Welcome to the Environmental Finance Bond Awards where we celebrate the leading green, social and sustainability bond deals and leading market participants.
As the market continues to grow and evolve, so too have our awards. Our 2020 Bond Awards have new categories for GSS loans.
With the kind help of an independent panel of judges – who are investors in the market – the Awards seek to recognise those that excel, innovate and contribute to the successful development of the market.
Winners of Environmental Finance's Bond Awards can take pride in having been recognised by the market for their thought-leadership, best practice or innovation.
Winners
Award for innovation - bond structure (sustainability bond) - Enel
ITALIAN energy giant Enel was the clear winner of the award for innovative bond structure for its 'SDG-linked' bonds, although the product provoked considerable…
Green bond of the year, local authority/municipality - Province of Québec
Since its debut in the green bond market in March 2017, the Province of Quebec has become a regular issuer. Its CAD800 million, five-year SEC-registered transaction…
Lead manager of the year: Green bond bank; green bond SSA; sustainability bond local authority/ municipality; sustainability bond bank; and social bond SSA - HSBC
HSBC swept to victory in five of the nine lead manager of the year categories, following a year in which the FTSE 100-listed bank saw its underwriting volumes surge.
Green bond of the year, sovereign - Republic of Chile
The Republic of Chile issued a €861 million ($950 million) of 12-year green bonds in June 2019, becoming the first ever sovereign Euro green bond issuer in the Americas.
Sustainability bond of the year - US muni bond - New York State Homes and Community Renewal
The New York State Housing Finance Agency issued its inaugural sustainability bond in June 2019, in a deal that it is thought to have made it the first US municipality…
Investor of the year - BlackRock
BlackRock scooped the Investor of the Year award from the judges, following a period of rising activity in the environmental, social and governance (ESG) space by…
Social bond of the year - supranational, sub-sovereign and agency (SSA) - African Development Bank
The African Development Bank (AfDB) issued its first ever dual-tranche social bond, denominated in Norwegian krone and Swedish krona, in April 2019.
Impact report of the year (for investors) - Zurich Insurance Group
Zurich Insurance Group claims its framework to measure the impact of its investments across asset classes is the first of its kind.
Social bond of the year - local authority/municipality: California Health Facilities Financing Authority
California Health Facilities Financing Authority issued the largest ever social bond from a local authority or municipal issuer, raising a total of $500 million…
Green bond of the year, supranational, sub-sovereign and agency (SSA) - Société du Grand Paris
Since its entry into the green bond market in October 2018, Societe du Grand Paris (SGP) - an infrastructure body wholly owned by the French state - has become one…
Green, social and sustainability (GSS) loan of the year - Cofco International
Social bond of the year - corporate - MORhomes
MORhomes secured the social bond of the year award for corporates after finalising a £250 million ($322 million) issue to assist in building social housing in the…
Award for innovation - use of proceeds (sustainability bond) - Intesa Sanpaolo
IN NOVEMBER 2019, Italian bank Intesa Sanpaolo issued its first ever sustainability bond, focused on financing the circular economy.
Exchange of the year - Luxembourg Stock Exchange
The Luxembourg Stock Exchange (LuxSE) has won Environmental Finance's exchange of the year award for the fourth year in a row.
Award for innovation - use of proceeds (social bond) - DKB
Deutsche Kreditbank (DKB)'s €500 million ($558 million) 'blue' social Pfandbrief was the first deal of its kind.
Sustainability bond of the year - local authority/municipality - Walloon Region
In April 2019, the Walloon Region of Belgium issued its inaugural, €1 billion ($1.1 billion) sustainability bond. It attracted more than €3.5 billion of demand…
External assessment provider of the year - CICERO Shades of Green
Cicero has been awarded external reviewer of the year for the fourth consecutive time, and for the second time since it created a specialist subsidiary called Cicero…
Impact report of the year (for issuers) - KBN Kommunalbanken Norway
Norwegian public sector lender Kommunalbanken Norge (KBN)'s 2018 green bond impact report builds on a strong track record of reporting among Nordic issuers.
Investor of the Year (not a fund) - Highly commended: Nuveen
For its exceptional work in the sustainable investment sphere over the calendar year 2019, led by respected industry figure Steve Liberatore, global investment manager…
Law Firm of the year - Linklaters
Linklaters' claim to this title is based on its involvement in about 100 green, social and sustainability bonds in 2019.
Lead manager of the year, sustainability bonds - supranational, sub-sovereign and agency (SSA) - JP Morgan
JP Morgan acted as lead manager on several significant sub-sovereign, supranational and agency issuances in 2019 across the world.
Social project bond of the year: HealthRIGHT 360
A charity that fights with homelessness, and drug addiction became the first non-profit to issue a social bond in the US municipal.
Social Bonds - asset-backed/asset-based & covered bond of the year - CAFFIL
The SFIL Group's inaugural social bond in February 2019 was issued under a covered bonds format, by the French public development bank's subsidiary, Caisse Française…
Green project bond of the Year: CalSTRS
The California State Teachers' Retirement System (CalSTRS) has long been one of the biggest investors in green bonds, but in December of 2019 it turned issuer to…
Loan structurer/arranger/coordinator of the year - BNP Paribas
BNP Paribas has scooped the inaugural Loan structurer/arranger/coordinator of the year award, after it took a leading role in the rapidly accelerating sustainability-linked…
Lead manager of the year, green bonds - sovereign - Crédit Agricole
Credit Agricole CIB (CACIB) helped bring four new sovereign green bond issuers to the market in 2019.
Sustainability bond of the year - supranational, sub-sovereign and agency (SSA) - New South Wales Treasury Corporation
The New South Wales (NSW) Treasury Corporation (TCorp) issued its inaugural sustainability bond - the first sustainability bond from an Australian semi-government…
Lead manager of the year, green bonds - corporate - BNP Paribas
BNP Paribas has been named lead manager of the year for green bonds corporate, one of two Bond Awards taken home by the banking giant for their work in 2019
Award for innovation - green bond structure and Award for asset-backed or asset-based bond: Connecticut Green Bank
CONNECTICUT GREEN BANK'S April 2019, $38.6 million in green asset backed securities was its first rated debt issuance, and the first ever solar asset-backed security…
Green bond of the year, corporate - Ørsted
DANISH power company Orsted scooped the corporate green bond of the year award with its first entry into the GBP (£) market since 2012. The deal was comprised of…
Index of the year - Bloomberg Barclays MSCI Green Bond Index
The Bloomberg Barclays MSCI Green Bond Index has been voted as best index for the fourth year running.
Personality of the year - Denise Odaro
Esohe Denise Odaro, head of investor relations at the International Finance Corporation (IFC), has been an integral figure in the development of the green, social…
Lead manager of the year, green bonds - US muni - Morgan Stanley
Morgan Stanley claimed this title as a result of serving as lead or joint lead manager on 26 green, social or sustainability (GSS) bonds with a total value of about…
Green bond of the year, US muni bond - New York State Energy Research and Development Authority (NYSERDA)
New York State Energy Research and Development Authority (NYSERDA) became the first US municipal bond issuer to securitise a portfolio of residential solar and energy…
Social bond of the year, sovereign, and Award for innovation - bond structure (social): Republic of Ecuador
The Republic of Ecuador issued the first social bond from a sovereign, raising $400 million.
Social bond of the year - bank - CaixaBank
CaixaBank issued its inaugural social bond in September 2019 worth €1 billion ($1.1 billion) with a maturity of five years and coupon of 0.625%, the largest social…
Green bond of the year, bank - De Volksbank
DE VOLKSBANK secured the award for the green bond of the year by a bank for its inaugural €500 million ($550 million) issue, after judges were impressed by its "innovative…
Initiative of the year - Green Bond - Green Bond Principles Handbook
Since the publication of the Green Bond Principles (GBPs) in 2014, market participants have sought further information on how to interpret this guidance.
Green bond fund of the year - Amundi
Amundi and the European Investment Bank (EIB) launched the Green Credit Continuum (Greco) programme in July 2019 to push the sustainable debt market beyond green…
Sustainability bond of the year - bank - Bancolombia
Grupo Bancolombia issued a 657 billion Colombian pesos ($185 million) sustainability bond, which was bought in its entirety by IDB Invest. It was the first time…
Award for innovation - use of proceeds (green bond) - Nordic Investment Bank
THE INAUGURAL Nordic-Baltic Blue Bond from the Nordic Investment Bank (NIB) scooped the use of proceeds innovation award for a green bond, with the judges lauding…
Lead manager of the year, social bonds - corporate - Mitsubishi UFJ Morgan Stanley Securities Co (MUMSS)
Mitsubishi UFJ Financial Group (MUFG) has been voted as the lead manager of the year for corporate social bonds.
Initiative of the year - Sustainability Bond - World Bank
The World Bank's Sovereign ESG Data Portal was launched in October to help investors better conduct their own analysis of sovereign bonds on environmental, social…
Initiative of the year - Social Bond - IFC
The International Finance Corporation (IFC) launched its Social Impact Notes in July 2019, to facilitate retail investors' participation in the sustainability bond…
Sustainability bond of the year - corporate - Sun Life
In August, Canada's Sun Life became the first life insurance company globally to issue a sustainability bond. The CAD750 million 10-year offering attracted strong…