Sustainability in Conversation

Sustainable Finance Insights - April 2020 Highlights

In this overview of the noteworthy deals and developments in sustainable finance in the month of April, Nick and Cheryl are joined by Lili Hocke, who addresses some of the common questions we have received from issuers regarding COVID-19 related social bonds. Molly Stern also joins the episode to provide an update on regulatory developments in Europe.

 

Hosts:

• Nick Gandolfo, Director, Sustainable Finance Solutions
• Cheryl Tay, Senior Associate, Sustainable Finance Solutions

Guests:

• Lili Hocke, Product Manager, Sustainable Finance Solutions
• Molly Stern, Manager, Sustainable Finance Solutions

Reports and resources mentioned in the episode:

• Press release: Morningstar acquires Sustainalytics
• Blog: Responding to Coronavirus through social bonds
• Politico: Follow the green money as coronavirus spreads
• Truthout: A Big Oil Bailout Would Be the Opposite of the Green New Deal We Need
• Climate Bonds Initiative:
  • ASEAN State of the Market Report 2019
  • Green Bond Treasury Survey 2020
  • Shipping industry criteria
• Environmental Finance: What makes a good corona-bond?
• Climate Works Australia: Decarbonisation Futures: Solutions, actions and benchmarks for a net zero emissions Australia
• Ministry of Economic Trade and Industry (METI): Concept Paper on Climate Transition Finance Principles
• APLMA/LMA/LSTA: Guidance on Green Loan Principles
• European Commission: Consultation on the renewed sustainable finance strategy
  

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Sustainable Finance Insights | Part 3 - March 2020 Highlights

In this month’s episode, Nick and Cheryl highlight some of the recent developments and noteworthy deals in the global sustainable finance market. They discuss the ongoing impacts of Covid-19 and how issuers are responding to help those in need, along with other topics. They are joined by colleagues in Europe and North America who provide updates on their markets.

 

Hosts:

• Nick Gandolfo, Director, Sustainable Finance Solutions
• Cheryl Tay, Senior Associate, Sustainable Finance Solutions

Guests:

• Enrico Tessardo, Associate, Sustainable Finance Solutions
• Melissa Menzies, Senior Associate, Sustainable Finance Solutions

Reports and resources mentioned in the episode:

• Sustainalytics ESG Blog – Coronavirus, oil prices and ESG: Three takeaways for investors by Doug Morrow and Kaili Mai
• International Capital Market Association (ICMA) – Q&A and case studies addressing COVID-19
• Transition Pathways Initiative (TPI) report – TPI State of Transition Report 2020
• Rainforest Alliance, Bank Track et al. report  – Banking on Climate Change: Fossil Fuel Finance Report 2020
• Sustainalytics Sustainable Finance Blog – COVID-19 and Beyond: Using sustainable finance to build social resilience by Jonathan Laski
• Sustainalytics Sustainable Finance Blog – Responding to COVID-19 through Social Bonds by Kevin Ranney
• To read the posts from Sustainalytics’ Coronavirus blog series, please visit https://www.sustainalytics.com/covid-19-resource-center

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Sustainable Market Finance Insights | Part 2

This week, Nick and Cheryl discuss the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on the global economy and share highlights from recent reports reviewing the state of the sustainable finance market in 2019. Nick runs down some of the latest transactions and is joined by colleagues in Europe and the US who share their thoughts on what’s happening in their respective markets.

Hosts:

• Nick Gandolfo, Director, Sustainable Finance Solutions
• Chery Tay, Senior Associate, Sustainable Finance Solutions

Guests:

• Jean-Claude Berthelot, Director, Sustainable Finance Solutions
• Paramjot Kaur, Associate, Sustainable Finance Solutions

Links to select resources:

• Environmental Finance Sustainable Bonds Insight 2020
• Climate Bond Initiative 2019 Green Bond Market Summary
• 10 for 2020: Creating Impact Through Thematic Investing (see Ep. 14 for an overview)
• Technical Expert Group final report on EU taxonomy
• “Toys or weapons? The choice for sustainable loans,” Global Finance, January 30, 2020

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Sustainable Finance Insights | Part 1

 

The Sustainable Finance Market Insights Podcast is a pilot three-episode series by Sustainalytics’ Sustainable Finance Solutions team. With this series, we aim to deliver piping hot insights on the latest news and developments in the sustainable finance space.

In this episode, Nick Gandolfo and Cheryl Tay discuss some interesting green bond transactions as well as some noteworthy sustainability linked loans and market and regulatory developments from across the globe.

Want to know more? Visit our website to learn how Sustainalytics supports issuers and banks leverage opportunities in sustainable finance – www.sustainalytics.com/sustainable-finance

10 for 2020 | Episode 14

This year’s installment in our 10 for series presents 10 ESG-inspired investment themes to consider in 2020 and beyond. In recognition of the fundamental role that the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) have come to play in shaping investors’ sustainability roadmaps, we assess each theme against the SDGs to show how investors can potentially create positive impact while pursuing upside opportunities in the global equity market. The co-authors of the report share their insights on the broader investment themes and the connections to the SDGs.

For more details, please download 10 for 2020: Creating Impact Through Thematic Investing.

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Navigating ESG Issues in Australia | Episode 13

Doug Morrow, Director of Thematic Research and Enrico Colombo, Senior Associate, Asia-Pacific Research, discuss the three key ESG issues identified in our recent thematic research report on Australia: the country’s energy and climate policy, ethics in the financial sector and modern slavery in the supply chain.

 

For more details, please download Navigating ESG Issues in Australia: Identifying Risks and Seizing Opportunities.

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New Frontiers: African Sovereign Debt and ESG Risk | Episode 12

In this episode co-authors Martin Vezer and Oshamimi Mayaki discuss findings from our ESG Spotlight report which leverages Sustainalytics’ Country Risk Ratings to analyze ESG risk among African countries. They also discuss the variation of ESG scores between countries and the correlation between sovereign ESG ratings and credit ratings. 

 

For a complete analysis, please download our ESG Spotlight report New Frontiers: African Sovereign Debt and ESG Risk.

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Hot Assets: Global Equities and Physical Climate Risk | Episode 11

In this episode co-authors Doug Morrow and Martin Vezer discuss findings from our ESG Spotlight report which builds on investors’ mounting interest in climate risk analysis by assessing relevant company disclosures and risk mitigation programs. 

 

For a complete analysis, please download our ESG Spotlight report Hot Assets: Global Equities and Physical Climate Risk.

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Emerging Market Equities: Key Sources of ESG Risk | Episode 10

In this episode co-authors Martin Vezer, Manager, Thematic Research and Aiswarya Baskaran, Analyst, Technology, Media and Telecommunications, discuss findings from our ESG Spotlight report which looks at ESG risks associated with emerging and developed market indices and examines the relationship between GDP growth and ESG risk.

 

For a complete analysis, please download our ESG Spotlight report Emerging Market Equities: Key Sources of ESG Risk.

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Beware of Bears: A Look Back at the Downswing of 2018 | Episode 9

In this episode Martin Vezer, Manager, Thematic Research talks about our ESG Spotlight report which looks at the market downswing at the end of 2018 through an ESG lens.

For a complete analysis, please download our ESG Spotlight report Beware of Bears: a look back at the downswing of 2018.

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