In our series dedicated to bonds labeled green, social, sustainability and sustainability-linked, we break down the market by multiple bond and issuer characteristics to identify key trends in this rapidly growing and increasingly diverse market.

The market for labeled bonds brings together issuers that wish to raise capital to finance various environmental and social commitments and build rapport with sustainability investors. We examine the key developments so far in the calendar year.

Integrating sustainability and climate risk and impact into bond and private-debt analysis is becoming an increasingly important aspect of portfolio construction. This paper discusses a range of metrics that could guide investors in making these assessments.

We found a strong historical correlation between a company’s MSCI ESG Rating and its cost of capital in both equity and debt markets. Firms assessed as the most resilient to financially material sustainability-related risks financed themselves more cheaply. 

Data from over 4,000 issuers, spanning nearly a decade revealed that companies with better MSCI ESG Ratings tended to have a lower cost of capital. It’s big news for investors and another step towards understanding the relationship between sustainability and financial performance. 

Using MSCI Climate Change Metrics and the Net Zero Investment Framework, we assessed listed companies in developed and emerging markets to see how well they were aligned with the goals of the Paris Agreement and global net-zero emissions by 2050.

We assess the latest trends in labeled bonds, from the overall market to specific bond and issuer characteristics, to identify key developments in the rapidly growing and increasingly diverse labeled-bond market. 

With the market for sustainable (or labeled) bonds growing rapidly, we assessed their value relative to conventional bonds and found they consistently exhibited a green premium, or “greenium,” though it did diminish over time.

The labeled-bond market brings together issuers that may wish to raise capital to finance various environmental and social commitments and build rapport with sustainability investors. What were the key developments in this market in the third quarter of 2023? 

Corporate decarbonization targets without capital commitments can lack credibility, and issuers of labeled corporate bonds led other bond issuers on climate targets. But just how well did these issuers perform in our assessment? 

Good emissions data is essential for any detailed sovereign-bond climate analysis. In this paper, we address some key questions around how best to quantify sovereign bonds’ financed emissions and climate-transition risk.

We assess the latest trends in labeled bonds, from the overall market to specific bond and issuer characteristics, to identify key developments in the rapidly growing and increasingly diverse labeled-bond market. 

We assess the latest issuance trends and the overall market by multiple bond and issuer characteristics to identify key developments in the rapidly growing and increasingly diverse labeled-bond market. 

We explore three reasons why issuers typically issue labeled bonds: financing impact projects, financing their own environmental goals and building rapport with sustainability-oriented stakeholders. Have these issuers also enjoyed lower debt costs?