23-06-2022 10:00

Nordea leads the way in sustainable finance in the Nordics

Nordea’s clean sweep of Global Finance’s Sustainable Finance Awards in the Nordics highlights our leadership and commitment to financing initiatives that mitigate the impact of climate change and build a more sustainable future.
Ebba Ramel and Stella Mylläri of Nordea Sustainable Finance Advisory pick up Global Finance's Sustainable Finance Awards and Best Investment Bank Awards on behalf of Nordea, June 22 2022
On behalf of Nordea, Ebba Ramel and Stella Mylläri, Nordea Sustainable Finance Advisory, picked up six awards at the Global Finance Magazine awards event in London.

The financial markets are undergoing fundamental changes as the global economy shifts towards becoming low-carbon and sustainable. As the largest financial services group in the Nordic region, Nordea has an important opportunity and responsibility to accelerate that shift. By supporting our clients’ transition through financing and advisory services, we help our clients engage with their sustainability agendas and increase the overall impact.   

That leadership and commitment is being recognised, as Global Finance has named Nordea the winner of its Sustainable Finance Awards in all Nordic countries where the award is given – Sweden, Denmark and Finland.

The US-based industry magazine awarded the financial institutions in 63 countries and territories that stand out for their efforts to ensure adequate financing for sustainability initiatives and their creativity in addressing these long-term issues.

“It’s gratifying to have our efforts recognised by Global Finance and a clear sign that we’re on track with our ambition to be the best ESG investment bank in the Nordics,” says Jacob Michaelsen, Head of Nordea Sustainable Finance Advisory.

The awards program focused on activities from January to December 2021 and evaluated criteria including governance policies and goals as well as measurable achievements in environmental and social sustainability financing. There was no fee for participation.  

2025 target: Over EUR 200bn in sustainable financing

ESG is one of the main drivers in Nordea’s 2025 strategic plan. Earlier this year, we announced new sustainability targets for 2025, including leveraging our Nordic number one position to facilitate more than EUR 200bn in sustainable financing over the next four years.

In addition to winning the Sustainable Finance Awards, Nordea was also once again named best investment bank in Sweden, Denmark and Finland.

Recent sustainable finance highlights

Kingdom of Denmark, inaugural green bond, sole green structurer

Nordea acted as the sole green structurer for the Kingdom of Denmark in its inaugural green bond issued in January 2022. The framework included detailed EU Taxonomy alignment as the first sovereign and one of few issuers overall.

Odfjell, inaugural sustainability-linked bond, joint structurer

Nordea acted as joint structurer and bookrunner for Odfjell’s inaugural sustainability-linked bond (SLB). It was the first ever SLB globally for the shipping sector and the first SLB for the Nordic region.

Ørsted, inaugural sustainability-linked loan, sole sustainability coordinator

In October 2021, Ørsted signed their inaugural sustainability-linked loan (SLL) – a EUR2bn 5-year facility. Nordea was appointed sole sustainability coordinator. The KPIs focused on reducing carbon emissions from energy generation and operations (Scope 1-2) and achievements on a DKK350bn EU Taxonomy-aligned CAPEX programme.