March 2022 – Green, Social and Sustainability Bonds

Public sector roundtable: Building a better future

22 March 2022

Public sector issuers are at the forefront of green and social bond markets as they seek to support society in transitioning, justly, to a sustainable future. Demand is buoyant, supported by regulatory developments, but challenges remain, notably in determining appropriate standards on the social side. Sustainabonds gathered leading players to tackle the key issues facing the sector in a roundtable discussion finalised in mid-February.

SFIL powers green and social impact across France

22 March 2022

Loans to local government bodies large and small are behind SFIL’s green bond issuance, and the French group anticipates complementing this with social lending, according to CEO Philippe Mills and colleagues.

Sustainability-linked bonds go mainstream

17 March 2022

Issuers lacking projects appropriate to use-of-proceeds green bonds but with clear sustainability targets and transition strategies are increasingly finding sustainability-linked bonds (SLBs) a viable alternative for reflecting their ESG ambitions in the capital markets. In this special report, sponsored by ABN AMRO, Sustainabonds’ Neil Day explores the surge in issuance and finds out what issuers need to be doing to win over investors.

Gasunie: Transition in the pipeline

17 March 2022

Nederlandse Gasunie in October launched the first sustainability-linked bond (SLB) from the European gas transmission sector, a €300m 15 year deal with methane and Scope 1 and 2 emissions reduction targets. Here, Gea Paas Broekman and Loek Caris at Gasunie, and Dick Ligthart and Ton Roeten at sustainability structuring advisor ABN AMRO, discuss how the instrument furthers the Dutch company’s sustainability objectives and transition into an energy infrastructure company.

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Green/ESG CP: Pioneering steps

The expansion of green, social and sustainable or sustainability-linked formats into short term instruments has the potential to boost overall volumes and impact, and pioneers have already begun testing appetite in the commercial paper market. However, the sector’s intrinsic characteristics raise questions over how to best exploit its potential. In this special Sustainabonds report, sponsored by ABN AMRO, Neil Day explores experience to date and asks what could catalyse growth.