S&P Global acquires Shades of Green business from CICERO

S&P Global, provider of credit ratings, benchmarks and analytics, has announced the acquisition of the Shades of Green business from the Center for International Climate Research (CICERO), Norway’s foremost institute for interdisciplinary climate research.

The acquisition will be integrated into S&P Global Ratings and further expand the breadth and depth of its second party opinions (SPOs) offering. SPOs are independent assessments of a company’s financing or framework’s alignment with market standards and typically provided before any borrowing is raised. 

The global ESG debt universe has grown rapidly to reach $4.5 trillion now compared to $1.5 trillion two years ago according to the International Institute of Finance. Shades of Green provides independent, research-based SPOs of green, sustainability and sustainability-linked financing frameworks and climate risk assessments and impact reporting reviews grounded in climate science. Since providing the SPO for the first green bond framework issued by the World Bank in 2008, it has been a leading provider of SPOs, since being established as a subsidiary to CICERO in 2018. The firm has won multiple industry awards for the quality of its analysis and its Shades of Green methodology is highly respected in providing deeper transparency on climate risk.

“At S&P Global Ratings, we’re committed to providing the data, analysis and opinions that investors need to make decisions with conviction. In the same way we strive to provide transparency on credit quality with our credit ratings, we’ve been building the capabilities and expertise to support the development of the sustainable debt market,” said Martina Cheung, President of S&P Global Ratings. “Shades of Green’s unrivalled climate expertise and track record will help us further expand and strengthen our ability to help our customers seeking access to the sustainable debt markets.”

“With S&P Global Ratings, we have found a partner with the same commitment to transparency and the means to support a more sustainable financial system,” added Kristin Halvorsen, Director, Center for International Climate Research (CICERO). 

“The Shades of Green methodology provides transparency on climate risk while motivating early-movers in the market and rewarding advanced actors.” Christa Clapp, Co-founder, CICERO Shades of Green.

S&P Global Ratings will retain an office in Oslo, Norway where Shades of Green is based. The Center for International Climate Research will continue to lend its climate expertise to Shades of Green and provide insights to S&P Global’s other leading sustainability businesses. 

Since launching in 2017, S&P Global Ratings’ SPOs have been underpinned by a robust and published analytical approach and produced by a team of sustainable finance analysts relying on the sector level expertise provided by the credit analysts.

The transaction was signed and closed on 1 December 2022 and terms were not disclosed.

S&P Global provides essential intelligence. We enable governments, businesses and individuals with the right data, expertise and connected technology so that they can make decisions with conviction. From helping our customers assess new investments to guiding them through ESG and energy transition across supply chains, we unlock new opportunities, solve challenges and accelerate progress for the world.

We are widely sought after by many of the world’s leading organizations to provide credit ratings, benchmarks, analytics and workflow solutions in the global capital, commodity and automotive markets. With every one of our offerings, we help the world’s leading organizations plan for tomorrow, today.

S&P Global Ratings, part of S&P Global Inc., is the world’s leading provider of independent credit risk research. We publish more than a million credit ratings on debt issued by sovereign, municipal, corporate and financial sector entities. With over 1,600 credit analysts in 26 countries, and more than 150 years’ experience of assessing credit risk, we offer a unique combination of global coverage and local insight. Our research and opinions about relative credit risk provide market participants with information that helps to support the growth of transparent, liquid debt markets worldwide.

CICERO is a world leading institute for interdisciplinary climate research. We deliver high quality research and knowledge that help society respond to the climate challenge and strengthen international climate cooperation. CICERO is internationally recognised for its research on the climate effects of anthropogenic emissions, society’s response to climate change, and the formulation of international agreements. We have played an active role in the IPCC since 1992. In recent years CICERO has developed considerable expertise in climate finance and in 2018 established CICERO Shades of Green, a subsidiary to professionalise the climate risk services to the financial sector, acquired by S&P Global Ratings in 2022.

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