Sustainability is about balancing the environmental, societal and governance factors of development to ensure that we meet the needs of the present without compromising the ability of future generations to meet their needs.
Insights
“Companies with a sustainable focus will grow”
Strong financial muscle to drive the green transition in the right direction is crucial. The Norwegian investment company Verdane will provide this muscle power together with one of Europe’s largest growth funds for sustainable, technology-based companies – and backed by Nordea.
The past year brought no shortage of headlines when it comes to environmental, social and governance (ESG) issues. Nordea's Head of ESG Research Marco Kisic reflects on the top ESG debates to watch in 2023.
What to expect from the sustainable finance market in 2023
As sustainability becomes more mainstream, we expect 2022’s focus on awareness and harmonisation to give way to a focus on implementation and execution. We outline out three key trends for 2023.
Sustainable finance markets: 2022, a year in charts
In a year that was unstable in many ways, the sustainable finance market demonstrated promising resilience. The Nordic sustainable bond market proved relatively more stable than the global market, experiencing 3% year-on-year growth compared to a contraction of 23% year-on-year globally. We outline the developments in some key charts below.
Nordea included in the S&P Sustainability Yearbook for the first time
An improved score in S&P Global’s Corporate Sustainability Assessment has resulted in Nordea’s inclusion in the S&P Sustainability Yearbook 2023, one of the world’s most important publications of ESG ratings.
Tradera’s MBO: Starting signal to accelerate sustainable consumption
The largest circular market place in the Nordic countries, Tradera, wants to get more people to shop second-hand items. In December 2021, the current management bought the company from PayPal and it became an independent company.
Nordea gets high ranking on how we practise active ownership within ESG
Being an active owner is a central part of Nordea’s work with sustainability and ESG practices and in the latest “Voting Matters” report from the NGO ShareAction we’re ranked number one in the Nordics and 11 worldwide.
Peter Sandahl appointed Head of Climate and Environment
Peter Sandahl has been appointed Head of Climate and Environment and Deputy Head of Group Sustainability as of 13 March 2023 to lead the new Climate and Environment team at Nordea.
Value-based investing important to Nordic investors
A Nordic survey shows that it’s the opportunity to invest in accordance with one’s own values that is most important when private investors choose to invest sustainably.
The Paris Agreement for Nature – COP15 and the outcomes
A welcomed achievement of the meeting in Montreal was the adoption of the Global Biodiversity Framework and the associated targets, goals and financing. What is now important is the rapid and consistent progress in implementing what has been agreed.
Social impact is back in focus. Here’s how to translate it into financing
When it comes to financing structures focused on social impact, the vast majority currently incorporate gender diversity targets as the social KPI, in part due to the availability of established and comparable data. Looking ahead, we expect a wider range of social targets to be reported on and included in sustainable financing where material.
Ability or ambition: How to speed up progress on biodiversity
We must overcome commitment fatigue and resource constraints if we are to make meaningful progress in understanding and limiting biodiversity risks, argues Nordea Sustainable Finance Advisory’s David Ray.