Green Bond Pioneer Awards 2017: Leadership in green finance: Glittering event at London’s Guildhall

 

Leaders from Poland to Costa Rica, Mexico to Munifin, Monash University to Masen, Alpha Trains to AP Renewables recognised at Award Ceremony following the Climate Bonds 2017 Annual Conference.

 

Last night in London, Climate Bonds in partnership with the City of London and the Green Finance Initiative, held the 2nd Annual Green Bond Awards at Guildhall celebrating the stand outs and pioneers of the rapidly growing green bonds market.

The award ceremony followed a packed day of conference sessions that saw standing room only in plenaries as expert speakers discussed the year ahead and prospects for green finance out to 2020.

 

2017 Green Bond Awards

The Awards are in recognition of leading organisations, financial institutions and governments, who have pushed green finance forward and developed the green bonds market in the past year through their pioneering initiatives and issuances, providing a positive example of low carbon investments.

There were 16 categories of Awards this year, including the world's first sovereign green bond and eight pioneer issuers in various regions.

 

Award Winners by Category:

First Sovereign Green Bond – Poland

First Green Schuldschein – Nordex (Germany)

First RMBS – Obvion N.V (Netherlands)

Largest Single Green Bond – Bank of Communications (China)

Largest Non-Financial Corporate Green Bond – Grupo Aeroportuaro Ciudad de Mexico (Mexico)

Largest Overall Issuer – SPD Bank (China)

Innovative Regulator – People’s Bank of China PboC (China)

Most Second Opinions in 2016 – CICERO (Norway)

New Country Issuances:

  • Philippines - AP Renewables
  • Colombia – Grupo BanColombia
  • Costa Rica - Banco Nacional de Costa Rica
  • Finland – Municipality Finance (MuniFin)
  • Morocco – Masen
  • Luxembourg - Alpha Trains

Regional Sub-Sovereign – Mexico City (LatAm)

Regional Sub-Sovereign – Treasury Corporation of Victoria (Asia-Pacific)

 

2017 Green Bond Certificates

In addition to the awards, a series organizations have also been granted Recognition Certificates, encompassing the following categories: Sub-national/Municipal, Development Banks, Commercial Banks, Corporates, Structured, Certifications, and Market Infrastructure.

 

Certificate Recipients by Category:

Sub-national/Muni, Largest Overall Issuer – New York MTA, USA

The First Chinese Policy Bank Green Bond Issuer – Export-Import Bank of China

Development Bank, Largest Overall Issuer – European Investment Bank

Corporates, Country Pioneer New Entrant – Hyundai, South Korea

Corporates, Largest Overall – Iberdrola, Spain

Structured, Country Pioneer New Entrant, 1st ABS – Flexigroup, Australia

Structured, Country Pioneer New Entrant, 1st ABS – Suzano/EcoAgro, Brazil

Structured, First Dual Recourse in China – Bank of China

Structured, Largest ABS in 2016 – Toyota, Japan

Certifications, First Water – San Francisco Public Utilities Commission (SFPUC) USA

Certifications, Largest Certified (and first in France) – SNCF Réseau, France

Certifications, First certified Green Bond from a University – Monash University, Australia

Certifications, First Indian Certified Bond – Hero Futures Energy, India

Certifications, First Certified Green Loan – Strasser Capital/MEP Werke, Germany

Certifications, First Certified German Bank Bond - DKB, Germany

Certifications, Indices: First Unlabeled Green Bond Index – CCDC, China

Market Infrastructure, Pioneer Listing Rules – Shanghai Stock Exchange

Market Infrastructure, Pioneer Listing Rules – London Stock Exchange

Market Infrastructure, Pioneer Listing Rules – Mexico Stock Exchange

Market Infrastructure, Pioneer Listing Rules – Luxembourg Stock Exchange

 

Who’s saying what?

Piotr Nowak, Deputy State Secretary, Ministry of Finance, Poland:

“We are delighted that our efforts in the field of green finance have been recognized with this prestigious award. With the first ever sovereign green bond we wanted to show our open-minded approach towards the green bond market, to demonstrate commitment to sustainable development and set a good example for others.”

 

Miguel Ángel Mancera Espinosa, Mayor of Mexico City:

“As the impacts of climate change are already happening in cities, it is our responsibility to find concrete local solutions to this global challenge.”

“I wish to thank the Climate Bonds Initiative for its recognition of Mexico City for being the first City in Latin America to issue a Green Bond and for taking actions to tackle climate change in a decisive and innovative way as a local government."

 

Max Bronzwaer, Executive Director & Treasurer of Obvion Mortgages:

"We are very grateful and proud to receive this award and it is an encouragement to continue in the direction we have taken with Green STORM 2016.”

“We believe this world's first green RMBS had led non-green investors to start looking at green investments, green investors to look at RMBS investment and other RMBS issuers to look at the possibilities and opportunities to issue a green RMBS."

 

Christa Clapp, Head of Climate Finance at CICERO:

"As green bonds move from a niche market to the mainstream, it is vital to give investors information on what is green, as we do in our independent second opinions using Shades of Green. What is important to us is to be a thought leader on what is green, based on the latest environmental science.”

 

Gustavo Vargas, Director de Finanzas del Banco Nacional de Costa Rica:

“This award sets the National Bank of Costa Rica to the high level of the international financial market, as a bank committed with sustainable values. It rewards our efforts to promote initiatives and practices that are aligned with our sustainable banking strategy and vision.”

“We are proud to receive this prestigious international recognition for our pioneering green bond issuance, the first for Costa Rica and for Central-America. It encourages us to continue looking for green investment opportunities.”

 

Mustapha Bakkoury, President of Masen:

"I'm particularly proud to receive this first ever green finance award on behalf of Morocco. Masen has issued the first ever Moroccan Green Bond, which will boost development of new projects everywhere in Morocco.”

“This Green Bond bears witness to Masen's pioneering and innovative fund raising qualities, which are a crucial strength for developing renewable energies in Morocco and elsewhere."

 

Shaun Mills, CEO Alpha Trains Group:

“We are extremely proud to receive this prestigious recognition. The award acknowledges Alpha Trains as country pioneer in Luxembourg and our role as one of the most innovative private players in the rail sector.”

“With our recent Green Private Placement, we paved the way to communicate our sustainability strategy and to match our financing needs with growing investor demands for transparent green projects that meet their long-term climate objectives.”

 

Chiara Caprioli, Business Development Manager Luxembourg Stock Exchange:

“There is an inextricable link between mitigating climate change and the development of sustainable finance. Via the creation of the Luxembourg Green Exchange, we are the first exchange to establish a dedicated service that bridges investors’ need for increased transparency and issuers’ commitment to assure quality of reporting.”

“We believe that our innovative mind-set in developing new tools in the sustainability space will channel more funds to the green bond market – we are proud and happy that CBI recognised our initiative.”

 

Ignacio Real de Asúa, Head of Capital Markets & Financial Risk Management, Iberdrola Group:

“At Iberdrola, we would like to thank the Climate Bonds Initiative for the recognition granted to our strategy of investing in sustainable assets while securing finance through green instruments.”

“We encourage Climate Bonds to continue its work, since we are convinced that the investors’ increasing demand for green financing will drive sustainable investments in the fight against climate change.”

 

David Harris, Group Head of Sustainable Business, London Stock Exchange Group:

“We are proud to have been recognised by the Climate Bonds Initiative for our dedicated green bond segments which was the first green bond segment to be launched by a major exchange; with now 40 green bonds that have raised around $10.5 billion in 7 different currencies.”

“This forms one component of our Global Sustainable Investment Centre which aims to support all our clients, including issuers, investors and intermediaries, in the transition to a low-carbon and sustainable economy. This follows innovative new FTSE Russell ESG Indexes and the launch of LSEG's ESG Reporting Guidance in February this year.”

 

Monash University President and Vice-Chancellor, Professor Margaret Gardner AO:

“The Green Bonds Pioneer Certificate is welcome recognition of our commitment to deliver significant financial and economic benefits to Monash University while advancing sustainable development across our campuses.

“The Monash University Climate Bond, together with our new environmental, social and governance commitments, demonstrate how we are engaging with industry and using innovative technologies to influence the transition to a net zero carbon economy.”

 

Konstantin Strasser, CEO MEP Werke GmbH and Strasser Capital GmbH:

“We are honoured to have been recognised for our first certified green loan. As part of our pioneering role in the renewable energy sector we consider it our duty to create awareness for innovative green financing instruments. This accolade by the Climate Bonds Initiative will help us in paving the way for future investors and issuers.”

 

Alba Aguilar, Director New Markets Development, Mexican Stock Exchange:

“At the Mexican Stock Exchange we are aware of the need for our country to have financial solutions that allow us to move towards a sustainable and low carbon economy and, considering the role we play in the financial system, we affirm our commitment in the development of environmental markets and climate finance.”

“In order to mobilize private capital towards green investments, we created the rules for listing green bonds, which provide standardization, transparency and credibility to the market; with the assurance that this new instrument will allow investors to address the challenges and opportunities presented by climate change.”

“In the same spirit, we have formed the Climate Finance Advisory Council, composed of several leaders of the financial system with the objective of promoting best practices that may stimulate market development; fostering dialogue in the sector on the need to address new financial risks and challenges related to climate change.” 

 

Eila Kreivi, Director Capital Markets, EIB:

"EIB has great satisfaction of receiving today the recognition for largest overall green bond issuer in its category of Development Bank awarded by Climate Bonds Initiative.”

“It acknowledges our long-term effort in developing the green bond market since we issued our first green bond a decade ago. Since then we have issued a total of EUR16.2 bn climate awareness bonds related to 146 projects in 44 countries, the proceeds of which have been deployed to renewable energy and energy efficiency projects.”

“We are enthusiastic to continue to be at the forefront of green bond market development in order to contribute to EU climate objectives’’

 

Antti Kontio, Head of Corporate Responsibility, MuniFin:

"MuniFin wishes to thank Climate Bonds Initiative for the country pioneer award recognition. We believe that municipal sector is in key role when it comes to combatting climate change. As the first green lender in Finland, we truly are in a position to ignite the green revolution.”

 

 

Sean Kidney, CEO, Climate Bonds:

“The 2nd Green Bond Awards honor the organizations that over the past year have been leaders in the global financial sector, mobilizing the capital needed to address climate change, limit carbon emissions and finance the green infrastructure of the future. This year’s Awards in part reflect the diversification of issuers and acceleration in the green bonds market that has taken place over the past year.”

“Behind each of the award winners in each category are host of companies, institutions, municipal authorities and other organisations that have also been recognised for their contributions to climate finance, green bonds innovations and low carbon growth paths. They also deserve acknowledgement and congratulations.”

 

The Last Word

A quick glance at the variety of recipients tells the growth and innovation story of 2016. The accolades are well deserved, particularly for the first sovereign issuance.

Climate Bonds would like to publicly thank external industry based panel who provided feedback on award categories and other advice in the selection process.

And we look forward to a 2017, being the year of sovereign green bonds, where other nations emulate France and Poland, more banks follow Grupo BanColombia and Banco Nacional de Costa Rica, and green securitisation deals take off.

A doubling of market size and expansion of issuers across all parts of the finance spectrum will be something to look forward to at next year's event.

 

 

We will post more on Monday's amazing event later this week.

'Till then,

Climate Bonds team

 

 

 

Disclaimer: The information contained in this communication does not constitute investment advice and the Climate Bonds Initiative is not an investment adviser. Links to external websites are for information purposes only. The Climate Bonds Initiative accepts no responsibility for content on external websites.

The Climate Bonds Initiative is not advising on the merits or otherwise of any investment. A decision to invest in anything is solely yours. The Climate Bonds Initiative accepts no liability of any kind for investments any individual or organisation makes, nor for investments made by third parties on behalf of an individual or organisation.

Additional Disclaimer: The external industry based panel do not endorse or promote any of the bond issuances identified in this communication nor make any recommendation as to the advisability of investing in such bonds.  It is possible that members of the panel have purchased and may currently hold some of these bonds in client accounts.