Sustainable Debt EMEA 2024

Sustainable bonds track one: Transition and impact

Chair: Jennifer Forrest, Staff Writer, Environmental Finance

Sustainable bonds track two: Innovation, nature and biodiversity, and sovereigns

Chair: Genevieve Redgrave, Reporter, Environmental Finance

Sustainable loans track

Chair: Guy Richardson, Research Analyst, Environmental Finance Data

Panel: Energy Security - here’s looking at you, EU

Panel: SLLBs – the innovation needed to spur on the next stage of development for the market?

Panel: Ensuring credibility and impact in sustainability-linked loans and green banking solutions

Are we on track for both an energy revolution and energy security in 2030 in Europe? Are we using the term “energy security” too loosely, to excuse business as usual? We will explore the challenges and the opportunities to get us to a Europe that has pretty much exited coal and embraced alternative fuels, more wind, nuclear (!!), and more in an ambitious 5 years' time.

• Carbon capture, low carbon hydrogen, nuclear, renewables – what kind of energy mix will help us deliver on our decarbonization goals?
• What is the consequence on our trajectory to Europe’s dependence on natural gas and coal in the interim?
• Can Europe secure energy security within a volatile geopolitical environment? How crucial will be the role from the Middle East to support Europe?
• Moving past SFDR reporting - how can investors & banks help finance the transition – early-stage technologies to large-scale infrastructure?
• Do we need to restart our love affair with the word transition to get there? 

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

Panellists:
Lenka Zikmundova, Head of Investor Relations,EnBW Energie Baden-Wuerttemberg
Nicole della Vedova, Financial Director, Snam
Vanessa Havard-Williams,Lead, UK Transition Finance Market Review

Sustainability-Linked Bonds have caught on like a wild-fire in the sustainable labelled finance space – except only for corporates. Is the sustainability-linked element only limited to corporates or is there a way for financial institutions and multinational development banks to get into the action and how can these issuers best address the 'climate 'transition'? Join us to find out more.

• Why have we not seen more SLB activity from FIG space? Are there any major obstacles holding the market back?
• What are 'Sustainability-Linked Loan Bonds' and what role do they play in the market?
• What challenges does SLLB present for issuers and investors alike?
• How relevant are SLLBs in addressing 'transition finance'?

Moderator:
Gustaf Winberg, Head of Financial Institutions Debt Capital Markets, Managing Director, Investment Banking, Nordea

Panellists:
Camille Roux, Associate Vice President, Sustainable Finance Research, Team Lead, ISS-Corporate
Josephine Richardson, Managing Director, Head of Research, Anthropocene Fixed Income Institute
Petra Mellor, Head of Bank Debt, Nordea
Theo Kotula, Responsible Investment Analyst, AXA IM

• How should issuers approach KPI selection for loans?
• How does it differ to the SLB approach?
• How do SLBs and SLLs complement each other? When should they diverge?
• What are the key pitfalls?
• Is a fear of failure among potential borrowers frustrating the process of setting ambitious targets?
• What else can be done to improve credibility in this area?
• What do borrowers and lenders need?

Moderator:
Emily Tonkin, Head of Sustainable Finance – Europe, UK, ANZ

Panellists:
Martina Macpherson, Head of ESG Product Management, Financial Information, SIX
Nina Ahlstrand, Head of Sustainable Finance, DNB Markets
Heiko Bailer, ESG Investments & Research,
LBBW Asset Management
José Luis Blasco, Sustainability Director, Acciona

Panel: Becoming green - how ESG investors are funding transition impact across fixed income

Panel: Financing biodiversity and natural capital in fixed income

Panel: Verification and transparency in sustainable loans

• How to encourage more transition financing and investment
• Is it time to resurrect the transition bond label idea? Or are more SLBs required?
• Evaluating impact and climate risk in the vanilla bond market
• Marrying bond level commitments with company level transition commitments.
• When will we see more dedicated transition funds in fixed income?
• What is the optimal rate for a bond fund to decarbonise?

Moderator:
Michael Ridley, Executive Director, ESG Research, MSCI

Panellists:
George Barnard, Lead Researcher, Transition Finance, Metlife Investment Management
Maria Lozovik, Co-Founder and Portfolio Manager, Marsham Investment Management
Yasomie Ranasinghe, Senior Responsible Investment Specialist – Private Credit, HSBC Asset Management
Steve Williams, Global Core Market Head Portfolio Manager, Nikko Asset Management

• What types of instruments are best suited to drive finance to nature preservation and restoration?
• Biodiversity-related KPIs – why haven't we seen more?
• Will carbon credits be incorporated into future issuances?
• How are investors putting together natural capital-themed impact funds?
• Debt-for-nature swaps: what are the risks to investors? How is accountability ensured and impact reported? Should they be verified by third parties?

Moderator:
Genevieve Redgrave, Reporter, Environmental Finance

Panellists:
Christian Hardt, Head of Investor Relations & ESG, NRW.BANK
Imane Kabbaj, Head of Sustainable Investments Specialist, Carmignac
Lili Hocke, Sustainable Finance Solutions Product Manager, Sustainalytics
Toby Kwan, Senior Manager, Sustainable Finance, The Carbon Trust

• What can be done to improve transparency in sustainable loans?
• With stakeholder scrutiny set to grow will external verification become increasingly important?
• How are external review or second-party opinions expected to be applied in future?
• How should borrowers seek to balance transparency with commercial confidentiality?
• How do borrowers report to lenders?
• Should lenders be pressing borrowers to go the extra mile with regards transparency?
• Will there be an EU green loan standard?

Moderator:
Ben Smith, Data Strategist, Environmental Finance Data

Panellists:
Claire Elsdon, Director of Capital Markets, CDP
Eric Weirich, Chief Financial Officer, Lango Real Estate
Hannah Vanstone, Senior Associate Director, LMA
Natalya Tueva, Executive Director, Head of Sustainable Finance, Loan Capital Markets EMEA, SMBC Group

Sustainable bonds track one: Transition and impact

Sustainable bonds track two: Innovation, nature and biodiversity, and sovereigns

Sustainable loans track

Panel: Impact reporting

Panel: ESG investment and engagement strategies for sovereign debt

Panel: Innovation in loans and lending to unlock the potential of sustainable financing

• How are investors and issuers are working to harmonise impact measurement?
• What more can issuers do to align with impact reporting frameworks?
• Are companies relying on external standards and metrics or developing their own IMM frameworks?
• An update on the ICMA joint impact reporting group for green and social bonds
• How easily have Principal Adverse Impact (PAI) disclosures been incorporated into disclosures and impact reporting?
• What has been the market reaction to impact reporting provisions in the EU GBS? What role will external reviewers and auditors play?
• Are social impact metrics growing in importance?

Moderator:
Ben Smith, Data Strategist, Environmental Finance Data

Panellists:
Charles Smith, Senior Funding Officer, EBRD
Maria Bazhanova, Co-head of EMEA ESG Ratings, Senior Director, Sustainable Fitch
Simone Utermarck, Senior Director, Sustainable Finance, International Capital Market Association (ICMA)
Ronald Van Steenweghen, Fixed Income Fund Manager, Degroof Petercam Asset Management (DPAM)

• Will we see the momentum for labelled sovereign issuance continues in 2024?
• How do investors feel about sovereign SLBs? More about engagement -
• What impact could the Task Force on Sustainability-Linked Sovereign Financing for Nature and Climate have on issuance?
• The UK and Sweden are green bond issuers retreating from climate targets. How should the debt market respond?
• Going beyond labelled bonds: what frameworks should be used for assessing the sustainability of and impact of sovereign issuers whether labelled or not.
• How do you take into consideration countries' different starting points when evaluating their sustainability performance?
• How is the ASCOR project and PRI supporting engagement and climate progress?

Moderator:
Rahul Ghosh, Managing Director – Sustainable Finance, Moody's Investors Service

Panellists:
András Bebes, Head of Strategy, Research, and Sustainable Finance Department, ÁKK Hungarian Debt Management Agency
Carmen Nuzzo, Professor in Practice - Executive Director, Transition Pathway Initiative Centre, London School of Economics and Political Science
Felipe Gordillo, Senior Impact & ESG Specialist – GSS Bonds, Mirova
Jarek Olszowka, Head of Sustainable Finance IBD, Nomura

• What market-based hurdles need to be overcome to unblock some of the headwinds that are holding back widespread sustainable loan financing?
• How are the policy and regulation informing developments in this area?
• Where do ESG disclosures, annual reporting and Scope 3 fit into the picture?
• How can borrowers link transition plans with sustainable loans? Should there be a transition label for loans?
• What are the future priorities for borrowers and lenders and where could we see more innovation ahead?

Moderator:
Michael Hurley, Deputy Editor, Environmental Finance

Panellists:
Gemma Lawrence-Pardew, Sustainability Head, LMA
Caroline Phillips, Head, Debt Capital Markets, Slaughter and May
Adrian Barnes, Head of Green Analytics, Macquarie Asset Management 

Panel: Sustainable debt's role in tackling the social cost of climate change

Fireside chat: Blue finance's role in promoting sustainable capital markets in emerging markets and developing economies

Case study: How Pandora is linking its sustainability strategy to its sustainability-linked loans and bond financing approach

• Social bonds and a just transition: how to mobilise social capital and bonds with the just transition in mind
• Food security and public health: how is a growing interest in intersection of social and environmental issues resulting in environmentally-themed use of proceeds that have social co-benefits and benefits to human health.
• What social impact metrics can be applied?
• Should the priority for social bonds be impact not volume?
• What are the social risks that ESG investors should be thinking about

Moderator:
Hans Biemans, Managing Director, Head of Sustainable Markets, ING

Panellists:
Anne Flori, Senior Funding Officer, Council of Europe Development Bank (CEB)
Ben Walters, Deputy Treasurer, Compass Group
Isobel Edwards, Executive Director of Green, Social and Impact Bonds, Goldman Sachs Asset Management
Jean-Yves Caminade, Chief Financial Officer, Bpifrance

• How will the first dedicated 'blue' bond investment strategy support sustainable marine and water investment in emerging markets?
• How can such opportunities be structured to reach the scale needed to attract mainstream investors?
• What would make blue bonds more impactful?
• What guidance has been issued for issuers and investors thinking about opportunities in this space?

Moderator:
Genevieve Redgrave, Reporter, Environmental Finance

Panellists:
Tongai Kunorubwe, Head of ESG Fixed Income, T Rowe Price
Tomasz Telma, Director, Financial Institutions Group, International Finance Corporation (IFC)

• Why has Pandora chosen to link its sustainable business strategy to its financing approach?
• What were the challenges involved with choosing sustainability-linked financing and how were these overcome?
• When it is most appropriate to choose a sustainable loan over a bond?
• What has been the investor reaction to Pandora's approach?

Moderator:
Annabelle Palmer, Content Strategist, Environmental Finance

Speaker:
Kasper Christensen, Director, Global Treasury, Pandora