Febraban's Sustainable Finance Taxonomy: what changes for banks and companies

In July 2026, the Brazilian Federation of Banks (Febraban) published the Explanatory Guide to the Febraban Sustainable Finance Taxonomy, an update of its former Green Taxonomy, created more than a decade ago. The change comes aligned with the Brazilian Sustainable Taxonomy (TSB), from 2025, and matters not only to banks but to every company that seeks credit and wants to demonstrate its sustainability performance.

What a sustainable finance taxonomy is

It is a technical “dictionary” that defines which economic activities can be considered sustainable. With a common language, banks and investors can direct capital, compare portfolios, manage risks and report more consistently. For the banking sector, this means translating international and national references into criteria that work in day-to-day lending.

What the Febraban Taxonomy is

According to the official page and the Guide (both in Portuguese), the Febraban Taxonomy is a technical and operational instrument for banks to classify, monitor and analyze their operations from a sustainable finance perspective. It has three main purposes:

• to offer a more precise, up-to-date instrument that is interoperable with other national and international taxonomies;
• to serve as a sector monitoring tool, tracking over time the credit directed to eligible sectors;
• to promote the banking sector's progressive alignment with the TSB.

The Guide itself is explicit about what it is not: it does not replace other taxonomies, does not create regulatory obligations and is not a certification instrument.

A path that began in 2014

Febraban has published studies on the topic since 2014, when it released “The National Financial System and the Green Economy”. Then came the series measuring green economy funding (2015 to 2018), the 2020 list of CNAE activity codes, the 2021 Green Taxonomy Guide and the yearly applications to bank credit. In 2026 the taxonomy is revised, renamed Sustainable Finance Taxonomy and gets a new guide and a new CNAE list.

What changed in 2026

• Alignment with the TSB: the TSB becomes the primary reference for environmental and climate classification. For the social dimension, the basis is the ICMA Social Bond Principles.
• More than “green”: the modality previously called “Green Economy” is now “Environmental/climate and/or social contributions”.
• Positive and stricter classification: only activities whose contribution is inherent, predominant and verifiable at the CNAE subclass level are eligible. The distinction between “high” and “moderate” contribution is gone, because measuring additionality requires looking at the project or operation.
• Numbers: of the 1,332 CNAE subclasses analyzed, 189 were classified as eligible (57 for environmental/climate contribution and 162 for social contribution, with overlap), plus 91 public credit lines and programs. The Guide explains the list is shorter than 2021's because more recent sources and more refined criteria were adopted, and classifications were removed where the contribution cannot be shown structurally at the subclass level.
• Periodic review: the methodology allows updates as the TSB gains new objectives and sectors.

The three classification modalities

1. Exposure to climate change (prudential focus): identifies sectors most subject to financial impacts from climate, based on the 18 sectors flagged by the TCFD.
2. Exposure to environmental risk (prudential focus): identifies activities with greater potential for impact, based on CONAMA Resolution 237/1997. Being on this list is not a negative result; it signals the need for proportional risk management.
3. Environmental/climate and/or social contributions: the modality updated in 2026, which maps eligible activities and the TSB objectives (climate change mitigation and adaptation).

How classification works

The starting point is the CNAE, Brazil's National Classification of Economic Activities, at its most detailed level (subclass). The methodology has five steps: mapping activities, assessing them against reference sources (TSB and Social Bond Principles as primary; the EU Taxonomy and Climate Bonds Initiative as secondary), qualitative assessment in the Brazilian context, categorization by TSB objectives and final eligibility classification.

There is also a second path: public credit lines and programs, such as Plano Safra, Pronaf, Fundo Clima and guided productive microcredit, which can be considered eligible by their own design, regardless of the borrower's CNAE.

Mind what “eligible” means

The Guide is frank about its limits. An “eligible” activity is not automatic proof of alignment with the TSB, which requires substantial contribution, no significant harm to other objectives and compliance with minimum safeguards. Nor is it equivalent to a social and environmental risk assessment of the client, validation of project performance or certification of a financial product. Since the CNAE does not capture technology or individual performance, the classification does not replace the analysis of each operation.

To avoid greenwashing, the Guide recommends that banks record the subclass, taxonomy version and type of contribution, avoid double counting and not use eligibility as proof of impact. It also recommends that external communications state the scope, the version used (2021 or 2026) and the limitations.

What this means for companies

Even without any obligation, the taxonomy influences the day-to-day of those who borrow:

• Your activity may be eligible. If the company's CNAE subclass, or the credit line it uses, is on the list, the bank may classify the operation as sustainable. It is worth checking Febraban's CNAE spreadsheet.
• Data and evidence matter. Banks adopt integrity criteria such as traceability of use of proceeds and documentation for later verification. Those who organize their indicators and evidence have an easier time.
• Banks report too. CMN Resolution 5,185/2024 aligns financial institutions' sustainability reports with IFRS S1 and S2, and portfolio classification feeds that reporting. This increases banks' demand for information from their clients.
• Social criteria gain weight. Women entrepreneurs, MSMEs, family farmers, people in vulnerable territories and other groups appear as qualifiers of operations.
• Communicate without exaggeration. Calling an operation “green” without backing it with clear criteria is a risk. Sector eligibility is not, by itself, proof of impact.

What to watch from here

The specialized press, such as Let's Money and Eco Braziliense (both in Portuguese), highlighted the alignment with the TSB and the taxonomy's role in an environment that includes Eco Invest, the regulated carbon market and carbon pricing. Points to follow: how many banks will adopt the new version in their reports, which complementary criteria each will include, and how the classification will coexist with the TSB and the carbon market. The Guide also notes that the 2026 version reflects the first edition of the TSB, and that future updates are expected.

Talk to KICK

KICK Group supports companies with ESG maturity diagnosis, materiality, structuring indicators and evidence, and reporting, which helps them talk to banks and investors with more confidence, including through the B.KICK platform. Want to understand how the taxonomy applies to your business?

Request more information

Write to contato@kickgroup.com.br. Sources: Febraban taxonomy page and 2026 Explanatory Guide (in Portuguese).