CICERO Shades of Green

What CICERO Shades of Green does

CICERO Shades of Green is a Norway-based (Gaustad) provider of Second Party Opinions (SPOs) on green and sustainable financings, founded in 2018 and now operating as a specialized brand within S&P Global Ratings. The company's core technology is the award-winning Shades of Green methodology — a qualitative assessment framework that evaluates how consistent eligible environmental activities are with a low-carbon, climate-resilient future, using a six-tier shading scale (Dark Green, Medium Green, Light Green, Yellow, Orange, Red). Its product portfolio includes Use-of-Proceeds SPOs (covering green, social, sustainability, and transition bonds/loans), Sustainability-Linked Financing SPOs, European Green Bond External Reviews (as an ESMA-registered external reviewer), Climate Bond Initiative Certification reviews, Post-Issuance Reviews, and optional EU Taxonomy and multi-regional taxonomy assessments (Singapore-Asia, Common Ground, Colombia, Mexico, Chile, Brazil).

The company serves three primary customer segments: sovereign/government issuers (e.g., Slovenia), financial institutions (e.g., Nordic Investment Bank, Vietnam Techcombank), and corporate issuers across all sectors. Revenue is generated on a professional services, fee-per-engagement basis, with SPOs typically delivered in approximately 20 business days from receipt of documentation and expedited to 10–15 business days for complex or time-sensitive cases. Go-to-market is sales-led, executed through S&P Global's global direct sales force, with a coverage model combining local sector expertise and global reach. The methodology originated in 2008 with the first green SPO issued for the World Bank, establishing the firm as the market pioneer and — per company claims — the largest external reviewer of green financings globally by volume.

Name

CICERO Shades of Green

Website

https://cicero.green

Company type

Private

Founded year

2018

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

1–10 employees

Short description

CICERO Shades of Green, now part of S&P Global Ratings, provides independent Second Party Opinions on green and sustainable financings using its proprietary Shades of Green methodology. It serves sovereign, financial institution, and corporate issuers globally, with ESMA-registered EuGBR external review services.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Product category

Sustainable Finance Advisory

SIC

Investment Advice (6282)

akta.pro primary industry

Green, Social, Sustainability & Sustainability-Linked Bonds (GSS/SLB) (FSACABAI)

akta.pro secondary industries

Green, Social & Sustainability Bonds (GSS/SLB Fixed Income Strategies) (FSAAALAF), Risk, Controls & Governance (GRC) Platforms (FSAFAOAG)

Keywords

• Sustainable finance assessment
• Green bond verification
• Second party opinion
• ESG ratings services
• Climate finance advisory

Headquarters

HQ city

Gaustad

HQ country

Norway

HQ region

Europe

Markets served

GTM type

B2B

Offering type

Services

Cost components

Personnel, Operations, Technology or R&D, Marketing or Sales, Infrastructure

Revenue model

1. Second Party Opinions: S&P Global Ratings provides Second Party Opinions (SPOs) as a service offering independent, point-in-time analysis of sustainable finance instruments, programs, or frameworks. Revenue is generated through fees charged to issuers seeking external review and verification of their green, social, sustainability, or transition financing instruments.

Go-to-market motion1 record

Distribution channels1 record

Marketing channels5 records

Core offering

CICERO Shades of Green delivers independent Second Party Opinions (SPOs) on green and sustainable financings, evaluating the environmental integrity of green bonds, sustainability-linked instruments, and other climate-aligned financial products. The firm applies its proprietary, award-winning Shades of Green methodology to assess whether financings align with low-carbon, climate-resilient pathways, serving sovereign issuers, corporates, and financial institutions worldwide.

Product overview

CICERO Shades of Green, now integrated into S&P Global Ratings, provides the award-winning Shades of Green methodology for Second Party Opinions (SPO) on sustainable finance instruments. The core product portfolio includes Second Party Opinions (both Use-of-Proceeds and Sustainability-Linked Financing types), European Green Bond External Reviews, Post-Issuance Reviews, and Climate Bond Initiative Certification. The Shades of Green Assessment serves as the proprietary methodology, while EU Taxonomy Assessment is offered as an optional add-on. These products provide independent analysis to help investors understand the contribution of financing instruments to a sustainable future.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Products and services

• Second Party Opinion (Shades of Green SPO) Independent Second Party Opinion using the Shades of Green methodology to evaluate the environmental integrity and climate alignment of green bonds, sustainability-linked bonds, and other green or sustainable finance instruments. Delivered to sovereign issuers, corporates, and financial institutions issuing or arranging green financings.

Quantifiable outcome

• Largest external reviewer of green financings globally by volume
• +2 more outcomes

Named customers3 records

Segments3 records

Ideal customer profiles3 records

Technology focussed No

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Feature8 records

Partnerships

One partnership is on record.

• ESMA (European Securities and Markets Authority)coreStrategic or Co-development PartnerS&P Global Ratings Europe formally notified ESMA under article 69 of the European Green Bond Regulation of its intent to provide services as an external reviewer during the transition period starting December 21, 2024. Listed on ESMA's website as registered external reviewer for EuGBR compliance.

Scale indicators5 records

Recent moves6 records

Expansion highlights5 records

Direct peers

• DNV: DNV is an accredited verifier and reviewer under the Climate Bonds Initiative and provides second-party opinions and assurance on green/sustainability-linked finance. Its maritime and energy assurance heritage gives it sector depth comparable to CICERO's climate transition assessments.
• Sustainalytics (Morningstar): Sustainalytics is one of the largest pure-play providers of Second Party Opinions on green, social, sustainability, and sustainability-linked bonds. Acquired by Morningstar in 2020, it competes head-to-head with CICERO across SPOs, CBI verification, and ESG ratings.
• ISS ESG (ISS STOXX, Deutsche Börse): ISS ESG provides Second Party Opinions, green bond reviews, and ESG data for institutional investors and issuers. It is a directly comparable external reviewer competing for the same EuGBR-registered mandate and CBI verification work as CICERO.

Emerging players

• Bureau Veritas: Bureau Veritas provides independent assurance and verification for green and sustainability-linked financing instruments, including EU Taxonomy and CBI-aligned reviews. It is an emerging competitor leveraging its TIC (testing, inspection, certification) platform to expand into the external review space CICERO dominates.
• EcoVadis: EcoVadis is a leading sustainability ratings provider expanding into sustainable finance assessments and supply-chain-linked green instrument reviews. It is an adjacent player whose expanding scope increasingly intersects with CICERO's enterprise sustainability context analysis offering.
• MUFG (Sustainable Finance team): MUFG and other large underwriters have built internal sustainable finance assessment capabilities and partner with external reviewers. While not a direct SPO competitor, it represents the type of bank-led capability that could disintermediate pure-play SPO providers like CICERO on certain deal types.

Others

• Climate Bonds Initiative: CBI is the standard-setter for the Climate Bonds Standard and Certification scheme, of which CICERO is an approved verifier. It is an ecosystem participant rather than a competitor, but it shapes the demand pipeline for CICERO's CBI-aligned review services.

Regional players

• Arc Ratings: Arc Ratings is a European credit rating agency and ESMA-registered CRA that has begun offering green bond and sustainability assessments. It is a regional peer focused on European issuers, competing with CICERO for EuGB external review mandates.

Broad incumbents

• MSCI ESG Research: MSCI provides ESG ratings, sustainable finance analytics, and increasingly SPO-adjacent services to institutional investors and issuers. It is a broader incumbent that competes with CICERO in the sustainable-debt data and assessment space, though its core franchise is ratings rather than second-party review.
• Moody's (Moody's ESG Solutions): Moody's offers Second Party Opinions, green bond assessments, and sustainability ratings through Moody's ESG Solutions (including the former Vigeo Eiris and Four Twenty Seven). It is one of the closest direct competitors to CICERO's SPO and EuGBR review services, backed by a global credit ratings franchise analogous to S&P Global Ratings.

Market position

Strengths5 records

Weaknesses5 records

Competitive moat5 records

Key risks5 records

Key highlights7 records

Customer concentration

• LinkedInlinkedin.com/company/cicero-shades-of-green

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Funding overview

Funding rounds

Investors

Funding detail is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

M&A

Investments

M&A and investment is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

Frequently asked questions about CICERO Shades of Green