Green finance

With so many options in green or sustainable approaches to financing and investing, we help companies, asset managers, and asset owners formulate their best options. 

1. Understand the evolving regulations in the countries where you do business. Many countries have responded to the Paris Agreement by setting carbon net-zero targets. In order to get there, policies guide the way with incentives, climate risk disclosure requirements, cap-and-trade carbon markets, or carbon taxes. How will regulations affect your business, and where are the best opportunities to innovate or gain market share? 

2. Strategize with international best practices in mind. The UN Sustainable Development Goals lay out a blueprint for future prosperity in specific sectors, such as water, energy, climate, oceans, urbanization, transport, science, and technology. The UNPRI published six principles of responsible investment developed by an international group of institutional investors. The UN Global Compact established 10 principles to guide corporate sustainability efforts. How can companies and investors use these guidelines to define a convincing, coherent answer to climate change and sustainable development?

3. Empower your top executives to manage climate risk with bespoke masterclasses. Our most popular classes include: Sustainability risk in lending portfolios; Climate risk assessment for board directors; and Gender lens sustainable investing for female executives.

Given our combined credentials in climate science, and expertise in business and finance, we are well-positioned to help you craft or refine an investment approach or corporate initiative with true environmental impact.

For an overview of a sample introductory masterclass in sustainable finance, click here.

Green bonds

In 2016, an estimated USD 694bn in climate-aligned bonds were issued, primarily in the low carbon transport and clean energy sectors, but also including low carbon buildings, water, and agriculture. China issued 36% and the US 16% of the climate-aligned bonds. Of the USD 694bn, USD 118bn were labelled green bonds, meaning the issuer followed an established set of green bond guidelines. 

With China's establishment of the Asian Infrastructure Investment Bank, its expansive One Belt One Road Initiative, and the ambitious environmental targets in its 13th Five Year Plan, it is clear that the country needs to attract financing for green growth. 

And yet international investors have largely stayed away from Chinese-issued green bonds, citing discrepancies in green standards set by the country compared to international standards. Are the discrepancies significant? How do the various standards compare? What should potential investors watch out for? 

As an advisor to the Climate Bonds Initiative we have first-hand experience in creating the state-of-the-art Water Climate Bond Standard, which applies to water infrastructure bonds. If you have questions about vetting green bonds, comparing different green standards, or whether a project would be eligible for green bond certification, please contact us.