Luxembourg Green Exchange (LGX), LuxSE’s platform for sustainable finance;
Credit: LuxSE
The International Capital Market Association (ICMA) and the Luxembourg Stock Exchange (LuxSE) have announced the launch of ICMA’s new database dedicated to sustainable bond data.
Established by ICMA and built and fed by the Luxembourg Green Exchange (LGX), LuxSE’s platform for sustainable finance, the database aims to provide ICMA members and the wider financial community with insights into the sustainable bond market. This database reportedly includes bonds from over 2,100 issuers and over 8,700 listed green, social, sustainability and sustainability-linked (GSSS) bonds aligned with ICMA’s Principles and it is available on ICMA’s website.
“Through the Principles, ICMA provides the global market standard for sustainable bond issuance. We are very pleased to have this partnership with LuxSE to provide a key reference to all stakeholders with a database of aligned sustainable bond issuers and associated analytics,” said Bryan Pascoe, CEO of ICMA.
ICMA and LuxSE noted that the new sustainable bond database details the evolution of GSSS bond issuance since 2019, with breakdowns per region, issuer sector, currency and time to maturity for each bond category. The database also provides an overview of the intended contribution of different categories of GSSS bonds to the United Nations Sustainable Development Goals (UN SDGs), as reflected in the pre-issuance bond documentation.
The database aims to assist market practitioners to strengthen their knowledge of the sustainable bond market, follow market developments, identify sustainable opportunities and incorporate environmental, social and governance (ESG) factors into their decisions by providing market insights.
ICMA's new database has as its reported objectives a facilitated access to sustainable bond issuer data and increased transparency around sustainable debt markets. LGX DataHub, LuxSE’s proprietary tool, provides the data included in the database.
"As a pioneer in the field of sustainable finance and the world’s leading listing venue for sustainable securities, we are grateful for the opportunity to cooperate with ICMA to bring sustainable bond data to international capital markets. This new database will help address the critical need for market insights and play a significant role in advancing the sustainable finance agenda more broadly,” commented Julie Becker, CEO of LuxSE.
ICMA has reportedly led industry efforts in view of advancing the sustainable finance agenda since the publication of the Green Bond Principles in 2014, the first of a series of internationally recognised guidelines for sustainable debt issuances that have become the global standard collectively referred to as the “Principles”. The sustainable bond database is ICMA’s latest initiative in the field of sustainable finance.
