ESG in Fixed Income EMEA 2023

Breakfast presentation from Environmental Finance Data: Market movements – sustainable bonds and loans

• Macro summary of sustainable bond issuance – analysis of bond label, issuer type, sector, and region
• Spotlight on sustainability-linked bonds – y-o-y evolution of the market, evaluation of issuance by region, sector, and KPIs (with focus on scope 3 KPIs)
• Social bond stagnation in numbers – which regions and issuer types have seen the most significant slowing in social bond issuance?
• Spotlight on sovereign sustainable bond issuance
• Funding the transition – transition bonds, SLBs and sustainable loans

Speaker:

Guy Richardson, Data Analyst, Environmental Finance Data

Welcoming remarks

Ahren Lester, Assistant Editor, Environmental Finance

Keynote address: Trust, Transparency and Transition plans, the case of the European Green Bonds Regulation

Paul Tang, Rapporteur, European Parliamentary Committee on Economic and Monetary Affairs (Dutch MEP)

Panel: SLBs – what next?

• Coupons come home to roost: have targets been achieved with the early SLB leaders? If not, what have investors done in reaction?
• How can SLBs be more ambitious? Should issuers be incentivised to not just hit targets but exceed them?
• How do you identify what is material?
• What has been the investor reaction to the two-way structure? Are step downs more effective and attractive to ESG investors looking to support transitions?
• Will other issuers follow on the two-way structure?
• With interest rates rising, is there more of a case for two-way structures for SLBs? Should the step-ups be greater?
• Why has issuance has slowed down?
• What kinds of investors are investing in SLBs? Are they mainstream or ESG investors?
• What are the perks for investors?

Moderator:
Stephane Marciel, Head of Sustainable Bonds, Debt Capital Markets, Société Générale CIB

Panellists:
Alessandro Canta, Head of Finance & Insurance, Enel
Bodo Winkler, Head of Funding & Investor Relations, Berlin Hyp
Saida Eggerstedt, Head of Sustainable Credit, Schroders

Panel: Taking stock of ESG regulation for 2023

• How are investors and issuers preparing for different disclosure requirements?
• An update on global Green Bond Standards and the Common Ground Taxonomy
• A review of the first disclosures of EU taxonomy thresholds in 2023
• The introduction of new taxonomies in 2023: biodiversity, circular economy, waste reduction and pollution prevention – how will issuers and investors go beyond GHG objectives?
• Has ESG regulation become overburdensome?
• ISSB baseline: will it improve the reliability and comparability of sustainability data internationally or add another layer of complexity?

Moderator:
Marina Petroleka, Global Head of ESG Research, Sustainable Fitch

Panellists:
Emer Murnane, Group Treasurer, Smurfit Kappa Group
Giorgio Botta, Manager, Sustainable Finance, AFME 
Imane Kabbaj, Director, Responsible Investment, Man Group
Mark Manning, Technical Specialist, Sustainable Finance and Stewardship, Financial Conduct Authority

Panel: Taking the fear out of the T-word

• How will the market finance key technologies required for energy transition?
• How can public policy and regulation define parameters that support the energy transition? 
• Is the green label hindering capital flows into transition finance?
• How are resources developing for the market to be able to assess credible transition pathways?
• Does a net-zero portfolio look very different to an Article 9 portfolio?
• How far behind is the market in considering regional and local nuances in transition finance?
• How can SPOs challenge issuers while not closing the door on transition finance?

Moderator:
Anjuli Pandit, Head of Sustainable Bonds, Europe, the Middle East and Africa, HSBC

Panellists:
Daniel Kricheff, Director, Global Credit Research – Sustainability, MetLife Investment Management
Fayyaz Muneer, Deputy Director of Green Finance and Prudential Policy, HM Treasury
Jenn-Hui Tan, Global Head of Stewardship and Sustainable Investing, Fidelity International
Marie-Bénédicte Beaudoin, Associate Director, Head of SPO Operations, ISS Corporate Solutions
Mohammad Ayoub, Climate Policy, Ministry of Energy, Kingdom of Saudi Arabia

Keynote fireside chat: : Austria’s innovative green short-term funding and future plans for other green instruments

Speaker: Markus Stix, Managing Director, Austrian Treasury

Interviewed by: Peter Cripps, Editor, Environmental Finance

Fireside chat: What the first Gulf sovereign sustainability bond means for the region’s low carbon future

Interviewer
Annabelle Palmer, Content Strategist, Environmental Finance

Speaker:
Tom Koczwara, Advisor, Debt Management Office, Finance Department, Government of Sharjah

Panel: Scope 3 targets

• How can they be calculated and incorporated into sustainable bond structures?
• What guidance is available?
• How can issuers and lead managers work together to better understand the challenge?
• Ambition or realism: what are investors looking for?

Moderator:
Agnes Gourc, Head of Sustainable Capital Markets, BNP Paribas

Panellists:
Christa Clapp, Managing Director, Sustainable Finance, CICERO Shades of Green, now a part of S&P Global
Johannes Böhm, Senior ESG Analyst, Union Investment Institutional
Hanne Fedje, Circular Economy/Climate Manager, Norsk Hydro

Panel: Innovative structures

• Blue finance, nature-based solutions, biodiversity and carbon credit offtake agreements - how will these be integrated into fixed income structures?
• How is a desire for impact driving innovation?
• Anti-discriminatory lending, social and green securitisation, and other areas of innovation to watch

Moderator:
Thomas Cox, Staff Writer, Environmental Finance

Panellists:
Begum Gursoy, Technical Head, Sustainable Finance Solutions & Debt Capital Markets, Sustainalytics
Daniel Drummer, CFO, auxmoney
Michael Bennett, Head of Market Solutions and Structured Finance, World Bank
Theo Kotula, Responsible Investment Analyst, AXA IM

Closing remarks

Close of conference and networking drinks reception