# XframeworkID

> An open registry that assigns permanent, content-based identifiers (XFIDs) to extra-financial disclosure documents associated with labelled bond issuances — green bond frameworks, second party opinions (SPOs), assurance reports, impact reports, prospectuses, and academic research about labelled bonds. XFIDs work like DOIs for academic papers: stable, citable identifiers that resolve forever even when the original source URL breaks.

XframeworkID was founded by Ian Howard, who previously built up the Second Party Opinion business at Sustainalytics and led data services at the Climate Bonds Initiative. The registry exists because labelled bond disclosure infrastructure is fragile: 23% of disclosure documents tracked in the registry are no longer accessible at their published URLs (see [Deleting the Receipts](https://xframework.id/research/deleting-the-receipts)). XFIDs solve this by storing canonical copies of every document, assigning permanent identifiers, cross-referencing the document chain (framework → SPO → impact report → assurance), and tracking silent revisions.

The registry is open and free for buy-side, sell-side, academic, and regulatory use. As of July 2026 it contains ~13,000 documents from ~6,200 issuers, ~3,500 person profiles (analysts, issuance staff, bankers, advisors, researchers), and thousands of ISINs cross-referenced to documents. Live counts, the downloadable dataset (CC BY 4.0, DOI 10.5281/zenodo.21297903) and full API documentation: https://xframework.id/data

## Identifier Types

- [XF: Document](https://xframework.id/registry): 10-character content-based ID for any disclosure document, format `XF` + 7 alphanumeric chars + 1 check digit (e.g. `XFA3B7K2M9`). Display format is `XF-A3B7K2M-9` but the URL accepts either with or without dashes.
- [XP: Person](https://xframework.id/registry/analysts/spo): 10-character ID for an analyst, banker, advisor, researcher, or other named contributor (e.g. `XPMLTGU9PQ`).
- [XO: Organization](https://xframework.id/registry/providers/spo): 10-character ID for an issuer, SPO provider, verifier, standard-setter, or publisher (e.g. `XOFG1DO24W`).
- All identifiers resolve at `https://xframework.id/{ID}` regardless of type — the site routes based on the prefix.

## Document Types

- FRAMEWORK (FW): Issuer's green/social/sustainability bond framework — the rulebook for use of proceeds (565 documents).
- SPO (SPO): Second Party Opinion from external reviewer (Sustainalytics/Morningstar, ISS ESG, S&P Global, CICERO, Sustainable Fitch, Moody's, Vigeo Eiris) — 4,068 documents.
- ASSURANCE (ASR): Third-party assurance/verification report on use-of-proceeds (683 documents).
- IMPACT (IMP): Use-of-proceeds and impact reports from issuers (277 documents).
- CERTIFICATION (CRT): Climate Bonds Standard certifications (323 documents).
- EUGBS_REVIEW (EGB): EU Green Bond Standard pre/post-issuance external reviews (6 documents).
- INVESTOR_FRAMEWORK (IFW): Investor RI policies, ESG guidelines, stewardship plans, climate plans.
- BANK_FRAMEWORK (BFW): Bank sustainable lending frameworks, taxonomies, net-zero plans.
- PROSPECTUS (PRO): Bond prospectus sustainability sections.
- FINAL_TERMS (FT): Final terms documents.
- RESEARCH (RES): Academic / research papers analyzing labelled bonds (15 papers and growing).

## How to Cite XFIDs

- [Citation guide](https://xframework.id/research/citing-xfid): Inline, bibliography, BibTeX, and dataset citation formats for academic papers, investment memos, and regulatory filings.
- Example inline citation: "The issuer's Green Bond Framework (XFID: XF-A3B7K2M-9) was reviewed by S&P Global Ratings in their Second Party Opinion (XFID: XF-K7P2N4R-3)."
- Example BibTeX: `@misc{xfid:XFA3B7K2M9, author={Iberdrola, S.A.}, title={Green Bond Framework}, year={2024}, note={XframeworkID: XF-A3B7K2M-9}, url={https://xframework.id/XFA3B7K2M9}}`
- The XFID is permanent. It will resolve at xframework.id long after the original source URL breaks.

## Registry & Search

- [Registry](https://xframework.id/registry): Browse all documents, filter by type, year, country, issuer, ACT-ID activities.
- [Issuer browse](https://xframework.id/registry): Default view ranks issuers by document count, excludes PRESS/OTHER non-disclosure types.
- [SPO Analyst Leaderboard](https://xframework.id/registry/analysts/spo): Top SPO analysts ranked by SPO count, with year filter.
- [Certification Analyst Leaderboard](https://xframework.id/registry/analysts/certifications): Top CBI certification analysts.
- [SPO Provider Leaderboard](https://xframework.id/registry/providers/spo): Top SPO providers by count.
- [Certification Verifier Leaderboard](https://xframework.id/registry/providers/certifications): Top CBI verifiers.

## Research

- [Deleting the Receipts: The $672 Billion 404 Error](https://xframework.id/research/deleting-the-receipts): Systematic analysis of 2,216 disclosure documents finding 23% are no longer accessible at their published URLs, representing $672 billion in outstanding bond principal.
- [Hunting the Nature Bonds](https://xframework.id/research/hunting-the-nature-bonds): Case study tracking down disclosure for 5 pioneering biodiversity bonds (TCF Working Forests, TLFF, IFC Forests Bond, Forest Resilience Bond, IBRD Wildlife Conservation Bond) — documents the failure modes of disclosure infrastructure.
- [How to Cite XFIDs](https://xframework.id/research/citing-xfid): Citation formats for academic papers, investment memos, regulatory filings.

## Audience-Specific Pages

- [For Investors](https://xframework.id/for/investors): How XFIDs help asset managers verify labelled bond disclosure for due diligence.
- [For SPO Providers](https://xframework.id/for/providers): How XFIDs increase visibility and discoverability of SPO work.
- [For Issuers](https://xframework.id/for/issuers): How XFIDs improve marketability and credibility of labelled bonds.
- [For Bankers](https://xframework.id/for/bankers): How XFIDs support deal placement and investor cross-referencing.
- [For EU GBS Reviewers](https://xframework.id/for/eugbs): How XFIDs serve as the citation standard for EU Green Bond Standard documents.
- [For Academics & Researchers](https://xframework.id/for/academics): Citable identifiers, free DOI-backed dataset, and reproducible references for labelled-bond research.
- [For Regulators & Supervisors](https://xframework.id/for/regulators): Market-wide disclosure-accessibility evidence, audit-grade document records, EU GBS monitoring.

## Data Access

- All public document metadata, issuer information, person profiles, and document relationships are queryable through the public registry pages.
- **Free bulk dataset** (CC BY 4.0, weekly snapshot, citable DOI 10.5281/zenodo.21297903): request at [https://xframework.id/data](https://xframework.id/data) — a download link is emailed instantly to academic/institutional addresses (manual approval otherwise). Files: `xfid-documents.csv` (one row per document, incl. SHA-256 + linked ISINs) and `xfid-sources.csv` (source-URL observations). Data dictionary + `manifest.json` checksums on the same page.
- Public JSON API (no key): `/api/registry/search`, `/api/registry/{xfid}`, `/api/registry/issuer/{slug}`, `/api/registry/person/{xpid}`, `/api/registry/organization/{orgId}` — OpenAPI spec at [/openapi.json](https://xframework.id/openapi.json); MCP server: `pip install xframework-mcp`.
- Permanent canonical URLs for any document: `https://xframework.id/XFXXXXXXXX` (where X is the 10-char XFID).
- Issuer pages: `https://xframework.id/registry/issuers/{slug}` (e.g. `/registry/issuers/iberdrola`).
- Analyst/researcher pages: `https://xframework.id/{XPID}` or `https://xframework.id/registry/analysts/{XPID}`.
- Organization (provider) pages: `https://xframework.id/{XOID}` or `https://xframework.id/registry/providers/{XOID}`.

## Key Concepts

- **Permanence**: XFIDs are content-based identifiers derived from the SHA-256 of the canonical document text. They don't change when issuers move or remove documents. A citation using an XFID will resolve years after the original URL breaks.
- **Reproducibility**: Two researchers citing the same framework with an XFID are provably referencing the same document. The identifier is computed from the content itself.
- **Version Tracking**: If a document is revised, the new version gets a different XFID. Citations lock to the exact version analyzed, even if the issuer silently updates the document later.
- **Document Chain Cross-Referencing**: Each issuance has a chain of related documents (Framework → SPO → Impact Report → Assurance). The registry links them so a researcher can traverse the chain from any starting point.
- **Use-of-Proceeds Classification**: A sister project, [ACT-ID](https://act-id.io), classifies use-of-proceeds against a standardized taxonomy (CBI-aligned) so categories can be rolled up at a portfolio level.

## Optional

- [About XframeworkID](https://xframework.id/about): Project background, team, and methodology.
- [Licensing](https://xframework.id/licensing): Terms for data use.
- [Contact](https://xframework.id/contact): Get in touch about data access, corrections, or partnerships.