In June 2020 the International Capital Market Association (ICMA) published a new set of standards, the Sustainability-Linked Bond Principles (SLBP), which heralded the birth of a new asset class called Sustainability-Linked Bonds (SLBs). Unlike green bonds, social bonds or sustainability bonds – which place strict restrictions on the use of proceeds for predefined projects – funds raised from SLBs can be used by issuers without restriction. Whilst SLBs open up plenty of room for innovation, they also create a number of potential pitfalls which issuers and investors should treat with care.

This issue explains what SLBs are, their focus and challenges, as well as who stands to benefit most.

For financial institutions, scope one and two greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions centring on energy use in their offices are quite easy to calibrate. However, sitting fair and square in the Greenhouse Gas Protocol’s list of Scope 3 emissions is a potent word: investments.

In August 2020, the 70-strong industry-led Partnership for Carbon Accounting Financials (PCAF) published a draft report. Entitled “The Global Carbon Accounting Standard for the Financial Industry”, it pointed out the need for harmonized methodologies and reporting rules to step up the identification and disclosure of portfolio GHG emissions within the finance sector. The move to measure financed emissions can be seen as part of other global initiatives to ensure the finance sector develops the concepts of green and sustainable finance, and meets its obligations to contribute to the achievement of the Paris Climate Agreement.

This issue explains why banks, investors and insurers should take more pro-active steps towards assessing their financed emissions and highlights the various measuring approaches recommended by the PCAF.

“Making Green Bonds Work: Social and Environmental Benefits at Community Level” is a new research report prepared by Carbon Care Asia for Oxfam Hong Kong after analysing 249 green bonds with an aggregate issue amount of US$84 billion issued in Asian emerging markets between January 2018 and September 2019.

This report aims to find out whether we can be sure green bonds achieve their intended environmental targets, whether projects funded with green bonds are resilient to climate risks, whether these projects also ensure social benefits, and what kind of best practice can be identified.

In this issue, you will learn more about the various crucial research results and observations from the Oxfam Report, as well as our recommendations that might help green bonds work better for both planet and people.

GRESB, the global real estate sustainability benchmarking organization, has released the score results of its 2019 Real Estate Assessment. Given the need for more in-depth studies of improvement pathways in ESG performance, CCA has continued to analyse the ESG improvement potential and performance of the real estate sector in Asia, applying our proprietary SECOL framework to the cross-year data sets provided by GRESB.

In this issue, we share some of the key findings from this study, with a view to render realistic recommendations for potential and existing GRESB assessment participants. Our recommendations include what actions to take in the weakest areas such as waste management, energy efficiency and green building certifications, besides corporate governance structure and climate performance.

The COVID-19 pandemic has affected economic and social life worldwide. Launched ahead of COP 26, “Race to Zero” is a global campaign to rally leadership and support from businesses, cities, regions and investors for a healthy, resilient, zero-carbon recovery. It would be irresponsible for policy-makers to take action on economic recovery without taking into account the climate emergency, which will in all likelihood produce more severe and lasting impacts than the pandemic.

In this issue, we propose five top agendas for the Hong Kong SAR Government to consider acting upon in order to achieve three key objectives simultaneously: achieving the greatest impact in carbon reduction, winning public support and creating the best opportunities for post-pandemic recovery. These five agendas involve the building of community solar farms and utility-scale wind farms, tightening energy efficiency compliance for buildings, creating zero-emission bus fleets and the launching of a new EV car-only sharing scheme.

2019 was a watershed year for climate policy in Singapore. During the annual National Day Rally speech of 2019, Prime Minister Lee Hsien Loong called climate change “existential” and a “life and death [matter]” for Singapore, under which “everything else must bend at the knee” to safeguard the existence of the island nation.

In this issue we deep dive into Singapore’s latest changes in governance structure following the PM’s call, focusing particularly on the growing importance and influence of the National Climate Change Secretariat (NCCS), the coordinating agency overseeing Singapore’s climate policy. We also take a broad look at the long-term low emissions development strategy just released in April 2020, which does not only outline Singapore’s approach to achieving its enhanced Nationally Determined Contribution (NDC) under the Paris Agreement, but also signifies the government’s new direction in its national development strategy.

The coronavirus pandemic hitting lives, health, jobs and livelihoods across the world shows that people can make drastic changes to their way of life during catastrophic events. One key lesson for business is therefore the need for a radical upgrade of company assessment of social, political and environmental risks.

In this issue we look particularly at the ways in which this pandemic may drive companies to take a more comprehensive approach to environmental and social issues. We also point out five future directions for reference of any business that wishes to stay ahead in a post-pandemic environment with a drastically different corporate strategy. To help clients achieve this, CCA is offering a unique solution called Crisis REsilience & Sustainability Assessment (CRESA).

It has been estimated that ASEAN markets will need around USD 200 billion in green investment annually until 2030 to finance the sustainable development of Asian economies. To identify good practices in green integrity and social contributions, however, sustainability-conscious investors will need to face various challenges including the lack of harmonisation between the different standards, guidelines and taxonomies, as well as the expectation gap between issuers and investors regarding project transparency and impact assessment.

To resolve these misalignments and expectation gaps, Carbon Care Asia and Solactive AG jointly developed a Sustainability Bond Index which builds in two levels of filters to ensure that the green, social and sustainability bonds issued in Asia Pacific demonstrate quality disclosure and positive environmental and social outcomes. This issue highlights the latest development of the sustainability bond market and explains how this Index can help the wider investment community to navigate the labyrinth.

At the UN climate talks in Madrid in December 2019, one of the positive outcomes was the approval of a new Gender Action Plan that strengthens gender perspectives and women's participation in climate action.

Women’s perspectives and participation in climate leadership are important components of climate planning and action which will address the needs of women and raise awareness of the needs of children and family. This issue explores why there is a strong case even in places like Singapore and Hong Kong, where affluence and gender equality are relatively greater, that women hold important perspectives which should be a core part of planning climate mitigation and adaptation by both government and within companies.

COP 25 held in Madrid in December 2019 was considered a lost opportunity by most commentators; some even brand it a serious failure. As country delegates decided to defer some of the thorniest issues to the next U.N. climate summit in Glasgow in November 2020, the result is that the starting date for the Paris Agreement will arrive without an agreed set of rules. So what are the key issues that have been left unresolved by the Conference and what does its underperformance mean for businesses trying to chart the uncertain waters of climate change and climate change action? This issue gives an in-depth analysis on COP 25 and its implications for business in Hong Kong and Singapore.

On 18^th December 2019, the Hong Kong Exchange published Consultation Conclusions to proceed with amendments to the ESG reporting requirements. To cope with changes in the reporting requirements, issuers need to strengthen their board accountability, ESG risk management, materiality assessment, stakeholder engagement and environmental target formulation. In this issue, CCA has summarized the focuses of all the adopted changes. It is clear that listed companies will need to start preparing for the new requirements in ESG reporting.

We are all facing an unpreceded challenge for waste management as local landfills begin to reach their maximum capacity and developing countries deter the import of waste generated by the developed world. To alleviate this situation, we need an urgent paradigm shift to Circular Economy which serves to future-proof businesses against resource depletion, price changes and reputation risks. To support and accelerate this paradigm shift, Carbon Care Asia is going to introduce a new CarbonCare^® Circularity Label in 2020 to provide a framework for businesses keen to introduce the circular economy concepts into their operations. This issue explores various worldwide trends of circular economy, the untapped potentials of new technologies and business models related to circular economy, as well as our new label concept.

During the September 2019 Climate Summit in the US, 87 major corporations, representing a collective value of more than $2.3 trillion and having more than 4.2 million employees, announced their commitment to science-based emissions-reduction targets that align with limiting warming to 1.5°C. At the same Climate Summit, leaders from 77 countries agreed to set the goal of carbon neutrality by 2050. That same month, the Hong Kong government also concluded a public engagement which will feed into Hong Kong’s own long-term decarbonisation plans, setting the territory’s climate action goals for 2050.

It is clear that dealing with climate emergency requires a mix of economic, scientific and social initiatives. CCA believes that if companies can put their weight behind government policies aiming to achieve the goals of the Paris Agreement, which is also binding for Hong Kong, climate risks can be replaced with green business opportunities. This issue outlines our views on the ten most important areas for climate action in Hong Kong based on our earlier submission to the Sustainable Development Council’s public engagement on long-term decarbonisation.

It is widely recognised that capacity building and training on sustainability issues will be a continuing need as we move to a low-carbon, socially-just future. To help clients achieve sound understanding of the value of sustainability and to foster culture change in companies, CCA has developed a Sustainability Knowledge System that delivers learning through both online and offline platforms. These diversified learning modes include Hong Kong’s first Sustainability Professionals Courses co-launched with HKU SPACE, as well as immersive e-courses and workshops. This issue elaborates on the importance of knowledge building for sustainability professionals, planners and managers whose work demands that they make environmentally sound and socially wise decisions for their organisations.

Taking full account of the Consultation Paper on Review of the ESG Reporting Guide and Related Listing Rules published by the Hong Kong Stock Exchange in May 2019, Carbon Care Asia has devised a set of solutions to address a full range of emerging trends in sustainability practice in ways that meet the needs of individual clients. They are closely linked and grouped under two broad categories – “capacity building” and “aligning to international standards”. This issue explains how these solutions serve to address five aspects of the corporate sustainability journey, namely, board leadership, materiality process, risk management, climate competence and metrics and targets.

Carbon neutrality has become a frequent practice at international events as they attract a huge number of participants and enjoy a high profile. Contributing to the current trend towards carbon neutral events, China’s Ministry of Ecology and Environment (MEE) published its first-ever “Guide to Implementing Carbon Neutrality During Large Events (Trial)” in June 2019. The Guide sets out the process and the standards for attaining carbon neutrality for large events and encourages event organisers to adopt a systematic approach to demonstrating carbon neutrality in a way which includes information disclosure and acceptance of public monitoring. This issue summarizes our analysis on the carbon neutrality mechanism based on MEE’s Guide and provides a step-by-step approach to achieving carbon neutrality for large corporate events.

Since the release of TCFD’s landmark “Final Report” in June 2017, many regulators and oversight bodies including central banks, monetary authorities, stock markets, rating and accounting organisations and major business groups are working on ways to turn the TCFD outline into clear reporting requirements to addresses the clear, present and rapidly widening concerns of various stakeholders on the financial implications of climate change to companies and businesses. This issue is a summary of our key observation on TCFD’s recommendations and disclosure guide, including the scenario planning challenge.

CDP is a leading environmental impact benchmarking platform used by companies and governments worldwide. Answering CDP’s request and achieving a CDP rating sends a reassuring message to investors and lenders that your business is ready to adapt to the risks and opportunities arising from climate change. This issue aims to help companies achieve the CDP points they deserve and understand how to improve their scores in future.

On May 17^th 2019, the Stock Exchange of Hong Kong Limited published a consultation paper to review the Environmental, Social and Governance (ESG) Reporting Guide and related Listing Rules. To help listed companies cope with changes proposed in this consultation, CCA offers a three-step approach to understanding implications and planning ahead future directions of ESG reporting.

As its premium partner, CCA teamed up with GRESB (Global Real Estate Sustainability Benchmarking) to embark on an analysis of the Asian real estate sector’s ESG improvement potential based on aggregate scoring data collected by GRESB from 137 Asia-based real-estate participants. The core objectives of this joint study have been built upon enhancing the sector’s shared understanding of sustainability financing and identifying its ESG improvement potential in Asia’s emerging economies.

In early March 2019, the CCA board members attended the 2019 Annual Conference of the Climate Bonds Initiative (CBI) held in London. In this double issue, not only did CCA delegates highlight the latest international trends and developments in green bonds and funds, they also gave a profound analysis of what drives green bonds and what needs to be done to increase investor interest and scale up the green bond market.

The World Economic Forum indicates that buildings account for around 40% of the world’s consumption of primary energy and produce a third of all man-made CO₂ emissions. At the same time, property is one of the asset classes most vulnerable to the impact of climate change. This issue explores how real estate companies and their investors would benefit from adopting a more people-centric approach in managing sustainability risks and considering a broader set of indicators to achieve a deeper understanding of the social and environmental challenges they are facing in the complex societies where their assets are located.