Environmental Finance's Sustainable Debt Awards 2026

The Inter-American Development Bank secured the sustainability bond market initiative of the year award for its ground-breaking work developing the 'Amazonia Bond Issuance Guidelines' with the World Bank in June 2025.

Winning this award for the second year in a row, Zurich reports that fixed income investments now make up most of its impact portfolio.

The Kingdom of Denmark European Green Bond (EuGBS) issuance was praised by the judges for its "strong commitment to long term sustainability and setting standards for other sovereign issuers" describing it as "well structured".

Celebrating its tenth birthday this year, the Amundi Responsible Investing - Impact Green Bond strategy combines longevity with contribution to positive climate impact.

Bpifrance's European Defence Bond Framework and inaugural issuance represent a bold, pioneering approach to use-of-proceeds financing and a milestone in capital markets innovation, ...

The District of Columbia Water and Sewer Authority (DC Water), one of the largest water and wastewater utilities in the US, has been recognised for Green bond of the year - US muni bond at the 2026 Sustainable Debt Awards.

Ternium's green loan helps finance one of Latin America's most novel decarbonisation projects, contributing to a landmark in Mexico's energy transition and an example for how green loan principles can apply to heavy industry.

Standardised methodologies and disclosures aligned to capital market expectations defines market-leading impact reporting by the International Bank for Reconstruction and Development (IBRD).

Colbún scooped the Americas green bond structure innovation award for the highly diverse use of proceeds it identified, including around biodiversity.

Long Beach Container Terminal (LBCT) scooped the Americas use-of-proceeds innovation award for its debut green bond to finance zero emission infrastructure at the Californian port.

This year's entry marks the third year in a row that ING has picked up the award for Lead manager of the year, sustainability bonds - financial institution.

After securing Africa's first sovereign sustainability-linked loan (SLL), the Republic of Côte d'Ivoire secured two awards after judges praised its impactful and potentially replicable structure.

Korea Ocean Business Corporation's (KOBC) first blue bond in 2025 demonstrated how capital markets can be mobilised for maritime decarbonisation in a hard-to-abate sector.

The Massachusetts School Building Authority (MSBA) $1.99 billion social bond financing was the largest labelled US municipal social transaction of 2025.

DFCC Bank issued Sri Lanka's first listed bond in November 2025, raising LKR 3 billion ($10 million) across three-, four-, and five-year tenures.

Brazilian paper and pulp giant Suzano executed a $1.2 billion sustainability-linked export pre-payment facility last year with a 'landmark' biodiversity key performance indicator.

Judges commended the "clearly defined social and environmental objectives" which make "this a highly valuable sustainable bond."

CAF states the issuance underlines the bank's commitment to delivering innovative, efficient financing that advances climate resilience, social inclusion, and sustainable growth throughout its member countries.

AirTrunk, an Asia Pacific data centre platform, reports that the SGD 2.25 billion ($1.75 billion) green loan supporting its SGP2 data centre development is Singapore's largest loan and the largest green loan for a data centre.

Climate Investment Funds Capital Markets Mechanism (CCMM) has won this award for its new green bond structural design.

In October 2025, Victoria Power Networks (VPN) raised AUD750 million ($520 million) through its inaugural green bond - the first issuance aligned with the newly launched Australian Sustainable Finance Taxonomy.

Marjan Divjak's leadership in structuring and executing Slovenia's inaugural sustainability-linked bond has set an example for sovereign issuers seeking to link capital markets with measurable environmental outcomes.

FirstRand's $150 million transition finance facility from British International Investment (BII) marks a significant advancement in advancing climate-aligned finance across Africa, earning strong recognition for both innovation and market impact.

In November 2025, Mexican development bank Banco Nacional de Obras y Servicios Públicos (Banobras) issued two sustainable bonds with a gender perspective focussing on federal, state, and municipal projects aiming to improve quality of life for Mexicans.

This year's award for Innovation - loan structure (Americas) was won by re.green following its "first-of-its-kind" BRL186,7 million (approximately $36.2 million) guarantee.

Bank of America Securities stands out as the clear leader across green, social, and sustainability bond categories in US municipal markets.

BMO claimed a first-of-its-kind deal when it issued a labelled 'Indigenous bond' in 2025, with proceeds to back Indigenous owned enterprises and communities.

The €300 million ($345 million) securitisation from German renewable energy firm Enpal is the first public securitisation globally to include receivables from heat pump contracts.

Praised by the Sustainable Debt Awards judges as a "credible, precedent-setting transaction", South Korean lender Shinhan Bank raised JPY40 billion ($259 million) from its first transition bond.

Eiffel Investment Group's sustainability-linked loan (SLL) to SB Italia - which has since rebranded to be Havant - stands out for embedding sustainability targets at the heart of a strategic cross-border acquisition.

Brazilian bank Itaú Unibanco's $250 million bond directs capital towards biodiversity restoration and the financial inclusion of small business, addressing two critical sustainability priorities in Brazil

Sustainable Debt Awards judges chose a series of bonds issued by the Mexican Ministry of Finance and Public Credit that raised MXN40 billion ($2.2 billion) as the winning submission for this year's sovereign sustainability bond of the year.

New Zealand's Community Housing Funding Agency (CHFA) was chosen by Sustainable Debt Award judges as the winner of this year's social bond of the year for an agency.

The sustainability-linked loan provided to Rural Asset Finance was a 'first-of-its-kind' transaction.

ABN AMRO led the way in 2025 by being the first bank to issue an EU Green Bond (EuGB), which it swiftly followed up with three more EuGB issuances, including the first sterling-denominated EuGB in December.

Issued in September 2025, ITOCHU became the first non-financial corporate issuer of an 'Orange Bond' after the Japanese trading conglomerate raised JPY15.2 billion ($101 million) from the gender equality-focused transaction.

International Finance Corporation (IFC) has emerged as a standout winner across multiple Sustainable Debt Award categories through its ability to combine scale, innovation, and market leadership ...

US firm Nautilus Solar Energy scooped the sustainable loan use of proceeds innovation award for the Americas for its $275 million green loan supporting its community solar power project roll-out.

Australian alternative asset manager Metrics Credit Partners (MCP) secured an award for the financed emissions-focused AUD663.5 million ($461 million) sustainability-linked loan (SLL) signed by its Wholesale Investments Trust (WIT).

Winning six awards across sovereign, municipal, financial institution and corporate lead manager segments, judges praised HSBC's "strong breadth of structuring and transactional experience", across a diverse range of issuer types, geographies and product formats.

In February 2025, Brazilian sanitation firm Aegea approved $600 million in blue financing, including a $480 million syndicated blue loan and $120 million in sustainable and blue debentures.

A six-year wait for a return green bond issue by Poland was rewarded with a €1.25 billion ($1.5 billion) green tranche in June 2025, which matched scale with enhanced reporting.

Banco Davivienda's $50 million biodiversity bond was the first-of-its-kind in the Colombian capital markets. Issued in April 2025 alongside the International Finance Corporation, the four-year bond aims to focus on projects that protect, conserve or restore nature.

Garanti BBVA has won two awards for its $20.22 million biodiversity blue bond issuance, the first biodiversity-themed issuance in Türkiye's capital markets.

In awarding this year's External assessment provider of the year accolade, judges cited Sustainable Fitch's "excellent framework and process" as key to its success.

The World Bank's latest outcome is a 'landmark' issuance focused on mobilising capital towards clean cooking solutions in Ghana.

Judges praised the bond's "clear and concise use of proceeds with unique eligible categories" and "targeted financing of a hard-to-abate sector".

The judges of the Sustainable Debt Awards this year described Eiffel Investment Group's sustainable lending process as "best in class" and "widely recognised by others", when awarding the fund/asset manager sustainable lender of the year award.

Battery Park City Authority (BCPA) was named winner of this year's sustainability bond of the year in the US muni bond category for a series of bonds addressing climate adaptation and resilience for the New York City waterfront community.

The Republic of Ecuador was chosen by Sustainable Debt Awards judges as the winner of this year's Social loan of the year for an innovative $500 million housing loan.

One judge described it as a "landmark transaction that combines structural innovation, strong investor demand and credible use of proceeds".

The International Capital Market Association (ICMA)-administered Principles scooped the green bond market initiative of the year award for its pioneering 'Sustainable Bonds for Nature: A Practitioner's Guide' published in June 2025.

Judges deemed that NatWest's sustainable finance team "punches above its weight" when it comes to "investor service and tailored support, differentiated research, and market convening power".

Canadian bank Scotiabank distinguished itself in 2025 by structuring social, green, sustainability, and sustainability linked loans across North America, Latin America, the Caribbean and Europe in eight different currencies

Sustainable Debt Award judges praised the exceptional scale, data depth, and practical innovation of the Luxembourg Stock Exchange's (LuxSE) Luxembourg Green Exchange (LGX) platform when awarding Exchange of the year.

Japanese bank Nomura has been among the leading underwriters of 'transition bonds', having lead-managed 11 deals during the awards submission period.

PT PLN Batam's sustainability-linked loan (SLL), marks Indonesia's first-ever syndicated Sharia-compliant sustainability-linked financing, structured under Ijarah Muntahiyah Bittamlik (IMBT).

The Tokyo Metropolitan Government set a new global benchmark with its €300 million ($348 million) Resilience Bond - an innovative sustainability bond dedicated entirely to climate adaptation.

Cosmetics firm Grupo Boticário secured an award for its unique sustainability-linked bond (SLB) which includes a target tied to developing and sharing innovative 'ethical' testing methods which move the sector away from animal testing.

The Central American Bank for Economic Integration (CABEI) broke new ground with its first annual impact report under its Sustainable Bond Framework.

Cocoa-focused agribusiness Gencau's first sustainability-themed issuance was hailed as a first-of-its-kind structure in the sector.

Clear data visualisations and well-established impact metrics form the foundation of Mirova's Global Green Bond Fund 2024 impact report.

Titularizadora Colombiana stood out for its innovative response to Colombia's housing crisis, where Titularizadora Colombiana says 28.7% of households face a deficit in adequate housing.

BNP Paribas picked up two Sustainable Debt Awards this year, having led on over $10 billion of corporate green bond issuance and €30 billion ($35 billion) of sustainable loans in 2025.

TDC NET has raised €3 billion ($3.5 billion) through six sustainability-linked bonds (SLBs), demonstrating what it believes to be one of the most ambitious frameworks in the European telecoms sector.

French public-sector lending specialist Caffil issued a €500 million ($584 million) social bond which was its first to include the export contracts in its use of proceeds.

Bank of Ceylon achieved two "major milestones" with its inaugural LKR 20 billion ($63.4 million) Basel III-compliant tier 2 sustainability bond - the largest sustainability bond issuance in Sri Lanka and the first of its kind by a state-owned bank, with the judges acknowledging the "noteworthy achievement".

Winning the award for Lead manager of the year, sustainability bonds - sovereign, Citi supported several emerging market sovereign issuers in 2025, including the Philippines, Uzbekistan, and Brazil.

In 2025, Commercial Bank of Ceylon set a new benchmark for sustainable finance in Sri Lanka through the issuance of the largest green bond issued by a private bank in Sri Lanka during the year, raising LKR15 billion ($47.5 million), ...

Climate Fund Managers last year hailed two achievements in the capital markets, which will help advance the theme of blended finance for climate adaptation in emerging markets.

Winning a brace at this year's Sustainable Debt Awards was the SchneiTec Dynamic Green Project Bond, collecting both the Award for innovation in the green bond structure for the Asia-Pacific region and green project bond of the year.

The winner of this year's Green bond of the year - local authority/municipality was awarded to Bogotá, Distrito Capital, for issuing the first international green bond by a Latin American municipality denominated in Colombian pesos.

The European Investment Bank (EIB) in April 2025 issued the first bond from a supranational to be aligned with the EU's Green Bond Standard (EuGBS).

In June 2025, FTSE Russell launched the FTSE Climate Collective Transition EMU Broad Government Bond Index, developed in collaboration with ING and Robeco. Robeco subsequently launched the Robeco Climate Euro Government Bond UCITS ETF.

In the last year, Clifford Chance, advised Sri Lanka on the world's first sovereign governance linked securities, helping in the creation of a framework through which financial terms are directly tied to governance reform milestones.

RBC Capital Markets advised on $6 billion of green SSA bond issuances across currencies across sovereign, supranational and agency (SSA) markets in 2025.