SUSTAINABLE FINANCE - GREEN AND SUSTAINABLE BONDS
Sustainability Excellence has worked with several companies, banks, and financial institutions in the region on all dimensions relevant to Sustainable Finance, Green Bonds, Equator Principles, and the overall integration of ESG factors in lending and investment activities. We have worked with the first Green Bond issuer in the GCC region across all implementation angles, from identifying criteria for eligible green projects; to formally modifying lending policies and procedures to include specific required language; and to evaluating and monitoring the actual green performance of those projects; among other aspects of green bond management such as impact reporting in alignment with the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs).
Our ESG Invest division focus on ESG analysis is an invaluable asset in our sustainable finance programme. ESG Invest evaluates more than 700 regional companies on their ESG performance, using global criteria that include the same underlying criteria as the Equator Principles (IFC, World Bank and ILO requirements), while also monitoring and offering alerts year-round for important ESG infractions or allegations. ESG Invest also implements criteria for green finance projects, and are able to evaluate projects for eligibility for green financing using international standards.
Sustainability Excellence is involved in all aspects of sustainable finance. This includes but not been limited to:
- Developing Green Bonds frameworks, Social Bonds frameworks, Sustainable Bonds frameworks, SDG Bonds frameworks, Green Loans, in alignment with the ICMA Green Bond Principles (GBP), and the Climate Bond Initiative (CBI);
- Developing ESG strategy and action plan;
- Creating ESG toolkits and scorecards that support the identification, assessment, and selection of eligible projects using intuitive quantitative methods;
- Measuring and tracking the positive impacts of the bond proceeds, as well as oversight of projects;
- Delivering - in person and/or online - management buy-in presentations and training workshops on the business case of Sustainable Finance;
- Drafting Green Bond Reports and Equator Principles Reports;
- Supporting companies and financial institutions in meeting the requirements of investors and second party opinion providers;
- Supporting companies and financial institutions in responding to investors' requests for ESG insights.