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Sustainable securities
Gender-focused bonds on LGX
Creating greater visibility for sustainable bonds raising funding for projects and strategies that advance gender equality objectives and contribute to UN SDG 5.
“Achieve gender equality and empower all women and girls”
That is the ambitious goal set out by the United Nations under Sustainable Development Goal (SDG) 5.
In May 2022, conscious that greater visibility was needed for sustainable bonds raising funding for projects supporting gender equality and/or female empowerment, a new flag on the security cards of sustainable securities displayed on the Luxembourg Green Exchange (LGX) was created to highlight securities that allocate a portion of their financing to concrete projects and strategies that advance gender equality objectives and contribute to UN SDG 5.
In May 2022, conscious that greater visibility was needed for sustainable bonds raising funding for projects supporting gender equality and/or female empowerment, a new flag on the security cards of sustainable securities displayed on the Luxembourg Green Exchange (LGX) was created to highlight securities that allocate a portion of their financing to concrete projects and strategies that advance gender equality objectives and contribute to UN SDG 5.
Financing a more inclusive tomorrow
These bonds - while not necessarily classified as 100% Gender Bonds under the Practitioner’s Guide to Using Sustainable Debt for Gender Equality created by UN Women, the International Finance Corporation (IFC) and the International Capital Market Association (ICMA), dated November 2021 – allocate a percentage of their proceeds or set clear KPIs related to advancing gender equality within their documentation and carry post-issuance reporting attesting to the issuer’s concrete actions.
Types of gender-focused bonds
Social bond for which the sole objective is advancing gender-equality
Issue a social bond with 100% use-of-proceeds allocated to projects that advance gender equality objectives. When 100% of financing goes towards such projects, this is also known as a gender bond as defined under the Practitioner's Guide to Using Sustainable Debt for Gender Equality.
Social bond for which advancing gender equality is an objective alongside other social objectives
Issue a social bond with partial percentage of use-of-proceeds allocated to financing a gender equality-related project alongside other social objectives. The allocation of proceeds to these projects should be clearly stated in post issuance reports.
A sustainability bond for which advancing gender equality is an objective alongside other objectives
Issue a sustainability bond with partial percentage of use-of-proceeds allocated to financing a gender equality-related project alongside other green/social projects. The allocation of proceeds to projects should be clear
Sustainability-linked bond (SLB) with gender-related sustainability performance targets
Issue an SLB that sets at least one clear key performance indicator (KPI) and measurable sustainability performance target (SPT) deadline relating to reaching pre-defined gender equality or women empowerment objectives within the bond's funding programme.
Discover how issuers are linking gender and finance
As part of the 1st anniversary of the signing of a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) between LuxSE and UN Women, the experts at LGX released a new market study that explores gender-focused bonds powered by the LGX DataHub. Find out more about how issuers are using the sustainable bond market to advance gender equality and women’s empowerment with a detailed look at the 169 outstanding gender-focused bonds on the market as of February 2023.
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Looking to gain a complete understanding of sustainable finance or simply want to upskill your team on the future of finance? We can provide you with certified courses on various topics ranging from the fundamentals of sustainable finance to the industry’s key players and standards, including many case studies analysed by LGX’s team of experts.
A Practitioner’s Guide to Using Sustainable Debt for Gender Equality
In November 2021, UN Women, IFC and ICMA launched a guide aimed to help facilitate the use of sustainable bonds to advance gender equality and women empowerment. The guide offers specific examples of gender-related projects and KPIs that issuers can take inspiration from in order to increase the volume and quality of financing for projects that contribute to gender equality and/or women empowerment.
