Environmental Finance's Sustainable Debt Awards 2024

Compagnie de Financement Foncier (CFF), a subsidiary of French bank Banque Populaire Caisse d'Epargne Group (BPCE), issued its inaugural social covered bond to finance social housing and public health in France.

For the fourth year in a row, Bank of America (BofA) has won Lead manager of the year, green bonds - US muni bond, while winning Lead manager of the year, social bonds - US muni bond for the second year in a row, and adding Lead manager of the year, sustainability bonds - US muni bond to its set of awards for the first time.

Based on its Global Aggregate Index, and incorporating sustainable debt fields for the first time, Bloomberg's Global Aggregate Green, Social and Sustainability (GSS) Bond Index aims to provide investors with a transparent and comprehensive measure of sustainable debt performance.

Throughout the year, NatWest assisted dozens of financial institutions with their ESG ratings in 2023 as well as advising many on updates to their green bond frameworks...

PT Pertamina Geothermal Energy's (PGEO) issuance marks the first green issuance from a sovereign-linked corporate in Indonesia.

The bond attracted the judges' attention for its innovative structure that allowed a private corporation access to the US muni bond market to achieve a lower cost of funding.

One Sustainable Debt Awards judge praised this "unique use of proceeds with a focus on less well-supported gender lens investment opportunities, while also providing capital to indigenous peoples, who generally less focused on."

Berlin Hyp's ESG mortgage covered bond dual tranche comprised of both a green and social bond, each of €500 million ($534 million), with the green bond tranche being used for loans to support energy-efficient green buildings.

Khan Bank and impact investment platform Symbiotics secured the social bond structure innovation award for the landmark $10 million gender-focused social bond secured by the Mongolian lender in April 2023.

The SGD419 million ($310 million) loan secured by Frasers Centrepoint Trust (FCT) for its Tampines 1 shopping centre development scooped the award for its ground-breaking combination of a green loan with carbon credits.

For the second year in a row, Citi has won the award for Lead manager of the year, green bonds - corporate, this time adding two additional lead manager awards.

UK electric battery company Zenobē secured £234 million ($281.8 million) in loans in addition to £155 million in equity for two transmission-connected battery energy storage system (BESS) projects in Scotland.

HSBC again won multiple Environmental Finance Sustainable Debt Awards, this time walking away with four having added Lead manager of the year, social bonds - corporate and Lead manager of the year, social bonds - sovereign to the two it also won last year.

Mexican land developer and homebuilder Vinte targets dual social and climate benefits from its sustainable bond series - with its latest deal to finance green-certified houses estimated to save 157,000 cubic litres of water and 2,400 tonnes of carbon dioxide equivalent each year.

Caja Rural de Navarra's (CRN) second green covered bond will be used to refinance green projects across the Rioja, Navarre and Basque regions of Northern Spain. The €500 million ($540.7 million) bond will primarily be used to retrofit the housing stock.

A novel approach saw 36 local governments in Japan pool their green projects into a green bond issuance which raised JPY50 billion ($330 million).

ING acted as lead manager on four social bond issues over 2023 covering social housing, gender equality, social care and education.

In January 2023, IDB Invest and Liberty Costa Rica announced the international issuance of a sustainability-linked bond (SLB) as part of a $450 million financing package to increase digital access and broadband quality in Costa Rica.

For the second year running, and third time overall, Mizuho Securities has won the Lead manager of the year, green bonds - local authority/municipality award and has also added Lead manager of the year, transition bonds to its haul.

Following on from a landmark green bond issuance in 2022, which won them the same award last year, KfW started 2023 with a €3 billion ($3.2 billion) no-grow ten-year issuance.

In September 2023, Italian energy infrastructure company Snam issued a €500 million ($542 million) transition-labelled exchangeable bond.

One awards judge described the deal as "very interesting and exciting," in particular due to the "broad range of impact areas" covered by the large number of targets.

In June 2023, the Republic of Chile issued a $2.25 billion dual tranche sustainability-linked bond (SLB) and followed up with a €750 million ($813 million equivalent) SLB on the subsequent day, after being absent from the Euro market since 2021.

DHL Group commits to reduce absolute Scope 1 and 2 emissions by 42%. The company says it plans to achieve this reduction by increasing the share of sustainable fuels to over 30% by 2030 and electrifying the pickup vehicles fleet to over 60%.

Statnett deployed a combination of a 'use-of-proceeds' and sustainability-linked structures in its €720 million ($770 million) loan linked to targets to reduce emissions of a potent greenhouse gas with warming potential about 24,000 times greater than carbon dioxide.

In 2023, US-based water technology provider Xylem refinanced an existing $1 billion credit facility into a new sustainability-linked mechanism. The original structure which was linked to its Sustainalytics ESG rating has now been replaced with specific sustainability targets.

One Sustainable Debt Awards praised judge the "substantial impact" the large-scale ordering of electric buses and associated infrastructure development are expected to have in terms of reduced emissions and maintenance costs...

The NZ$1.1 billion ($661 million) SFB was the joint largest bond issued by LGFA and received its largest ever orderbook of more than NZ$1.645 billion.

Brazil's Sovereign Sustainable Finance Committee (CFSS) will be responsible for consolidating and publishing the annual allocation and impact reports for sustainable bond issuances by the National Treasury.

In February 2023, the City of Chicago and its Sales Tax Securitization Corporation (STSC) issued social bonds to partially finance the City's pandemic-related Chicago Recovery Plan (CRP) projects.

IFC has been issuing social bonds since it launched its Social Bond Program in 2017, with over $8 billion issued through 93 social bonds and taps in 14 different currencies.

In August 2023, Cogna Educação, one of the largest private educational companies in Brazil, announced the first social bond to be issued within the Brazilian education sector.

The four-year bond with a 3.5% coupon raised €1.25 billion ($1.35 billion), with the order book over €2.9 billion.

Judges celebrated the sixth issuance of Impact Investment Exchange's (IIX) Women's Livelihood Bond not only for identifying an area where "a lot of impact is needed", but also for its "exciting" impact measuring tools.

The Republic of Indonesia successfully priced their Samurai bond issuance comprised of two tranches of conventional bonds and another two tranches (seven-year and 10-year) of debut blue bonds

The Hungarian Government Debt Management Agency's (ÁKK) second integrated green bond report including an allocation and an impact chapter has included updates that seek to provide issuers with transparent disclosures and guidance.

Latham & Watkins takes home the award for law firm of the year, having advised on more than $30 billion of sustainable finance transactions throughout 2023.

With $7 billion in assets under management, Brazilian investor JGP Asset Management takes home the award following an increase in its engagement efforts with companies to improve ESG factors.

MetLife Investment Management was praised by judges for including carbon yield and weighted average carbon intensity (WACI) in its most recent annual impact report.

Despite facing "tough competition" in this category, according to the judges, Stora Enso has won green bond of the year for corporates in EMEA, as judges praised its Green and Sustainability-Linked Financing Framework.

The European Investment Bank raised the "largest-ever" US dollar-denominated green bond from a supranational in February last year, raising $5 billion for its Global Climate Awareness Bond (CAB).

Starting her career in political campaigns and communications, Irina Likhachova says this formative experience shaped her approach to achieving impact in her current role as IFC's global biodiversity finance lead.

Luxembourg Stock Exchange cemented its position as the leading exchange for sustainable debt in 2023, welcoming 554 new green, social, sustainability and sustainability-linked (GSSS) bonds which raised a total of €207 billion ($225 billion).

One Sustainable Debt Awards judge labelled the issue as a "fundamental" area where sustainable financing can help preserve at-risk water resources as well as improve public health.

In December 2023, Linden Renewable Energy (LRE) secured a $240 million green loan to support the construction of one of the largest food waste-to-renewable natural gas (RNG) facilities in the United States.

"Air Products is honoured to be the first US chemical company to issue bond offerings with green and blue hydrogen as an eligible expenditure category."

At a time of ballooning housing costs around the world, the financing of affordable housing assumes increased importance - and a $218 million sustainability bond issued last year promised dual social and environmental benefits.

Canadian Solar's three-year, JPY18.5 billion ($120 million) 'green project bond' tapped into a wealth of Japanese financial institution investors to open access to a wider group of both loan and bond investors.

For the second year running, BNP Paribas won the Loan sustainability coordinator of the year, and added Lead manager of the year, sustainability bonds - sovereign; Lead manager of the year, sustainability bonds - supranational, sub-sovereign and agency (SSA) to its set of award wins.

'Gender bond' pioneer Banco Nacional de Obras y Servicios Públicos (Banobras) secured the sustainability bond use of proceeds innovation award for the Mexican development bank's innovative focus on gender-focused infrastructure projects.

The Asian Infrastructure Investment Bank (AIIB) was described as the "standout" winner for its innovative debut Climate Adaptation Bond (CAB) focused on increasing financing for climate adaptation projects in Asia.

Winning this award two years in a row, AG2R La Mondiale has quadrupled the market value of investments in sustainable bonds since 2017, to €6 billion ($6.5 billion) at the end of last year.

In May 2023, the German state of North Rhine-Westphalia issued its 10th sustainability bond. The €2 billion ($2.2 billion) bond referred to green and social projects across the state, including affordable housing, clean transportation, renewable energy, food security and sustainable food systems and affordable basic infrastructure.

One Sustainable Debt Awards judge applauded the bond's "capital focused on the critical need for affordable housing" and its "focus on Africa, which is generally less available in the market," while also noting it's a "great example of blended finance".

"We are proud to contribute to the sustainability journeys of our clients by advising and assisting them in embedding best market practices in their sustainable financing instruments, including sustainability-linked bonds," said Stéphane Marciel, head of sustainable bonds, debt capital markets at Societe Generale.

S&P Global Ratings further developed its second party opinion (SPO) offering by integrating Shades of Green into its use of proceeds.

The World Bank's $50 million Emission Reduction-Linked bond provides investors a return linked to the issuance of Verified Carbon Units (VCUs) expected to be produced by a water purification project in Vietnam.

The loan for the Msenge Emoyeni Wind Farm in South Africa has secured the award for its ground-breaking role as the first renewable energy project to be directly linked to a 'green' hydrogen facility.

According to its Nationally Determined Contributions (NDCs) under the Paris Agreement, Rwanda needs around $11 billion by 2030 to achieve its mitigation and adaptation targets.

The proceeds of the 11-year Águas do Rio 1 tranche, which raised BRL3.4 billion will go towards investments in water networks, water treatment plants, and supply systems.

In December 2023, the Toronto-Dominion Bank (TD) issued a $500 million three-year green bond, led by a syndicate of underwriters including minority, female and veteran-owned enterprises.

South African alternative lender Preference Capital (PrefCap) scooped the social loan of the year award for its inaugural ZAR280 million ($15 million) deal, in particular for its focus on demonstrating the social impact of its micro-, small- and medium-sized enterprise (MSME) financing.

Data centre operator AirTrunk Singapore closed an AUD4.62 billion ($3.02 billion) sustainability-linked loan (SLL) that combines carbon, energy and water usage effectiveness as key performance indicators (KPIs) for the loan.

In October 2023, the World Bank approved a $350 million sustainability-linked loan for Uruguay, which is believed to be the first sustainability-linked loan deal involving a sovereign country.