Aiming to increase the comparability of green and sustainable bond issuances by promoting transparency in the post-issuance reporting, the Green Bond Transparency Platform (GBTP) allows issuers to directly upload bond information on the platform - including the frameworks, allocation of proceeds to projects, and impact reporting through key performance indicators, and monitoring methodologies. External reviewers can also upload their assessment of a green bond issuance (Second-Party Opinion, Verification, and/or Certification) directly on the GBTP.
IDB’s Green Bond Transparency Platform and its global replication potential
Abstract
One of the key challenges to scaling green, social, sustainability and sustainability-linked (GSSS) bonds relates to the lack of harmonisation of post-issuance reporting practices, scarce disclosure of methodologies and accessibility of bond’s data. For investors, unharmonised reporting practices make it difficult to compare GSSS issuances – which can ultimately deter investments. While most post-issuance reports on allocations and impact metrics are easy to find (60%), issuers could improve accessibility on a single website, seeking to further enhance comparability. At the same time, issuers themselves lack best practice examples to follow in their own reporting; especially for first-time issuers, this poses an additional barrier to entering the market. Reporting platforms with open access can simplify the reporting process using standardised templates. In 2021, the Inter-American Development Bank (IDB) launched the Green Bond Transparency Platform (GBTP): a digital tool that supports the harmonisation, standardisation and centralisation of green, sustainable and sustainability-linked bond reporting efforts in the Latin America and Caribbean region. The Platform has the potential to be scaled globally.
Aiming to increase the comparability of green and sustainable bond issuances by promoting transparency in the post-issuance reporting, the GBTP allows issuers to directly upload bond information on the platform - including the frameworks, allocation of proceeds to projects, and impact reporting through key performance indicators, and monitoring methodologies. External reviewers can also upload their assessment of a green bond issuance (Second-Party Opinion, Verification, and/or Certification) directly on the GBTP. The platform is therefore, a public tool where investors can easily compare green bonds issued in Latin America and the Caribbean. For issuers, the GBTP provides a benchmark of best practice examples to follow. The IDB also offers complimentary technical support to issuers for data uploading, as well as assistance to external reviewers for submitting corresponding assessments. Additionally, capacity building resources are available in English, Spanish and Portuguese1.
It is important to note that the GBTP is intended to be a dynamic and flexible structure, to incorporate evolving market needs and best reporting practices. Thirty leading market actors contributed to its development by providing feedback at inception, and this still continues today.
Since its launch in 2021, the GBTP has succeeded in including more than 230 green and sustainable bonds from more than 100 active issuers in the LAC region. Over the past four years, the platform averaged more than 5,000 monthly different users and over 400 market actors received training on its use.
The GBTP won the “Initiative of the year – Green Bond” Award in 2022 by Environmental Finance. It was praised for its contribution to the comparability of impact reporting and for its focus on emerging markets. In addition to increasing market information to investors, the GBTP is also used by IDB to better understand investor needs and thus tailor support accordingly.
In 2023, the GBTP was selected as a Global Good Practice model by Oxford Economics for its ambition, sustainability, transformability and scalability to other jurisdictions.
In line with the scalability of the GBTP and the potential to be replicable in other regions and for other types of bonds, the IDB and other multilateral and bilateral development institutions have recognised the value of the GBTP for transparency and harmonisation, and strive to work collaboratively for its internationalisation. As a result, in September 2023, a Joint Declaration put forth the shared vision of the endorsing Multilateral and Bilateral Development Institutions for the global enhancement of accountability and transparency in the developing and emerging green and sustainable bond market.
The IDB co-developed with the World Bank guidelines for capital markets issuances to finance investments in the Amazon region, so called Amazonia Bond Issuance Guidelines. The GBTP will be used to track the Amazonia Bonds issued in LAC.
Amazonia Bonds Issuance Guidelines Document (June 2025): https://publications.iadb.org/en/amazonia-bond-issuance-guidelines-guidance-labeled-bonds-dedicated-financing-economic-environmental
Amazonia Bond Guidelines Landing Page (2025): https://www.iadb.org/en/who-we-are/topics/amazonia/amazonia-bonds-guidelines
A novel database for green bonds to support investment analysis and decision making, research, and regulatory decisions: The Green Bond Transparency Platform (May 2022): https://www.greenbondtransparency.com/support/resources/gbtp-a-novel-database-for-green-bonds.pdf
Environmental Finance Initiative of the Year – Green bond: IDB’s Green Bond Transparency Platform (2022): Initiative of the year - Green bond: IDB's Green Bond Transparency Platform :: Environmental Finance
GBTP Factsheet: gbtp-fact-sheet-august-2023.pdf
Global Good Practice Case Study-Green Bond Transparency Platform Latin America and the Caribbean (2023): https://www.greenbondtransparency.com/support/resources/gbtp-oxford-economics-global-public-good-case-study.pdf
Handbook for Investors using GBTP: greenbondtransparency.com/support/resources/en-handbook-for-investors-gbtp-1122.pdf
Joint Declaration for the Global Enhancement of Accountability and Transparency in the Green and Sustainable Bond Market (2023) 2023-09-04-gbtp-2-0-joint-declaration-clean.pdf
Memorandum of Understanding between the IDB Group and The World Bank (2023) https://documents1.worldbank.org/curated/en/099708409052330075/pdf/IDU068d28ca90f2740462d0972a0ebb5138f2fa8.pdf
Press release Amazonia Bond Issuance Program (July 2025) https://www.iadb.org/en/news/idb-and-world-bank-launch-new-amazonia-bond-issuance-program
Green, Social and Sustainability Bonds in Developing Countries-The case for increased donor co-ordination (Jun 2023): Green, Social and Sustainability Bonds in Developing Countries | OECD
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