The Sustainable Debt Awards by Environmental Finance, a sustainable investment news and analysis service established in 1999, recognises institutions that excel, innovate, and contribute to the successful development of the sustainable debt market.
LuxSE was acknowledged for its “trailblazing work” in emerging markets and gender finance through the Luxembourg Green Exchange (LGX), its sustainable finance platform, making it a consecutive winner of the title since 2017, except for 2022.
It is an honour to have our efforts in these areas recognised once more by Environmental Finance.
“Contributing to closing the gaps in financing for sustainable development in emerging markets and gender equality were key drivers for the Luxembourg Stock Exchange in 2023, shaping many of the initiatives we implemented, the securities we displayed and cooperations that we entered into. Addressing these gaps will play a key role in defining whether the goals set out in the Paris Agreement and by the UN SDGs are met or missed and so it is an honour to have our efforts in these areas recognised once more by Environmental Finance,” said Julie Becker, CEO of LuxSE.
First €1 trillion in funding for sustainable development
Created in 2016, the LGX achieved its biggest milestone to date in February 2024 when it counted €1 trillion worth of outstanding green, social, sustainable, and sustainability-linked bonds on the platform.
Addressing these gaps will play a key role in defining whether the goals set out in the Paris Agreement and by the UN SDGs are met or missed.
LuxSE became the first exchange in the world to operate this platform dedicated entirely to sustainable securities. It encompasses over 1,900 sustainable bonds from more than 310 issuers in 60 countries.
Efforts in gender finance, emerging markets
Bonds from developing nations, including the first Cabo Verdean green bond focusing on the blue economy, issued by the International Investment Bank, were listed on the LuxSE and LGX.
By the end of 2023, the LGX had over 60 gender-focused bonds, including the first gender bond from Sub-Saharan Africa issued by NMB Bank Plc in Tanzania, providing up to 3,000 Tanzanian women access to capital to establish or expand their businesses. A market study on gender bonds was released, alongside a module on how capital markets contribute to gender finance growth.
Contributing to closing the gaps in financing for sustainable development in emerging markets and gender equality were key drivers for the Luxembourg Stock Exchange in 2023.
The exchange also set up agreements with several counterparts in emerging markets to advance the sustainable finance agenda in new regions. Through its LGX Academy, it organised trainings taking place in China, the Ivory Coast and Sri Lanka. In November 2023, the LuxSE co-organised the International Finance Corporation’s 3-day Green Bond Technical Assistance Programme (GB TAP), which gathered senior bankers from about 20 emerging economies in Luxembourg with the objective of fostering the supply of sustainable bonds in new markets. Its LGX DataHub, a sustainable bond database created in 2020, remains a vital tool used by leading institutions around the world.