Greenfin - France Finance Verte
The Greenfin label is aimed at financial players acting in line with energy and climate transition goals and assures investors of the 'green' quality of investment funds.
Generalities
| Label | Greenfin |
| Nationality | France - French/English |
| Management | Label issued by the French Ministry of Ecological Transition |
| Label type | Thematic |
| Website | https://www.ecologie.gouv.fr/label-greenfin |
| Market | The label targets mutual funds for sale on the French market |
| Products | 82 funds at the end of June 2022 |
| Criteria | https://www.ecologie.gouv.fr/sites/default/files/Codes%20ISIN.xlsx |
| Periodicity | annual |
Detailed data
| Description | The Greenfin label is aimed at financial actors acting in the service of the common good with the aim of facilitating the energy and climate transition and assures investors of the "green" quality of investment funds. |
| Genesis and development | Greenfin is the first state label dedicated to green finance; it was launched at the end of 2015 on the occasion of COP 21. It replaces the former label "Energy and Ecological Climate Transition" and is based on a decree and ordinance published in December 2015 that officially created the label and defined its regulations and monitoring procedures. |
| Objectives | Greenfin aims to mobilise part of the savings for the benefit of the energy and ecological transition; it guarantees the green quality of investment funds and is aimed at financial players acting in favour of the ecological and energy transition through transparent and sustainable practices. |
| Promoters and administrators | The French public authorities own the label (brand, rules of use, reference system) and approve the development proposals submitted by the Greenfin Label Committee (chaired by the Ministry and composed of representatives of all stakeholders, including representatives of consumer associations) which is also in charge of managing the whole system and ensuring the proper functioning of the labelling process and its development. The certification is then issued not directly by the Committee, but by the "Labeller" and Novethic, EY France and Afnor have been designated as the bodies responsible for issuing the Greenfin label. |
| SRI approach | To qualify for the label, funds will need to demonstrate that they have a thematic approach focusing on the eight categories of activities that fall under the umbrella of energy and ecological transition and climate change ("eco-assets") listed by Greenfin, as well as having a policy of excluding fossil fuels and nuclear power. It will also be necessary for the fund to have a method of assessing the impact of its investments towards the ecological transition and to be able to address ESG controversies. |
| Mandatory Criteria | The minimum criteria to be met in order to obtain the label include: Exclusion criteria for economic activities that are contrary to the energy and ecological transition or currently controversial (mainly concerning fossil fuels and nuclear energy), a Thematic Approach strategy focused on "Eco-activities" (8 categories of activities related to energy and ecological transition and the fight against climate change: energy, construction, waste, industry, clean transport, telecommunications, agriculture and climate change), a Best in Class approach for the valuation of its investments, a methodology for assessing the impact its investments are having in terms of ecological transition and a structure capable of dealing with ESG controversies |
| Additional criteria | There are no additional criteria |
| Allocation process | Society wishing to obtain certification must send their application to one of the labelling bodies and provide information on the nature and composition of Portfolio, as well as the management and internal control rules applied in order to carry out an initial analysis. Following the first analysis, an actual audit process will be carried out by the labelling body to determine whether the fund meets the necessary requirements. The decision to award the Greenfin label is taken independently by the labelling body, based on the audit report |
| External certification | The Greenfin label is granted for a renewable period of one year. During the one-year period, interim checks are carried out to ensure that the fund continues to meet the requirements of the label over time. |
| Focus on transparency | It will be necessary to make available to Greenfin its sustainability strategy and an evolution of it over the last three years; to have transparent financial management (limit the use of derivative financial instruments). The required transparency obligation is only towards Greenfin and not towards all investors. |
| Focus on periodic checks | Compliance with the criteria is monitored both at the end of the annual labelling period and through intermediate checks carried out by the labelling body. |
| Related parties | The label has entrusted the labelling process to external bodies that are responsible for issuing the Greenfin label. To date, EY France, Novethic and Afnor Certification are the designated bodies for the labelling process. |
