Overview
ISO 14100:2022 - Guidance on environmental criteria for projects, assets and activities to support the development of green finance provides a practical framework to identify and assess environmental criteria that should be considered when projects, assets or activities seek finance. The standard helps borrowers, financiers and other interested parties integrate environmental aspects, environmental impacts and environmental performance into lending and investment decisions to support credible green finance and reduce the risk of greenwashing.
Key topics and technical requirements
- Framework and process: Establishes a structured process to determine relevant environmental criteria for projects, assets and activities seeking finance.
- Principles: Emphasizes accuracy, completeness, consistency, credibility, relevance, transparency and sustainability when applying environmental criteria.
- Definitions and scope: Clarifies terms such as environmental aspect, environmental impact, environmental performance and environmental impact assessment to ensure consistent application.
- Assessment steps (as described in the document):
- Planning the assessment
- Information collection
- Interested‑party engagement
- Assessment of environmental aspects, impacts and performance
- Review, documentation and reporting (assessment and progress reports)
- Ensuring credibility and addressing greenwashing risks
- Decision criteria: Guidance on determining significance, context and materiality, and on applying the “do no significant harm” concept.
- Risk and opportunity assessment: Identifies how environmental criteria translate into environmental risks and opportunities for both borrowers and financiers.
Practical applications and who uses it
ISO 14100 is applicable to:
- Borrowers (public, private, corporate or individual) preparing finance requests that claim environmental benefits.
- Financiers (banks, investors, development finance institutions) assessing loan/investment eligibility for green finance.
- Advisors and ESG teams evaluating environmental aspects, preventing greenwashing and aligning financing with sustainability goals.
- SMEs seeking improved access to green finance (Annex D offers specific guidance to level the playing field).
Practical uses include:
- Designing environmental due diligence processes for lending and investment.
- Preparing credible environmental information in financing requests.
- Structuring green loan frameworks, green bonds and sustainability‑linked products with robust environmental criteria.
- Informing internal policies to avoid greenwashing and demonstrate compliance with “do no significant harm.”
Related standards and resources
- Annex B lists relevant international standards useful to borrowers and financiers; Annex C lists initiatives that support green finance.
- ISO 14100 complements ISO environmental management and sustainable finance standards and can be used alongside national regulatory guidance and EIA practices.
Keywords: ISO 14100, green finance, environmental criteria, environmental aspects, environmental impacts, environmental performance, greenwashing, borrowers, financiers, SME green finance.