Mazars supports the FAST-Infra initiative and its new Sustainable Infrastructure Label

FAST-Infra which was created in early 2020 by the Climate Policy Initiative (CPI), HSBC, the International Finance Corporation (IFC), OECD and the Global Infrastructure Facility is now one of the prominent industry-led initiatives that aim to increase the flow of private sector financing to sustainable infrastructure, with a focus on the emerging and developing world.

Over the last year, participation in FAST-Infra has quickly expanded to include over 80 institutions, representing key public and private stakeholders of the infrastructure ecosystem.

New Sustainable Infrastructure (SI) Label to identify sustainable infrastructure assets

As part of this initiative, Mazars has contributed along other institutions to the development of a Sustainable Infrastructure (SI) Label which launched at COP26.

The label is a globally applicable label for projects demonstrating significant positive sustainability performance. It is designed to enable developers and operators to show the positive impact of an infrastructure asset, and attract investors seeking assets that positively contribute to sustainable outcomes.

The label will facilitate due diligence processes and structuring of investments for sustainable infrastructure assets, thereby reducing transaction costs. Information on all labelled assets will be readily available to market participants via a data repository, which will provide a transparent platform for the market to disclose, report, and measure performance of sustainable infrastructure assets over time. This will promote consistent reporting under existing disclosure frameworks such as the Task Force on Climate-related Financial Disclosures (TCFD).

The SI Label has been endorsed by leading coalitions of sponsors and financial institutions who are investors in, and lenders to, infrastructure projects around the world. These endorsements will help encourage all financial institutions, institutional investors, and development finance institutions to use the SI Label, helping to address the estimated US$2.5-3 trillion annual investment gap for sustainable infrastructure.

Thanks to its active participation in developing the label, Mazars can help developers review their projects to ensure they are compliant with the label. We can also support you in the certification process and advise on its implementation.

If you need advice on any of these areas, contact us and a member of the team will be in touch to discuss further.

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