Already a member? The ELFA ESG Fact Sheets are a set of sector-specific questions, designed to align market expectations and serve as an engagement tool for investors to help streamline the disclosure process for borrowers.
The Fact Sheets were created in 2021 following a series of workshops with sub-investment grade borrowers, investors, credit rating agencies, private equity sponsors, banks, and lawyers. The Fact Sheets are updated annually, reflecting the input of sector-specific analysts, credit analysts, corporate borrowers and ESG specialists who discuss the key ESG factors for each industry and how they have changed from the previous year.
Over the past 10 years, environmental, social and governance (ESG) factors have grown to be a critical part of credit analysis in the European leveraged finance market. Despite this, there is no market consensus on the level of ESG disclosure necessary. The ELFA ESG Fact Sheets are intended to serve as a starting point for ESG discussions between issuers, the buy-side, sell-side, and third-party service providers.Since its original publication in September 2021, our ESG framework has undergone a series of thoughtful updates to reflect the evolving sustainability landscape. Version 2.0, released in February 2022, introduced an ESG KPI table and incorporated minor refinements.
The March 2023 update (Version 3.0) expanded the introductory section, clarified carbon data request protocols, and included new questions regarding executive pay structures, anti-bribery and anti-corruption policies, and whistleblower protections. Sector-specific ESG considerations were highlighted in bold, alongside the addition of new KPIs in the supporting Excel table. In July 2024, Version 4.0 added language addressing the EU Taxonomy, CSRD, biodiversity, deforestation, and data source identification. Version 5.0, coming soon in August 2025, will continue to strengthen our commitment to transparency and alignment with global standards.
| Version number | Date | Changes and Updates to the Content |
|---|---|---|
| Original Publication | Sep 2021 | |
| Version 2.0 | Feb 2022 | Annual update to add ESG KPI table and further minor non-substantive changes |
| Version 3.0 | Mar 2023 | Update to introductory section, further clarification added to carbon data requests and additional questions on executive pay structures, anti-bribery, anti-corruption and whistle blower policies and procedures. Sector-specific ESG considerations are highlighted in bold. Additional ESG KPIs are also added in the Excel table |
| Version 4.0 | Jul 2024 | Language added in relation to EU Taxonomy, deforestation, CSRD, biodiversity and identification of data sources. |
| Version 5.0 | Aug 2025 | Coming soon |