Nasdaq Sustainable Bond Network Builds a Framework for a Sustainable Future

Nasdaq announced the launch of the Nasdaq Sustainable Bond Network (NSBN), a global platform that aims to increase transparency and accessibility to environmental, social and sustainability bonds.

Nasdaq formed the first Sustainable Bonds Market in 2015, and NSBN enhances the sustainable bonds’ investment process, allowing investors to source detailed information on sustainable bonds for product due diligence, selection and monitoring.

NSBN utilizes an open-to-all platform on which issuers can showcase their sustainable bonds and related documents and data, such as framework documents, allocation/impact reports and impact metrics based on the Nordic Public Sector Position Paper. This information is then disseminated through Nasdaq’s market data feeds.

Nasdaq will continuously develop NSBN through feedback from a global advisory board, which is comprised of major public and private investors, issuers and expert organizations, including Allianz Global Investors, Nordic Investment Bank, SEB, Alecta, among others.

“We are strong supporters and we are looking forward to contributing to the development of the Sustainable Bond Network as we believe it will create more transparency and has the potential to simplify investment decision-making in this nascent asset class,” said Allianz Global Investors' Chief Sustainability Officer Beatrix Anton-Grönemeyer. 

“We are confident that initiatives such as Nasdaq Sustainable Bond Network will increase interest in sustainable investments globally. This is urgently needed in a situation where climate crisis and social inequality call for fast solutions,” said Esa Kallio, President and CEO of MuniFin. “For MuniFin, it is extremely important to be widely recognized as a sustainable issuer. NSBN is a very welcome initiative to help investors gain insight into the impact of their investments.”

The rise of sustainable investing, in which investors weigh environmental, social and governance (ESG) factors in portfolio selection and management, has surged in recent years as investors consider the effects of climate change, water management, supply chain management as well as health and safety policies, among other issues. In Europe, assets committed to sustainable investment strategies grew by 11% between 2016 and 2018 to reach $14.1 trillion. Meanwhile, in the U.S., assets under management using sustainable strategies grew from $8.7 trillion at the beginning of 2016 to $12 trillion at the start of 2018, according to a recent report by the Global Sustainable Investment Alliance.

Issuers using NSBN have the opportunity to highlight their sustainability efforts and provide a greater level of transparency for bonds by demonstrating their accordance with recognized sustainability standards to the global investor community. Furthermore, NSBN is also introducing a new voluntary framework for impact reporting to improve comparability between issuers.

“Built on the expertise we have gained building our European sustainable debt markets and our ESG Data Portal, this launch marks the next phase in our ambition to increase access and transparency around sustainable bonds to issuers and investors across the globe,” said Bjørn Sibbern, executive vice president and head of European Markets at Nasdaq. “With the launch of the unique Nasdaq Sustainable Bond Network, Nasdaq takes another step to become the global leader in sustainable financing.”

To learn more about the Nasdaq Sustainable Bond Network, click here.

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