies to ensure a safe and

sustainable freshwater supply.

• Wastewater treatment facilities and technologies.

• Protection of freshwater sources, such as

measures to secure groundwater levels and to

prevent the discharging of pollutants into water and

land.

• Improvement of water-use efficiency, such as

re-use of water and to reduce leakage in networks.

Water & Wastewater Management

The City of Gothenburg Green Bond Framework 11

The financing or refinancing of the establishment, acquisition, capacity expansion and upgrade of sustainable

freshwater supply and wastewater treatment facilities, the associated infrastructure and water efficiency measures.

Ageing water infrastructure (including pipe network, pumps and

treatment plants), population growth, climate change adaptation

and new requirements on water and wastewater treatment plants,

are all factors driving substantial investment needs in the water

infrastructure of Swedish municipalities (Swedish Water &

Wastewater Association). The City of Gothenburg have targets for

reducing water pollution, improving the quality of groundwater, and

preserving biodiversity at the coast and in sea.

Sustainable land use

Agriculture

Organic farming, certified in compliance with the EU

and national regulations.

Forests and forestry

Forest land certified in accordance with the Forest

Stewardship Council (FSC) standards and/or the

Programme for the Endorsement of Forest

Certification (PEFC).

Environmental management

Eco-system services

Protect, restore and enhance ecosystems and

biodiversity (aquatic as well as on land), such as

nature conservation, soil restoration, urban parks and

vegetation (e.g. green roofs and walls), the integration

of urban “blue spaces” (streams, lakes, wetlands, and

ponds).

Reduction of air emissions

Technologies and systems to reduce emissions to air,

such as nitrogen oxides, flue gas, sulphur, particle

pollution and other toxic pollutants.

Sustainable Land Use & Environmental Management

The City of Gothenburg Green Bond Framework 12

The financing or refinancing of projects targeting the sustainable use and management of environmental

resources, to ensure the long-term sustainability of ecosystems and livelihoods.

Managing land resources sustainably holds significant

potential for climate change mitigation, including

minimizing air, water and climate pollution as well as

promoting biodiversity and ecosystem services.

The City of Gothenburg recognize that ecosystem services

are a prerequisite for healthy habitats and a sustainable

urban development. Our goal is to have an attractive and

varied landscape and preserve the diversity of plants and

animals and promote the protection, restoration and

enhancement of ecosystems in Gothenburg.

Climate Change Adaptation

The City of Gothenburg Green Bond Framework 13

The financing and refinancing of integrating climate change adaptation and resilience measures in infrastructure.

In addition to our efforts to mitigate climate change, we must

also adapt to the consequences of global warming.

A changed climate with temperature increases, which in

turn raises seawater levels, constitutes the greatest risk for

Gothenburg. New construction and infrastructure expansion

must therefore account for rising water levels and floods,

and we must also promote the implementation of measures

such as vegetation solutions, urban drainage systems, and

tools for reducing the consequences of floods.

The City’s approach to climate change adaptation

The City account for the consequences of climate change such as

higher water levels, more rain and warmer temperatures. When the City

plans for new construction we must consider these issues, including

sustainable urban drainage systems and by 2030-2040, more

comprehensive protection against higher water levels will be in place.

The City also works with a model that connects land surface, pipes

below ground, sea level, and streams in watercourses to a large

system. The model enables simulations of elevated levels in the sea,

lakes and watercourses, and heavy rain. We can also simulate various

measures to minimize damage. Read more about our work with climate

change adaptation here.

• Investments to reduce the vulnerability of

infrastructure to climate change, including

infrastructure such as energy, water and

other urban infrastructure as well as

public transport systems and buildings.

• Investments in extreme weather research

and monitoring systems.

The investments should address climate

change adaptation measures that contribute

substantially to climate change adaptation

and resilience, without significantly harming

any other environmental or climate related

priorities. Investments will strive to:

i. Reduce all material physical climate

risks to the extent possible and on a

best effort basis, by assessing risks

posed by both current weather

variability and future climate change,

ii. not adversely affect adaptation efforts

by other sectors or activities, and

iii. when possible, adaptation-related

outcomes will be monitored and

measured against adequate indicators

to evaluate adaptation results.

The City of Gothenburg’s overall management of

environmental, social, governance and financial risks

is integrated in our strategies and is therefore a core

component of the decision-making processes of the

City, including the evaluation and selection of Green

Projects.

Green Project evaluation and selection

process

Green Projects shall comply with the eligibility criteria

defined under the Green Project Categories in the

previous section. The process to evaluate, select and

allocate Green Bond proceeds to eligible Green

Projects comprise the following steps:

i. Relevant Project Manager evaluates potential

Green Projects and present them to the Green

Bond Committee.

ii. The Green Bond Committee approves the

potential Green Projects based on adherence to

the Green Bond Framework and registers them

as approved Green Projects in the City’s internal

system.

A decision to allocate net proceeds will require a

consensus decision by the Green Bond

Committee. Approved Green Projects will be

included in the City of Gothenburg’s pool of

approved Green Projects.

iii. Decisions are documented and filed.

Green Bond Committee

The Green Bond Committee is chaired by the Head of

Treasury and includes members from the following

offices:

• City Planning & Development Office

• Environmental Office

For the avoidance of doubt, the Green Bond

Committee holds the right to exclude any Green

Project already funded by Green Bond net proceeds.

In the event a Green Project is sold, or for other

reasons loses its eligibility, funds will follow the

procedure under Management of Proceeds until

reallocated to other eligible Green Projects.

GREEN PROJECT EVALUATION & SELECTION

The City of Gothenburg Green Bond Framework 14

MANAGEMENT OF PROCEEDS

Tracking of Green Bond net proceeds

An amount equal to the Green Bond net proceeds will

be credited to a “Green Account”. The Green Account

ensures that the Green Bond net proceeds only

support Green Projects, or to repay Green Bonds.

As long as the Green Bonds are outstanding and the

Green Account has a positive balance, funds will be

deducted when relevant or at least annually from the

Green Account in an amount equal to all

disbursements made during such year in respect of

eligible Green Projects. All transfers from the Green

Account will be documented to ensure a full audit trail

and to simplify the Green Bond reporting.

Temporary holdings

While any Green Bond net proceeds remain

unallocated, the City of Gothenburg will temporarily

place funds in the liquidity reserve and manage them

accordingly. However, unallocated proceeds may not

be invested in fossil fuel related assets. The maximum

period that net proceeds may be unallocated is 12

months.

Allocation reporting

Allocation reporting will include the following

information:

i. A summary of Green Bond developments

ii. The outstanding amount of Green Bonds issued

iii. The balance of the Green Account (including any

temporary investments and Green Bond

repayments) and the available headroom in the

value of the Green Projects (if any)

iv. The total proportion of Green Bond net proceeds

used to finance new Green Projects (ongoing or

completed less than 12 months prior to the

approval by the City of Gothenburg’s Green

Bond Committee) and the proportion of Green

Bond net proceeds used to refinance Green

Projects completed earlier than that

v. The total aggregated proportion of Green Bond

net proceeds used per Green Project Category

Impact reporting

The impact reporting aims to disclose the

environmental impact of the investments in Green

Projects made under this Framework, based on the

City of Gothenburg’s Green Bond financing share of

each project.

As the City of Gothenburg can have a large number of

Green Projects in the same Green Project Category,

impact reporting will, to some extent, be aggregated.

The impact assessment is provided with the

reservation that not all related data can be covered

and that calculations therefore will be on a best

intention basis, e.g. if a building is under construction

but not yet operational, the City will provide best

estimates of future energy savings. As a founding

signatory to the Nordic Public Sector Issuers: Position

Paper on Green Bonds Impact Reporting, the City of

Gothenburg will, to the extent possible, make every

effort to follow the impact reporting principles stated in

the report.

The impact assessment will, if applicable, be based

on the Key Performance Indicators (KPIs) presented

in the table below.

REPORTING & TRANSPARENCY

The City of Gothenburg Green Bond Framework 15

Green Project Category Indicative Key Performance Indicators (KPIs)

Renewable Energy • Capacity of energy generation of plant (MW)

• Annual renewable energy generation (MWh per year)

• Annual GHG emissions reduced/avoided (tonnes of CO2 equivalent emissions

(CO2e))

Green Buildings Buildings

• Building certification or Energy performance class, if applicable

• Energy avoided below buildings standards (kWh/m2, or %)

• Annual energy avoided compared to the relevant building code (for new

buildings) (MWh)

• Annual GHG emissions reduced/avoided (tonnes of CO2e emissions)

Major renovations

• Annual energy reduced compared to the pre-investment situation (MWh)

• Annual GHG emissions reduced/avoided (tonnes of CO2e emissions)

Energy Efficiency Energy

• Annual energy reduced/avoided (electricity and other energy savings)

• Reduction in energy use (%)

• Annual GHG emissions reduced/avoided (tonnes of CO2e)

Buildings/Municipal activities

• Annual energy reduced/avoided (MWh)

• Annual GHG emissions reduced/avoided (tonnes of CO2e emissions)

The City of Gothenburg will annually and until maturity of the Green Bonds issued, provide to investors on its

website finans.goteborg.se/en/greenbonds/ reporting on allocation of proceeds and environmental impact of the

Green Projects.

REPORTING & TRANSPARENCY

The City of Gothenburg Green Bond Framework 16

Green Project Category Indicative Key Performance Indicators (KPIs)

Clean Transportation Low-carbon transportation and vehicles

• Number of vehicles

• Annual GHG emissions reduced/avoided (tonnes of CO2e emissions)

Low-carbon transportation infrastructure

• Number of charging points of electricity or biofuel installed or upgraded, if

applicable

• Passenger km in new means of transportation, if applicable

• Type of project, such as km of new train lines, bicycle lanes, if applicable

• Annual GHG emissions reduced/avoided (tonnes of CO2e emissions)

Waste Management Technologies to facilitate carbon sinks

• Carbon dioxide captured (tonnes), if applicable

Recycling

• Quantity of waste that is prevented, minimised, reused or recycled before and

after project (tonnes or % of total waste per year), if applicable

• Reduced/avoided GHG emissions as a result of the investment (tonnes of

CO2e per year)

Pollution prevention

• Reduction in discharges of pollutants to water (tonnes per year), if applicable

Waste-to-energy

• Energy generation (MWh per year)

• Annual GHG emissions reduced/avoided (tonnes of CO2e emissions)

Water & Wastewater

Management

• Annual volume of wastewater treated or avoided (cubic meters), if applicable

• Capacity of plants being built, if applicable

• Number of person equivalents (PE) of water or wastewater the plant processes,

if applicable

• Number of meters of piping laid, upgraded or replaced, if applicable

• Reduction in discharges of pollutants to water (tonnes of phosphorus, nitrogen

and other pollutants per year), if applicable

• Water savings (cubic meters per year), if applicable

Sustainable Land Use &

Environmental

Management

Sustainable Agriculture & Forests/Forestry

• Forest/Agricultural land area (hectares), if applicable

• Forestry/Organic farming certification scheme, if applicable

Eco-system services

• Type of project, quantified where feasible measuring improvements in

biodiversity and ecosystems

Reduction of air emissions

• Types and estimated quantity of emissions and/or pollution reduction (tonnes

per year), if applicable

Climate Change

Adaptation• Physical climate risk addressed and expected adaptation-related outcome

(quantified if possible)

• Number of individuals/households/m2 addressed, if applicable

Second party opinion

CICERO has provided a second opinion to this

Framework verifying its credibility, impact and

alignment with the ICMA Green Bond Principles.

Assurance

An independent external auditor appointed by the City

of Gothenburg will provide, on an annual basis, limited

assurance that an amount equal to the Green Bond

net proceeds has been allocated to Green Projects.

Publicly available documents

The Green Bond Framework, the second party

opinion, the limited assurance and the annual Green

Bond report will all be publicly available on the City of

Gothenburg’s website for financial activities:

finans.goteborg.se/en/greenbonds/

EXTERNAL REVIEW

The City of Gothenburg Green Bond Framework 17