Second Party Opinions

An S&P Global Ratings Second Party Opinion (SPO) is an independent, point-in-time analysis of a sustainable finance instrument, program, or framework. Our SPOs, backed by the award-winning Shades of Green approach, provide additional transparency to investors that seek to understand and act upon potential contribution to a sustainable future.

Second Party Opinion options include:

• SPOs for Use of Proceeds Financing: Assesses types of sustainable financing where proceeds are allocated to specific environmental or social projects. We offer three types of Use of Proceeds SPOs: green, social, and sustainability. For green projects, we apply our award-winning Shades of Green assessment which is our qualitative opinion of how consistent environmental activities eligible for financing are with a low-carbon climate resilient future.
• SPOs for Sustainability-Linked Financing: Assesses types of sustainable financing where the proceeds will be used for general corporate purposes, but incorporate measurable, forward-looking key performance indicators which are linked to sustainability performance targets into the financial and/or structural characteristics of the instrument.

With a Second Party Opinion, companies can:

• Demonstrate to stakeholders that your sustainability objectives are aligned to relevant market principles (such as ICMA, LMA, EU Taxonomy)
• Obtain an independent opinion that delivers the transparency and rigor investors and lenders demand
• Map use of proceeds to the UN Sustainable Development Goals
• Navigate access to the public and private sustainable debt markets
• Receive independent, research-based evaluations of green financing frameworks, grounded in climate science to determine their environmental robustness

The European Green Bond Regulation (EuGBR), part of the European Green Deal and action plan on financing sustainable growth, establishes a voluntary designation for green bonds which fulfil specific requirements related to the use of proceeds, reporting and disclosure.

Issuers seeking a European Green Bond (“EuGB”) designation are required to disclose how they meet the EuGBR requirements pre- and post-issuance and must also obtain external reviews of their EuGB pre-issuance Factsheet and post-issuance Allocation Report by an ESMA-registered external reviewer.

As one of the first ESMA-registered reviewers, S&P Global Ratings provides European Green Bond (EuGB) External Reviews, which are independent, point-in-time analyses of a European Green Bond’s alignment with the pre- and post-issuance requirements of the EuGBR.​​​​​

S&P Global Ratings can provide all three types of EuGB External Reviews:

• Pre-issuance Review, including a section on the Issuer Sustainability Context and a Shades of Green analysis for eligible green projects.
• Post-issuance Review, including a Shade of Green allocation assessment.
• Impact Report Review (optional, upon issuer request).

Both our SPOs and our EuGB External Reviews are backed by the award-winning Shades of Green approach.

From the impacts of climate change to the opportunities of sustainable development, a unique journey of discovery awaits every forward-thinking company, financial institution, government, and policy maker. Complete the form so we can connect you to the right specialist to support your distinct needs.