Nasdaq launched the Nasdaq Sustainable Bond Network, a global, publicly available web-based platform designed to improve transparency in the market for green, social and sustainability bonds. The online repository provides issuers of sustainable bonds across the world with a platform to voluntarily publish key information and data regarding their specific bonds, which, in turn, provides investors with the information they need to compare sustainable bonds successfully.
Issuers using the Nasdaq Sustainable Bond Network are provided an opportunity to showcase their sustainability efforts and provide a greater level of transparency for their bonds. The Nasdaq Sustainable Bond Network also introduces a standard framework for impact reporting.
For investors, the Network´s data collection tools address a growing need for improved data aggregation in the sustainable bond market, replacing the need for the manual collection and administration of data.
From its launch, the Nasdaq Sustainable Bond Network contains bond data from a select number of European and US issuers. The Network will be continuously expanded through feedback from a global advisory board, consisting of public and private investors, expert organizations and issuers, including: Allianz Global Investors, Freddie Mac Multifamily, SEB, The Nordic Investment Bank, Alecta, The San Francisco Public Utilities Commission, New York State Homes and Community Renewal, Cicero and Climate Bonds Initiative.
“As an investor we want to actively contribute to shaping the future of sustainable finance,” says Beatrix Anton-Grönemeyer, chief sustainability officer at Allianz Global Investors, in a statement. “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.”
In 2015 Nasdaq launched the world´s first sustainable bond market, which has more than doubled in size every year since and recently surpassed 200 listed instruments across 50 issuers in the Nordic region. Following the strong growth of the market, Nasdaq has expanded its offering to include additional segments. In December 2018, Nasdaq launched an ESG Data Portal, a centralized distribution point that offers investors access to standardized ESG data from Nordic listed companies.
“As portfolio managers look to keep pace with investor demand, the launch of our Sustainable Bond Network will help our clients evolve their sustainable investing strategies,” says Bjørn Sibbern, president, European Markets at Nasdaq, in a statement. “Based on experience gained building our European sustainable debt markets and our ESG Data Portal, this launch marks the next phase of our mission to increase transparency around sustainability to issuers and investors across the globe.”