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Green and Sustainable Financial Products

In 2020, the Hong Kong Green Finance Association held a survey on market participants’ opinions on the current financial market and how Hong Kong could become a green finance centre.

 

Investors and stakeholder groups noted that along with green bonds, “other green and sustainable financial products should be further promoted in Hong Kong for more vibrant market development,” including “ESG funds and Green Funds, Green Asset-Backed Securities, Green ETFs, Green Insurance, and KPI linked products [such as] sustainability-linked loans/bonds)” (HKGFA, 2020). 

 

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Navigating Green Financial Products

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Both international and Hong Kong-based products can be found through public online databases listed below. 

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International Products

Hong Kong-based Products

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Hong Kong’s Securities and Futures Commission (SFC) has compiled a list of SFC-authorized funds, where authorisation “involves the review of whether a product meets the relevant legal and regulatory requirements, which set out certain impartial benchmarks” (SFC, 2020).

 

They also note that “the list of green and ESG funds does not constitute an official recommendation of these products or a guarantee of their green or ESG attributes or related performance” (SFC, 2020). Both international and Hong Kong-based funds are listed.

 

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Financial Reports
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In 2007, a group of Swedish pension funds were trying to “invest in projects that help the climate” but couldn’t find any options (World Bank, 2019). They brought their request to the World Bank, who created and issued the first green bond a year later. Their story can be found here.

 

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Green bonds can be defined as “fixed income securities in which the proceeds will be exclusively and formally applied to projects or activities that promote climate or other environmental sustainability purposes through their use of proceeds” (Barclays, 2014).

 

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The ICMA has created an international Green Social and Sustainability Bonds Database, where bonds are listed by country, category, and external review report where a third party (usually a consultant or a sustainable reporting firm like Sustainalytics) outlines how the proceeds from the bond sales will be used, managed, and reported here (ICMA, 2021).

 

For example, searching “MTR” will yield the MTR Corporation Ltd green bond, a link to the MTR Corporation’s sustainability page, and an external review report here analyzing bond proceed use, alignment with green bond principles, and overall ESG performance (Sustainalytics, 2016).

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Hong Kong also has its own bonds database, STAGE. As of 2021, it lists green bonds and green ETPs issued by Chinese, Hong Kong, and Macao firms. It is operated by Hong Kong Exchanges and Clearing Ltd.

 

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Green Bonds and ETPs

Green and ESG Funds

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Green Bond and Equity Indices

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BNP Paribas and HSBC coordinated the “Summary of Green – Social - Sustainable Fixed Income Indices Providers,” with a list of green bond indices from various global providers (BNP Paribas, 2018).

 

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The American Nasdaq stock exchange also lists Green Equity Indices representing the clean energy sector (Nasdaq, 2021).

 

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Glass Buildings

Individual Stocks

Reports and Reporting Standards

“As a response to a higher global public awareness and sensitivity to the contributing role that business organisations play in ecological, social and economic problems, there is a growing readiness for the world's largest companies to demonstrate their commitment to corporate sustainability. In this context, increasing numbers of organisations appear willing to report their economic, social and ecological sustainability performance…” (Ehnert et al., 2016).

 

You may want to consider including individual stocks in your portfolio.

 

But how do you decide what to buy?

Read Company Reports

Currently, there are no mandatory green or ESG reporting standards that the entire world complies against. However, the Global Reporting Initiative (GRI) has emerged as one of the most widely used frameworks “for voluntary corporate reporting of environmental and social performance worldwide”, gaining “official recognition by governmental agencies and multilateral organizations such as the UN Global Compact “ (Levy et al., 2010). As a result, it’s also known as the “de facto” reporting standard by KPMG (KPMG South Africa, 2014).

 

Material Topics

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Just as individuals have specific topics that they are concerned about (eg. Worker’s rights, renewable energy), the GRI standards allow companies to report on certain their key issues, or topics of materiality. They are also known as material topics. These topics “reflect the reporting organization’s significant economic, environmental, and social impacts; or … substantively influence the assessments and decisions of stakeholders” (GRI, 2016).

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GRI Database

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Company reports can be found by name.

 

Please note: as of December 2020, GRI has included the following disclaimer “Due to the ongoing review of this database and its related registration process, the information on this platform was last updated in December 2020 and is not going to be further populated.” We recommend you revisit the GRI website as future data may be exported to a new database.

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Searching Reports

Reports may include certain tags such as “GRI – Standards” and “GRI – G4.”

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What does the tag mean? As the times change, GRI also revises its standards. The tag indicates the standard that the report followed upon issue. If you search for the term “Global Reporting Initiative” while viewing the report, there will usually be an explanation of that standard.

Sample Report Search - Coca Cola (GRI, 2021a)

How do I learn about a firm that's not on the GRI?

Companies which are not listed on the GRI may still have sustainable projects or plans! 

 

For example, the Hong Kong Airport has listed their material topics and their initiatives towards each topic on their website.

CERES Sustainability Disclosure Search Tool

CERES is a non-profit sustainability organization that is known for partnering with the Tellus Institute and the UN Environment Programme to create the GRI (GRI, 2021). It hosts a Sustainability Disclosure Search Tool where you can find a company’s reports.

 

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The tool will display:

  • the company’s name

  • the company's stock index

  • the company’s reports in “climate change, carbon asset risk, water availability and quality, and hydraulic fracturing” if available (CERES, 2021).  

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Registration for an account is free.

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Head to the next section to learn how to read a report.

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Keep Learning

News and Academic Resources

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The Journal of Sustainable Finance & Investment is a peer-reviewed quarterly publication exploring ESG developments. It aims to develop “understanding of sustainable investment theory and practice by providing a venue for in-depth discussion and offering a range of accessible, impartial perspectives for researchers and professionals” (Taylor & Francis Group, 2021).

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Reading a Book
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Reading Sustainability Reports

When it comes to disclosures and sustainability reports, each company may follow its own layout and format. The IFEC has published a guide on how to read and understand an ESG report’s highlights section (IFEC, 2020). It can be found here.

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Staying Up To Date: Green Finance News

The Hong Kong Green Finance Association provides industry updates in a news article format.

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The Journal of Sustainable Finance & Investment is a peer-reviewed quarterly publication exploring ESG developments. It aims to develop “understanding of sustainable investment theory and practice by providing a venue for in-depth discussion and offering a range of accessible, impartial perspectives for researchers and professionals” (Taylor & Francis Group, 2021).

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Green Finance (GF) is an “international Open Access journal devoted to publishing peer-reviewed, high quality, original papers in the field of Green finance, Environmental, and Sustainability research and practice” (Aims Press, 2021).

 

Their articles include “original research articles, reviews, editorials, letters, and conference reports” (Aims Press, 2021).

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References

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