ING Group has updated its approach to sustainable debt issuance by launching the Global Green Funding Framework in 2024, superseding the Green Bond Framework the Dutch bank first published in 2015 and subsequently revised in 2022. The new framework broadens the scope and standardisation of ING's green funding instruments, reflecting the evolution of market practice in sustainable finance and the increased rigour now expected by investors, rating agencies, and regulators across the major debt markets in which the bank is active.
The framework has been confirmed as aligned with the International Capital Market Association's latest edition of the Green Bond Principles, the most widely adopted international standard for labelled green debt instruments, and with the European Union Taxonomy for Sustainable Activities, the EU's classification system for determining which economic activities qualify as environmentally sustainable. ISS ESG, the independent research and ratings firm, provided a Second-Party Opinion confirming the framework's alignment with both standards, supplying the external verification that institutional investors in sustainability-labelled instruments now routinely require before committing capital.
ELIGIBLE CATEGORIES AND IMPACT APPROACH
The Global Green Funding Framework designates green buildings and renewable energy as the primary eligible asset categories for proceeds raised under ING's green funding instruments. Both categories are firmly anchored to the EU Taxonomy's climate mitigation objectives and represent sectors in which ING has material lending exposure, providing the bank with a substantial and growing pool of qualifying assets against which green bonds, green notes, and other sustainable funding instruments can be issued. The bank's lending book spans commercial real estate, residential mortgages, project finance, and infrastructure, offering ample eligible assets across both designated categories.
ING's methodology for reporting environmental impact uses property energy performance certificate data to assess the outcomes of green building-linked investments and applies renewable energy capacity metrics — including installed generation capacity and associated greenhouse gas reductions per year — to measure the results of clean energy project finance allocations. This portfolio-level approach to impact measurement allows the bank to report on outcomes at a meaningful aggregate scale, rather than confining impact reporting to individual project data, which can be difficult to compile and aggregate across a large and geographically diversified loan book.
A DECADE OF GREEN BOND PROGRAMME EVOLUTION
ING's green bond programme has a history stretching back nearly a decade, with the 2015 framework placing the bank among the earlier cohort of major European lenders to formalise their approach to sustainable debt issuance. The progression from that initial framework through the 2022 update and now to the 2024 Global Green Funding Framework reflects successive adaptations to rapidly evolving market standards, investor expectations, and regulatory requirements. The EU Taxonomy in particular, which did not exist in its current form when ING first entered the green bond market, has significantly raised the bar for what qualifies as a credible sustainable investment framework under European capital markets law.
The adoption of a global framework, rather than one limited to a specific issuing entity or jurisdiction within the ING group, signals the bank's intent to use green funding instruments consistently across multiple issuing vehicles and markets. ING's broader sustainability strategy is anchored to a commitment to reach net-zero emissions across its lending and investment portfolio by 2050, and the Global Green Funding Framework sits within that wider commitment as a mechanism for ensuring that the bank's capital markets funding activities are aligned with the same climate objectives that govern its lending decisions and client engagement programmes.