FAST-Infra Announces FAST-Infra Sustainable Infrastructure® Label Secretariat and Data Repository

Bloomberg and Global Infrastructure Basel will help accelerate a mainstream transition to sustainable infrastructure.

Today at COP27, the FAST-Infra Group (Finance to Accelerate the Sustainable Transition-Infrastructure) announced that it has chosen Bloomberg L.P. and the Global Infrastructure Basel Foundation (GIB) to serve respectively as the Data Repository and Secretariat of the FAST-Infra Sustainable Infrastructure® (FISI) Label, following a thorough and competitive selection process.

As announced at COP26 in Glasgow, the FISI Label is a consistent, globally applicable labelling system designed to identify and evaluate sustainable infrastructure projects, with the overarching objective of supporting infrastructure as a deep and liquid asset class.  It stems from a multi-year effort initially promoted by the core members of FAST-Infra, including Climate Policy Initiative (CPI), Global Infrastructure Facility (GIF), HSBC, IFC, and OECD, under the auspices of the One Planet Summit.  The FISI Label Working Group was co-chaired by GIF and Macquarie.

The FAST-Infra Sustainable Infrastructure® Label will:

• Define and measure sustainability contribution and credentials
• Increase market trust and confidence around the sustainability of infrastructure assets
• Inform investment decision-making and attract private investment into infrastructure
• Encourage new financial product development (e.g. sustainable infrastructure funds and platforms)
• Enable the development of a secondary financial market (e.g. indices, bonds, securitization)
• Support alignment with regulatory compliance and disclosure initiatives (e.g. EU Taxonomy, Sustainable Finance Disclosure Regulation, Task Force on Climate-Related Financial Disclosures

With the selection of GIB and Bloomberg, a strong team is now in place to help move the FISI Label from endorsement by over 80 institutions and initiatives (including the Glasgow Financial Alliance for Net Zero, ICLEI – Local Governments for Sustainability, the Task Force of the Sustainable Markets Initiative, Investors Leadership Network, Long-Term Infrastructure Investors Association, and others) to global adoption and application.

As Secretariat of the FISI Label, GIB will assume responsibility for refining and maintaining the FISI Label framework and criteria, enabling alignment with existing standards and initiatives, and engaging market participants in a robust and transparent governance process.  In addition, as Data Repository of the FISI Label, Bloomberg will establish and maintain a technical platform to disclose, report, and measure information about the labelled projects.  Select information about the labelled projects will be made available directly through the Data Repository, and also through additional data distribution channels.

Bloomberg and GIB were selected for their expertise and capabilities to drive the evolution and adoption of the FISI Label.  GIB has established expertise in standards-setting, including operating other sustainable infrastructure standards, and will apply that expertise to the FISI Label framework and criteria. Bloomberg has established a 40-year legacy of democratizing access to reliable data and building world-leading technology infrastructure, and will apply that expertise to operating the FISI Label data repository. GIB and Bloomberg look forward to the next phase of FISI’s evolution: operationalizing the label and promoting broad application and scale among key stakeholders and markets.

Michael R. Bloomberg, Founder, Bloomberg LP and Bloomberg Philanthropies, said: “This effort will help drive more capital to sustainable infrastructure by providing the data and transparency investors need to make informed decisions. It will create healthy competition among developers for smarter, more sustainable infrastructure and provide new investment opportunities for companies working to reach net-zero.”

Daniel Wiener, President of the Board, GIB, said: “Driving capital into sustainable infrastructure is one of the world’s greatest priorities to secure a safe future for people and the planet. The Sustainable Infrastructure Label of the FAST Infra Initiative represents a unifying key tool in this urgent effort. By making investors’ exposure to environmental and social risks, but also opportunities and positive impact more transparent, it will also help to attract a broader range of asset owners to this market.”

Thierry Déau,  Founder and CEO of Meridiam, President of FAST Infra Group, FIG, said: “FAST-Infra will help bridge the massive investment gap in sustainable infrastructure thanks to a remarkably diligent effort of a global coalition of leading institutions, organizations, and individuals. The appointment of Global Infrastructure Basel (GIB) and Bloomberg, who will implement and run the FAST-Infra “Sustainable Infrastructure label” secretariat and data repository starting in 2023, is a significant step in our implementation mission. We look forward to supporting Bloomberg and GIB’s efforts to deploy the FISI label and make it a universal standard.”

Christian Deseglise, Group Head of Sustainable Infrastructure and Innovation, HSBC, said: “Setting standards for infrastructure projects to be labelled as sustainable is critical to achieving the FAST-Infra goal of supporting the development of sustainable infrastructure as an asset class. This announcement is about more than infrastructure. It’s about key industry players coming together to establish a template for standardization and collaboration that I’m optimistic can be applied to other sustainable projects and global problems.”

Mari Pangestu, World Bank Managing Director, Development Policy and Partnerships & GIF Advisory Council Co-Chair, said: “The World Bank remains committed to promoting green, resilient, and inclusive growth through sustainable infrastructure. I am pleased to see the FAST-Infra Label reach this momentous milestone. It is a unique, industry-led tool to build coherency and raise sustainability standards in the market. I look forward to the next stage of its broad adoption.”

Mark Dooley, Global Head of Macquarie’s Green Investment Group, said: “Investors are hungry for exposure to sustainable infrastructure, but they also seek greater confidence in the impact of assets. By providing a simple, practical framework to communicate sustainability credentials, FAST Infra’s SI label should provide clarity to investors and developers, helping guide capital allocations towards the sector. It’s a superb example of cross-sector collaboration and we look forward to working with Bloomberg and GIB, two highly-respected thought leaders at the forefront of the energy transition, to make it a global success.”

In the near-term, the FISI Label Secretariat will focus on organization, including recruiting the members of its governance committees and establishing office locations in Paris, Singapore and other geographic regions.

The FAST-Infra leadership is grateful for the support and efforts of all parties who have participated in the FISI Label Secretariat selection process, undertaken pilot projects utilizing the FISI Label, initiated upcoming development in emerging markets, and contributed to FAST-Infra initiatives overall.

About FAST-Infra Group

FAST-Infra Group is a permanent multi-stakeholder non-profit association incorporated in France in 2022 to effectively implement the FAST-Infra community efforts and deliver concrete results.  FAST-Infra Group brings together national and substate, private corporate and financial, multilateral, and civil society institutions to promote all concrete and inclusive solutions contributing to the development and improvement of sustainable, affordable and inclusive infrastructure services. FAST-Infra Group aims to make sustainable infrastructure a mainstream and liquid asset class, to integrate sustainability into the life cycle of infrastructure projects, and to attract private investment on the scale and pace required by the United Nations Sustainable Development Goals and the Paris Agreement, in alignment with the G20 Principles for Quality Infrastructure Investment (QII Principles).

About Bloomberg

Bloomberg is a global leader in business and financial information, delivering trusted data, news, and insights that bring transparency, efficiency, and fairness to markets. The company helps connect influential communities across the global financial ecosystem via reliable technology solutions that enable our customers to make more informed decisions and foster better collaboration. For more information, visit Bloomberg.com/company or request a demo.

About the Global Infrastructure Basel Foundation

GIB is a Swiss foundation based in Basel, working to accelerate a mainstream transition to sustainability and resilience in infrastructure around the world. Active since 2008, we work with stakeholders across the infrastructure value chain from city and national government to project developers and infrastructure financiers. GIB implements impactful programmes to drive change in the sector and has core competencies in setting standards for sustainable and resilient infrastructure.

MEDIA CONTACTS

FAST-Infra Group
contact@fast-infra.org
+336 72724756

Alyssa Gilmore, Bloomberg
Agilmore7@bloomberg.net

Isabella Biermann, GIB-Foundation
isabella.biermann@gib-foundation.org

Tehreem Saifey Ford, Global Infrastructure Facility (GIF)
tsaifey@worldbank.org

Rob Sherman, HSBC
robert.a.sherman@us.hsbc.com