Process Documentation: Portfolio GHG Accounting for CDFIs

A working document by Coastal Enterprises, Inc. Partner Community Capital Self-Help Credit Union & Ventures Fund

December 2021

Download the working document

During the summer of 2021, three CDFIs (Community Development Financial Institutions) - Coastal Enterprises, Inc. (CEI), Partner Community Capital (PCAP), and Self-Help Credit Union - embarked on the PCAF emissions disclosure process.

Our CDFIs collaborated during the disclosure process to share resources, address common questions, and make sense of the complicated work of GHG accounting for our financed emissions. In January and April of 2022, Self Help and CEI disclosed their portfolio emissions, and PCAP plans to disclose their emissions in 2022 as well.

Within this document we identify various decision-making points during the disclosure process, including gathering the right data and identifying the correct equations to use for disclosure. We aim to use this document to streamline future disclosure iterations. We hope other financial institutions, and particularly CDFIs, can use this document to understand the initial steps they must take to start their GHG accounting journey.

Disclosure gives CDFIs the opportunity to:

• Develop a GHG emissions baseline for the climate impact of our portfolio companies
• Identify sectors where we have the greatest opportunity to work with companies to reduce their emissions
• Demonstrate to investors that we are first-movers on climate-smart investment and disclosure practices

Ultimately, we believe CDFIs can demonstrate leadership among financial institutions and other community development organizations in addressing climate change. This is the first step.