With many asset owners historically reticent, and some unable, to invest in the renewable energy market, has 2021 proved a turning point for institutional investor appetite in this crucial asset class?
Lloyds Bank is leading efforts among UK lenders to provide easier access to financial services for the rising number of refugees in the country, most recently from Afghanistan. But they could do a lot more, as France’s BNP Paribas is showing elsewhere.
The British luxury fashion house was the first of its peers to tap the sustainability bond market. A year on, it has not only met its targets but in some cases gone beyond them. The company’s CFO and head of corporate responsibility explain how.
Thousands of companies say they report against or otherwise align themselves with the UN’s Sustainable Development Goals. But where are these high-level targets failing and what more can businesses and policymakers do to help achieve them?
One-fifth – and counting – of the world’s largest companies have committed to achieve net-zero carbon emissions, largely by 2050. But there is no legal or regulatory recourse if they don't, and seemingly little appetite for that to change.
The British bank is calculating a carbon budget that should lead to an overhaul of its balance sheet. Starting by tightening financing policy for the oil and gas sector, the group will introduce a series of emissions-led sector targets by 2022. A bold move, but critics argue the plans lack clarity.
The private placement from shopping centre operator Emergence Plaza had the advantage of a beneficial economic backdrop and high market liquidity. There is much for potential issuers to learn from only the fourth green corporate bond from sub-Saharan Africa.
Recognised as a leading asset owner in portfolio carbon reduction, New Zealand Superannuation Fund is further refining its environmental investing strategy. The state institution is looking to do earlier-stage deals and use more impact-focused asset managers, among other things. Here's how.
Medical device maker Nipro has become a rare Japanese issuer of a sustainability-linked loan, and the first from the healthcare sector. Disclosed details are limited, but it aims to use the proceeds to help address Covid-19 issues and generally improve public health both domestically and overseas.
Investors are increasingly joining the IMF, OECD and World Bank in pushing for a global system for carbon pricing. Implementing it remains politically problematic, but the ever-louder alarm bells over climate change are raising hopes it could happen.
Despite Seoul's commitment to reducing the country's reliance on fossil fuels, new coal-fired power projects are still raising funds. But the commodity's recent sharp price rise may focus the minds of corporate executives, bankers and government officials.
Border to Coast Pensions Partnership, one of the largest British retirement asset pools, is developing its approach to ESG data as it ramps up its focus on private markets, carbon measurement and diversity issues. The institution's head of internal management gives Capital Monitor the lowdown.
The debate over how the fiduciary duty to seek the best returns affects ESG investing – and whether it should do – has intensified lately, with prices of both sustainable assets and many 'dirty' investments soaring.
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