Environmental Finance has published the first edition of its Sustainable Loans Insight, a new publication focusing on latest developments in the sustainable loans market.
It features in-depth analysis of sustainable loans issued in the 12 months up to the end of Q1 2023.
Sustainable loans make up a significant portion of the market for sustainable debt. According to Environmental Finance Data (efdata.org), volumes of sustainable loans exceeded $860 billion during the 12-month period, with more than $8 of every $10 of sustainable loans signed during this time in sustainability-linked loan (SLL) format.
Amid heightened concerns around 'greenwashing', the inaugural Sustainable Loans Insight responds to a growing recognition of the need for increased transparency in this often opaque market and combines thought pieces from leading practitioners with up-to-date market data and analysis.
The free-to-download report features expert insights from BBVA, BNP Paribas, ING, SMBC, Sustainable Fitch, NatWest and Wells Fargo, as well as league tables of the leading bookrunners and sustainability coordinators of sustainable loans.
Informative infographics from Environmental Finance Data are used to illustrate global and regional breakdowns of the market by sector, use of proceeds and KPI, with deep dives into alternative sustainable loan structures and Latin America and a run-down of the largest sustainable loans recorded in the period.
Among the publication's key insights are the dominance of developed markets in sustainable lending, especially those situated in Europe and North America, suggesting that there is still some way to go before emerging markets may access sustainable debt at comparable levels.
Unsurprisingly, measures of absolute carbon emissions are the most common KPI incorporated into SLLs globally. Yet, there are major regional differences in the next most common KPIs. In Asia, for example, the dominance of the real estate sector in sustainable borrowing is reflected in the high number and volume of deals in the region that incorporate renewable energy and energy efficiency KPIs.
Sustainable Loans Insight also addresses a flurry of recent initiatives introduced into the SLL space, such updated guidance from the Loans Market Association (LMA) and Loans Syndications and Trading Association (LSTA), and tweaks to the Sustainability-linked Loan Principles (SLLP) to name a few.
Click here to download your copy of Sustainable Loans Insight 2023 free of charge.
