European Investment Bank Carbon Footprint Methodology

Why a Carbon Footprint Methodology?

The European Investment Bank (EIB) has committed to aligning its financing activities with the goals of the Paris Agreement. A robust carbonfootprint methodology is essential for:

• Measuring the climate impact of individual projects and the overall portfolio.
• Identifying highemission assets that need mitigation or early retirement.
• Ensuring transparency for stakeholders, investors and the public.
• Supporting the Banks target of achieving a netzero overall emissions exposure by 2050.

Core Principles

The methodology is built on five guiding principles:

1. Sciencebased boundaries: Emissions are measured against established scopes (13) and relevant lifecycle stages.
2. Consistency: Uniform calculation rules across all sectors and regions to enable comparability.
3. Transparency: All assumptions, data sources and calculation steps are documented and publicly available.
4. Robustness: Preference is given to primary data; where gaps exist, wellvalidated secondary data are used.
5. Alignment with EU taxonomy: The methodology supports the taxonomys climaterelated criteria.

Scope Definition

The EIB follows the GHG Protocol and distinguishes three scopes:

For loan and investment projects, the EIB calculates Scope1 and 2 for the borrowers own operations and applies a Scope3 upstream approach for the financed activity (e.g., emissions from the energy generated by a renewable power plant).

Data Collection & Quality Control

Data are gathered in three layers:

• Primary data: Direct measurements, metered energy consumption, and verified emissions factors supplied by the project sponsor.
• Secondary data: Industryaverage factors from reputable databases (e.g., Ecoinvent, IEA) when primary data are unavailable.
• Assumption checks: All data undergo a verification step that checks consistency with the projects technical specifications and with historical trends.

Quality is rated on a fourpoint scale (AD). Projects rated A or B are used for detailed portfolio analysis; lowerrated projects trigger a request for additional information.

Calculation Methodology

The basic calculation follows the formula:

COe =  (Activity Data  Emission Factor)

where:

• Activity Data quantity of energy, material or service used (e.g., MWh of electricity, tonnes of cement).
• Emission Factor COe emitted per unit of activity (e.g., kg COe/MWh), sourced from the latest IPCC guidelines or EU-specific factors.

Key steps include:

1. Identify the relevant boundary (project, borrower, or portfolio level).
2. Map each activity to a scope and a lifecycle stage.
3. Apply the appropriate factor, adjusting for regional electricity mixes or technology efficiency.
4. Convert all gases to COe using the latest Global Warming Potential (GWP) values (e.g., GWP100 from AR6).
5. Aggregate results to produce total project emissions and intensity metrics (e.g., tCOe/MWh).

For complex assets (e.g., multifuel power plants), a weighted average factor is derived based on the fuel mix.

Reporting & Disclosure

The EIB publishes carbonfootprint results in three formats:

• Projectlevel reports: Detailed emission breakdowns, assumptions, and sensitivity analysis.
• Portfolio dashboards: Aggregate emissions trends, sectoral heatmaps and alignment scores with the EU climate targets.
• Annual Sustainability Report: Summary tables, methodological notes and thirdparty verification statements.

All reports are made publicly available on the EIB website and are subject to external audit by accredited climateassessment specialists.

Alignment with the EU Taxonomy

The methodology underpins the EIBs compliance with the EU taxonomy for sustainable activities. An activity is classified as taxonomyaligned when:

• Its carbon intensity is below the sectorspecific thresholds defined in the taxonomy.
• The activity contributes a minimum share (typically 30%) to climate mitigation or adaptation objectives.
• It does not cause significant harm to any other environmental objective.

Projects that meet these conditions are marked as green in the EIBs financing registry.

Continuous Improvement

The EIB commits to refining the methodology as science evolves. Upcoming enhancements include:

• Incorporation of Scope3 downstream emissions for selected highimpact sectors (e.g., transport, real estate).
• Use of dynamic electricitymix factors that reflect realtime grid decarbonisation.
• Integration of satellitebased monitoring for largescale infrastructure projects.

Stakeholder feedback is collected annually through public consultations and incorporated into the next methodological revision.

Key Takeaways

• The EIBs carbonfootprint methodology is a sciencebased, transparent framework that quantifies GHG emissions across Scope13.
• It relies on highquality primary data, supplemented by vetted secondary sources, and follows strict qualitycontrol procedures.
• Results feed directly into the Banks climatestrategic goals, taxonomy alignment, and public reporting obligations.
• Ongoing updates ensure the methodology remains fit for purpose as climate science and policy evolve.

For detailed technical guidance, downloadable templates and the full methodological document, visit the EIB Carbon Footprint page.