Actual avoided emissions¹: Ex-post observations within a specified reporting period that is based on the clean energy produced and the grid emission intensity of the specific region in question. Figures are approximate and subject to change. For further information, please refer to Aquila Capital’s website, see footnote.

Battery Energy Storage System (BESS)²: Technology that stores electrical energy in batteries for later use, enhancing grid stability and enabling renewable energy integration.

Board of Directors (BoD)³: The governing body of an organisation responsible for overseeing the strategic direction, governance and overall operations.

Building Research Establishment Environmental Assessment Methodology (BREEAM)⁴: An organisation which provides a sustainability assessment framework for buildings and infrastructure.

Capacity⁵: The amount of energy output or input that can be sustained by a piece of energy-related equipment over a given period of time.

Carbon footprint⁶: A carbon footprint is the total GHG emissions caused directly and indirectly by an individual, organisation, event, or product.

Carbon intensity⁷: A measure of the amount of CO₂ (or other greenhouse gases) emitted during the supply of one unit of an energy product or economic activity.

Clean energy⁸: An umbrella term that encompasses energy sources, infrastructure, technologies, and related assets compatible with a net zero emissions energy system.

Climate-related opportunities⁹: Refers to the potential positive impacts related to climate change on an organization. Efforts to mitigate and adapt to climate change can produce opportunities for organizations, such as through resource efficiency and cost savings, the adoption and utilization of low-emission energy sources, the development of new products and services, and building resilience along the supply chain.

Climate change mitigation¹⁰: Actions that limit or reduce GHG emissions, such as cutting emissions from energy and land use or enhancing carbon removal through natural or artificial sinks, in order to curb global warming.

Climate impact¹¹: Effects of climate risks on human life, livelihoods, health, wellbeing, ecosystems and biodiversity, as well as economic, social, and cultural values, services, and infrastructure. These effects, which may be positive or negative, are often described as consequences or outcomes.

CO₂ equivalent (CO₂e)¹²: A standardised metric for the contribution to climate change exerted by different greenhouse gases, expressed in terms of the contribution that is made by one unit of CO₂.

Corporate Sustainability Reporting Directive (CSRD)¹³: An EU law which requires companies above a certain size to disclose information on what they see as the risks and opportunities arising from social and environmental issues, and on the impact of their activities on people and the environment.

Diversity¹⁴: Differences in the values, attitudes, cultural perspective, beliefs, ethnic background, sexual orientation, gender identity, skills, knowledge and life experiences of each individual in any group of people. the presence of difference within a given context, such as an organisation.

Electricity generation¹⁵: The amount of electricity generated by a generation facility in a specified period of time.

Embodied emissions¹⁶: Emissions incurred to produce, use and decommission an asset during its entire lifecycle.

Energy mix¹⁷: The variety of energy sources used to satisfy demand for energy services in a country or region. Expressed in terms of the share of total energy supply or final consumption represented by each source.

Environmental impact: See ‘Impacts’.

ESG factors¹⁸: Environmental, social or governance matters that may have a positive or negative impact on the financial performance or solvency of an entity, sovereign or individual.

ESG integration¹⁹: The systematic inclusion of ESG risks and opportunities in investment analysis, portfolio construction and risk management.

ESG principles: Fundamental propositions and values with regards to ESG integration, that serve as the foundation for a system of belief, behaviour, or reasoning. They guide decision-making and actions, and are often seen as universally applicable or enduring standards. For further information, please see our ESG Integration Policy.

ESG risk^20/21: An ESG event or condition that, if it occurs, could cause an actual or potential material negative impact on the value of the investment. ESG risks are the risks of any negative financial impact on the institution stemming from the current or prospective impacts of ESG factors on its counterparties or invested assets.​

Essential assets: Includes assets related to expanding or renovating the world’s low-carbon infrastructure. In the context of Aquila Capital, this includes clean energy solutions (wind, solar PV, hydropower, and BESS), diversified infrastructure, logistics, data centers, and natural capital.

EU Taxonomy²²: A classification system which allows financial and non-financial companies to share a common definition of economic activities that can be considered environmentally sustainable.

European Green Deal²³: European Union's comprehensive roadmap aimed at transforming its economy for a sustainable future. Launched in December 2019, its primary objective is to achieve climate neutrality by 2050, ensuring that the EU emits no more greenhouse gases than it removes.

European Long-Term Investment Fund (ELTIF)²⁴: A type of collective investment framework allowing investors to put money into companies and projects that need long-term capital.

European Union (EU)²⁵: The European Union is a political and economic union of 27 European countries that work together on shared policies, trade, and governance.

Forest Stewardship Council (FSC)²⁶: A non-profit organization, providing trusted solutions to help protect the world’s forests and tackle deforestation, climate, and biodiversity challenges.

Greenhouse Gases (GHG)²⁷: Gases that trap heat in the atmosphere are called greenhouse gases including carbon dioxide (CO₂), methane (CH₄), nitrous oxide (N₂O), and other gases.

Gigawatt (GW)²⁸: A unit of power equal to 1 billion watts.

Global Real Estate Sustainability Benchmark (GRESB)²⁹: An organisation which provides ESG assessments and benchmarks across real assets including real estate and infrastructure, for assets and funds.

Green electricity³⁰: Electricity produced from resources such as solar, wind, geothermal, biomass, and low-impact hydropower facilities.

Households supplied: Number of equivalent households supplied by clean energy. The calculation of the average European household consumption is based on 2018 Eurostat data. The average EU-27 household electricity consumption per person (in MWh/capita) is multiplied by the average EU-27 household size resulting in the average consumption of electricity of the average household size (in MWh/household). The electricity generated by the assets is divided by the EU-27 average consumption of electricity and household size (in MWh/household) resulting in the final value.

For BESS assets, the power capacity of the system is divided by the average household electricity consumption. This calculation indicates how many households could be supplied with electricity for a set duration. Figures are approximate and subject to change.

Impacts^31/32: The effect the undertaking has or could have on the environment and people, including effects on their human rights, connected with its own operations and upstream and downstream value chain, including through its products and services, as well as through its business relationships. The impacts can be actual or potential, negative or positive, intended or unintended, and reversible or irreversible. They can arise over the short-, medium-, or long-term.​

​Institutions can be impacted by or have an impact on ESG factors. As companies, institutions can be impacted by ESG factors (outside-in perspective), for example through the physical effects of climate change on their premises or have an impact on ESG factors (inside-out perspective), for example through their Scope 1 and Scope 2 CO₂ emissions.

International Energy Agency (IEA)³³: An intergovernmental organisation that provides policy advice, data and analysis to ensure energy security and help the world transition to clean energy.

ISO 20400³⁴: An international standard that provides guidance to organisations, independent of their activity or size, on integrating sustainability within procurement practices.

Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design (LEED)³⁵: A globally recognised green building rating system. LEED certification provides a framework for healthy, efficient, and cost-effective green buildings, providing environmental and social benefits.

Lifetime avoided emissions³⁶: The sum of all avoided emissions over the course of the lifetime of a given asset or portfolio of assets, typically including both actual (ex-post) and projected (ex-ante) avoided emissions. Embodied emissions that were incurred to produce, use and decommission an asset during its entire lifecycle are subtracted.  

This metric is designed to measure the contribution of clean energy assets to climate change mitigation over their lifetime on a forward-looking basis, specifically for assets under development and construction. Its calculation inputs are estimated based on expected production figures, grid emissions intensities. etc. Figures are approximate and subject to change. For further information, please refer to Aquila Capital’s website, see footnote.

Net Zero emissions³⁷: Cutting carbon emissions to a small amount of residual emissions that can be absorbed and durably stored by nature and other carbon dioxide removal measures, leaving zero in the atmosphere.

Operational excellence³⁸: Management approach that fosters a culture of continuous improvement and employee empowerment, enabling team members to deliver customer value and address issues proactively to avoid disruptions.

Principles of Responsible Investment (PRI)³⁹: An independent initiative which works to promote responsible investment. It offers six principles which help incorporate ESG issues into investment practice.

Programme for the Endorsement of Forest Certification (PEFC)⁴⁰: An international non-profit organisation which is a leading global alliance of national forest certification systems. It is dedicated to promoting sustainable forest management through independent third-party certification.

Scope 1 emissions⁴¹: Direct emissions from owned or controlled sources.

Scope 2 emissions⁴¹: Indirect emissions from the generation of purchased energy.

Scope 3 emissions⁴¹: All indirect emissions (not included in scope 2) that occur in the value chain of the reporting company, including both upstream and downstream emissions.

Securitisation undertakings⁴²: Within the meaning of the Luxembourg Securitisation Law, are undertakings which carry out the securitisation in full, and undertakings which participate in such a transaction by assuming all or part of the securitised risks - the acquisition vehicles - , or by issuing “financial instruments or contracting, for all or part of it, any type of loans” to ensure the financing thereof the issuing vehicles and whose articles of incorporation, management regulations or issue documents provide that they are subject to the provisions of this law.

Societal impact: See ‘Impacts’.

Sustainability⁴³: Using resources in a way that fulfils current needs without limiting the ability of future generations to meet theirs.

Sustainability Accounting standards Board (SASB)⁴⁴: An organisation that sets standards to guide companies in disclosing relevant sustainability information to their investors. Available for 77 industries, the SASB standards identify the sustainability-related risks and opportunities most likely to affect an entity’s cash flows, access to finance and cost of capital over the short, medium or long term.

Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs)⁴⁵: A set of 17 global goals adopted in 2015, aimed at ending poverty, improving health and education, reducing inequality, promoting economic growth, tackling climate change, and protecting oceans and forests.

Sustainable Financial Disclosure Regulation (SFDR)⁴⁶: EU regulation which requires financial market participants and financial advisers to communicate sustainability information to investors. Generally, Article 6 products that do not promote environmental or social characteristics; Article 8 products promote environmental or social characteristics; Article 9 products must have a sustainable investment objective.

Sustainable Investment Strategies: Within the context of Aquila Capital, this term refers to the specific strategies i.e., funds and/or securitised undertakings which focus on our definition of ‘Sustainable Investment’. See ‘Sustainable Investment’.

Sustainable Investments: Investments in e.g. clean energy or energy transition-related assets such as battery storage, charging stations for electric vehicles, energy efficiency, behind the meter, as well as forestry, environmentally-friendly and/or energy-efficient residential and/or commercial real estate, etc.

This definition includes but is not limited to sustainable investments in terms of the Sustainable Finance Disclosure Regulation (SFDR) for financial products. For more information please refer to the ‘Defining sustainable investments’ section of this report.

Sustainable investment objective: Refers to financial products according to SFDR Article 9, which are required to specify a sustainable investment objective, e.g. climate change mitigation, which a given financial product contributes to through its investment activities.

Task Force on Climate-related Financial Disclosures (TCFD)⁴⁷: The TCFD has developed a framework to help organisations more effectively disclose climate-related risks and opportunities. The IFRS Foundation has taken over the monitoring of the progress of companies’ climate-related disclosures since the TCFD has been disbanded.

United Nations Global Compact (UNGC)⁴⁸: A voluntary initiative based on CEO commitments to implement universal sustainability principles. It promotes alignment of strategies and operations with universal principles on human rights, labour, environment, and anti-corruption.

Verein für Umweltmanagement und Nachhaltigkeit in Finanzinstituten (VfU)⁴⁹: A network of sustainable finance professionals from over 60 financial companies which focuses on promoting sustainable finance. It provides information and resources, webinars and trainings, tools, experts for the network.

¹ Wiebeck, A., Arndt, B., 2023: “Lifetime avoided emissions”.
² Greenvolt, n.d.: “Battery Energy Storage Systems”
³ Investopedia, n.d.: “Board of Directors: Definition and Role”
⁴ BREEAM, n.d.: “About BREEAM”
⁵ IEA, n.d.: “Glossary.”
⁶ Science Direct, 2023: “Carbon Footprint”
⁷ IEA, n.d.: “Glossary.”
⁸ IEA, n.d.: “Glossary.”
⁹ TCFD, 2017 “Recommendations of the Task Force on Climate-related Financial Disclosures”.
¹⁰ IPCC, 2023: “IPCC Sixth Assessment Report Chapter 1”
¹¹ Umweltbundesamt, n.d.: “Klimawirkung”
¹² IEA, n.d.: “Glossary.”
¹³ EU Commission, n.d.: “Corporate sustainability reporting”
¹⁴ European Institute for Gender Equality, n.d.: “Diversity.”
¹⁵ EIA, n.d.: “FAQ”
¹⁶ Wiebeck, A., Arndt, B., 2023:“Lifetime avoided emissions”
¹⁷ IEA, n.d.: “Glossary.”
¹⁸ EBA, 2021: “EBA/REP/2021/18”.
¹⁹ World Bank, 2018.: “Incorporating ESG Factors into fixed income investment“
²⁰ European Union, 2019: “Regulation (EU) 2019/2088”
²¹ EBA, 2021: “EBA/REP/2021/18”
²² European Commission, n.d.: “EU taxonomy for sustainable activities”
²³ European Commission, 2019: “The European Green Deal.”
²⁴ European Commission, 2015: “European Long-term Investment Funds”
²⁵ European Commission, 2022: “The European Union”
²⁶ FSC, n.d.: “About us”
²⁷ EPA, 2025: “Overview of Greenhouse Gases”
²⁸ Merriam-webster, n.d.: “Gigawatt”
²⁹ GRESB, n.d.: “About GRESB”
³⁰ European Environment Agency, n.d.: “Green Electricity”
³¹ European Commission, 2023: "5303 final - ANNEX 2"
³² EBA, 2021: “EBA/REP/2021/18”
³³ IEA, n.d.: “About”
³⁴ ISO, 2017: “ISO 20400:2017(en)”
³⁵ LEED, n.d.: “LEED rating system”
³⁶ Wiebeck, A., Arndt, B., 2023:“Lifetime avoided emissions”
³⁷ United Nations, n.d.: “Explaining net zero”
³⁸ IBM, 2022: “What is operational excellence?”
³⁹ PRI, n.d.: “About the PRI”
⁴⁰ PEFC, n.d.: “What is PEFC?”
⁴¹ Greenhouse Gas Protocol, 2022: “FAQ”
⁴² CSSF, 2004: “Law of 22 March 2004 on securitisation”
⁴³ United Nations, 1987: “Report of the World Commission on Environment and Development: Our Common Future”
⁴⁴ SASB, n.d.: “About us”
⁴⁵ United Nations, n.d.: “The 17 goals”
⁴⁶ European Union, 2019: “Regulation (EU) 2019/2088”
⁴⁷ TCFD, n.d.: “Task Force on Climate-related Financial Disclosures”
⁴⁸ United Nations Global Compact, n.d.: “Who we are”
⁴⁹ VfU, n.d.: “Wer wir sind”