ESG News in Brief (1/1/2023 - 7/1/2023)

International Enterprises

International Policies

Reserve Bank of India Launches First-Ever Sovereign Green Bonds Auction Worth $1.93 Billion

World Bank Prices First CAD Sustainable Development Bond of 2023 and Highlights the Importance of Biodiversity and Nature for Development

Domestic Policies

The National Development and Reform Commission and the Ministry of Science and Technology jointly issued the "Implementation Plan for Further Improving the Market-Oriented Green Technology Innovation System (2023-2025)"

MSCI Upgrades UGI Corporation’s ESG Rating to “AAA”

On January 5, UGI Corporation announced that in December 2022 it received a rating upgrade to AAA in the 2022 MSCI environmental, social and governance (ESG) ratings assessment. According to MSCI, UGI performed in the top 7%1 of all peer companies evaluated globally in 2022, for actions across ESG matters. This reflects UGI’s robust governance practices, ongoing dedication to the health and safety of our employees and the customers we serve, and environmental strategies to manage emissions.

The announcement follows the guidance by ADNOC’s Board of Directors in November 2022 to accelerate delivery of its low-carbon growth strategy and the approval of its Net Zero by 2050 ambition. Acting on the Board’s guidance, ADNOC has allocated $15 billion (AED55 billion) to advance an array of projects across its diversified value chain by 2030. These projects will include investments in clean power, carbon capture and storage (CCS), further electrification of its operations, energy efficiency and new measures to build on ADNOC’s long-standing policy of zero routine gas flaring. ADNOC will apply a rigorous commerical and sustainability assessment to ensure that each project delivers lasting tangible impact.

When 2023 comes, Seagate released the prediction and trend analysis of ESG (Environmental, Social and Governance). Joan Motsinger, senior vice president of Seagate's sustainable development and business transformation, proposed that 2023 would be a year of transition from discussion to action for many listed companies, due to the more extensive attention ESG has received and the increase of environmental risk reports. Joan Motsinger said that in the future, Seagate will continue to work with peers and interested parties to reduce material consumption, water and electricity consumption, integrate sustainable economy and scientific carbon reduction, and strive to achieve truly sustainable digital storage.

ESG bond volumes swelled over the past few years but dropped by 22% in 2022 amid a broader slowdown in corporate bond issues, as companies faced significantly higher borrowing costs due to aggressive monetary tightening actions by global central banks fighting inflation.

UK Carbon-Credit Technology Pioneer Changeblock Completes Merger with Canadian ESG Capital Markets Firm Carbon12

The new partnership will combine Bain & Company’s deep advisory expertise in decarbonization and its capabilities across industries in manufacturing excellence, including supply chain enhancement, performance improvement and operational delivery, and Schneider Electric’s market-leading experience in strategically designing and implementing clients’ carbon reduction and energy use transformations.

HSBC Asset Management announced today the addition of an energy transition infrastructure-focused investment team to its alternatives unit in Asia, in a business transfer agreement with Hong Kong-based asset manager Green Transition Partners.

The Green Transition Partners team will join HSBC’s Alternative Investment business in Asia, and will form the foundation of the firm’s Asia Pacific Transition Infrastructure Business.

As announced in the Union Budget 2022-23, Government of India, as part of its overall market borrowings, will be issuing Sovereign Green Bonds (SGrBs), for mobilizing resources for green infrastructure.

The World Bank launched the Sustainable Development Bond while raising awareness for the World Bank’s strategy, projects, and programs that support developing countries in the sustainable management of biodiversity and ecosystem services and integrating nature in development.

In order to fully implement the spirit of the 20th National Congress of the Communist Party of China, conscientiously implement the deployment of the Central Economic Work Conference, further improve the market-oriented green technology innovation system, accelerate the research and development, promotion and application of advanced energy-saving and carbon-reducing technologies, and give full play to the key to green and low-carbon development of green technology Supporting role, on December 13, 2022, the National Development and Reform Commission and the Ministry of Science and Technology jointly issued the "Implementation Plan on Further Improving the Market-Oriented Green Technology Innovation System". The fifth is to improve the green technology evaluation system, including establishing and improving green technology standards and promoting green technology evaluation. The "Implementation Plan" proposes that by 2025, the market-oriented green technology innovation system will be further improved, and the support ability of green technology innovation for green and low-carbon development will continue to be strengthened. The innovation vitality of various green technology innovation subjects is continuously released, and collaborative innovation is more efficient. The green technology trading market is more standardized and orderly. International exchanges and opening up in the field of green technology continued to deepen. The "Implementation Plan" requires that the National Development and Reform Commission and the Ministry of Science and Technology should continue to increase the overall planning of green technology innovation. Give full play to the role of the inter-ministerial coordination mechanism for green technology innovation, further strengthen cooperation, and coordinate and solve major problems. All regions should refine and improve various policy measures based on the actual situation, formulate relevant action plans or implementation plans, consolidate work responsibilities, and solidly promote the research and development, promotion and application of green technologies. The National Development and Reform Commission and the Ministry of Science and Technology will promptly publicize advanced practices and typical experiences that can be replicated and promoted, and create a good atmosphere for green technology innovation in the whole society.

With the world currently failing to pursue and fund the United Nations Sustainable Development Goals (UN SDGs), the Force for Good Initiative today reveals that technology can help bridge this gap by up to 40% and lay the foundations for future prosperity.

MUMBAI (Reuters) - The Reserve Bank of India will auction 160 billion rupees ($1.93 billion) worth of sovereign green bonds in two tranches, the central bank said on Friday, in the government’s first-ever such debt sale to raise funds to finance clean projects.

Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman announced the plan to issue sovereign green bonds in the 2022-23 budget as Asia’s third-largest economy attempts to tap the domestic debt market to finance green infrastructure projects.

With an output of 630 kilowatts (kW), the floating plant will generate around 1,240 megawatt hours (MWh) of green energy per year, enough to cover, with zero-kilometre electricity supply, more than 50% of Compesa’s energy consumption on the island.

This plant joins other sustainable projects developed by the company to provide renewable solutions and promote the preservation of the ecosystem of the island, the only inhabited island of the volcanic archipelago located in the northeast of Brazil, in the waters of the Atlantic Ocean.

The 2023 International ESG Policy, Regulation and Best Practice Network Summit will be held on January 13. The theme of the summit is "inspection, testing and certification industry helps Chinese enterprises to achieve sustainable development". The conference was hosted by TIC International Inspection, Testing and Certification Council (hereinafter referred to as "TIC Council"), Beijing Guoshi Testing Technology Research Institute (hereinafter referred to as "Guoshi Institute"), co sponsored by China Petroleum and Chemical Industry Federation, and undertaken by the Sustainable Development Research Center of four think tanks. The summit will invite ESG experts from TIC Council Headquarters to share the contents of the EU's sustainable development related directives and best practices, and invite Chinese guests to introduce the contents of ESG related government support, laws and regulations compliance, standardization system construction, etc. from the perspective of government governance, and also pass on the contents of China's sustainable development related policies to the world, so as to achieve the industry leadership in inspection, testing and certification technology Demonstrate sustainable development path. At that time, representatives of international organizations, TIC industry institutions, Chinese and foreign enterprises, and expert think tanks from many countries and regions around the world will communicate online.

On January 6, the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region government said that it has raised $5.75 billion in dollar, euro and offshore yuan green bonds under its Government Green Bond Programme.The triple-currency offering is the largest ESG bond issuance in Asia. There was $3 billion raised in four dollar tranches of 3-, 5- 10- and 30-years and ten billion yuan ($1.45 billion) was raised in two-and five-year tranches, the government said. A further 1.25 billion euro ($1.33 billion) was issued in two- and seven-year tranches.