A new global survey of companies and institutional investors commissioned by ING shows the benefits of Covid-19 in accelerating the green transformation plans of many companies – but with investors demanding more hard environmental targets.
As a result, all stakeholders must move faster and further in making environmental, social and governance (ESG) progress as the pandemic raises the bar for ambition.
Some of the take-aways of the report, 'Now or never: A new bar for sustainability', include:
- The majority of corporates (57%) have accelerated green transformation plans as a result of the pandemic
- Less than one in 10 companies currently link executive compensation to ESG targets; 62% of companies will do so for environmental targets in 2021
- 72% of investors say they are increasing ESG outcome ambitions in their portfolios
- Social bond momentum to continue with half of corporates likely to issue a social bond in the next 12 months
The research surveyed 450 corporates across seven sectors, split evenly across Europe, the US and Asia Pacific; 100 institutional investors were surveyed, including pension funds, insurers, family offices and sovereign wealth funds, across Europe (35), the US (35) and Asia Pacific (30).
“Over the past 12 months we have seen a mentality shift whereby companies were initially taking some steps but are now taking a much more accelerated approach to sustainability. The role of capital markets is pivotal in ensuring this approach continues, providing increased transparency around measurement and ensuring sustainability is embedded with corporate strategy," said Leonie Schreve, global head of sustainable finance for ING.
UOB has priced the first sustainability bond offering from Singapore – a US dollar-denominated issuance for the first dual tranche senior notes and tier 2 instrument in sustainability format globally from a bank issuer.
In aggregate, UOB raised $1.5 billion, with a final orderbook of $2.75 billion, with sustainability-focused investors contributing 60% to the final orderbook.
The deal is the bank’s inaugural issuance under the UOB Sustainable Bond Framework launched in March 2021.
The proceeds will be used to finance or to refinance eligible businesses and/or projects in areas such as green buildings and renewable energy, as well as eligible social assets.
AIA has established AIA VCC, a variable capital company in Singapore as part of its group-wide investment programme to facilitate capital deployment globally.
AIA Investment Management Private Limited, with reported assets under management of SG$178 billion ($133 billion) as at the end of 2020, is the investment manager of AIA VCC.
AIA said it is now exploring how the recently introduced VCC framework can support AIA’s investment programme, with a particular focus on balance sheet exposure to specialist and alternative investment strategies.
