Sustainable Finance

MARKET HIGHLIGHTS | JANUARY 2022

Q4 2021 represented another quarter of intense SPO activity. Some 30 issuances have been supported by ISS’ ESG team, including some landmark transactions:

The success of our clients reflects the overall dynamism of the market, which reached almost $1 trillion in annual issuances (according to ICMA on Environmental Finance data), with green bonds representing about 50% of the overall market volume, and sustainability-linked bonds corresponding to just under 10% of overall issuances. The $1 trillion threshold seems destined to be exceeded once and for all in 2022, with many market players forecasting higher volume this year.

Regarding regulation, some of the many innovations we have seen introduced in recent years will find their first application in 2022. For example, large EU corporates will have to report the percentage of eligible activities aligned with the EU Taxonomy for sustainable activities for the first time. This inaugural exercise will also provide interesting data on those bond issuers claiming to be aligned with the EU Taxonomy. Further discussions that are also taking place on the inclusion of gas and nuclear in the Taxonomy and the Common Ground Taxonomy (the exercise finding common ground between the EU and Chinese taxonomies) will provide a broader context for development in the international sustainable finance landscape.

*By way of background, ISS Corporate Solutions (ICS) works in collaboration with ISS ESG, the responsible investment arm of Institutional Shareholder Services, as the distributor of SPOs. While the SPOs are sold and distributed by ICS, the analytical work to prepare and issue SPOs is performed by ISS ESG.

UPCOMING EVENTS

Join ISS Corporate Solutions for critical discussions this month in a series of events with great leaders in the Sustainable Finance space.

As external reviewers, ISS ESG has delivered over 390 SPOs according to rigorous and well-respected standards. Below is a summary of our client successes in Q4 2021.