Why and how we build our ESG+ debt module

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Debt market transformation is increasingly in demand for the financial industry. From the client meetings and events we attend regularly, it is clear that all market participants realize the need for inevitable transformations such as digitalization and ESG. That's why we launched the ESG+ debt module on our OTC platform. Our goal is to help all debt market players address their most pressing and recognized ESG needs.

Providing ESG world with transparency and efficient communication

Today, the ESG debt market relies primarily on voluntary commitment communication in the form of a Framework and regular reports. These documents are intended for investors and other stakeholders who wish to invest in their debts and monitor the pledges made by issuers.

What’s lacking desperately from the process is standardization.  Indeed, the ESG frameworks that exist today are disorganized, making it extremely difficult to access and compare information as well as to track KPIs. All these are even more cumbersome given the increasing regulatory pressure.

“You must have the right tools. The excel sheet will not hold up given what we are facing with ESG.”

Said Nicolas Dutreuil, Deputy Gecina’s Deputy CFO at AFTE Fair 2021. 

This is why Onbrane’s prime priority was to make the ESG Framework Builder available for all issuers so they could share their needs with counter parties in an easy way and most importantly, in full compliance with sustainable standards and developments (ICMA, EU GBS, etc). 

Onbrane’s framework builder allows issuers to track their allocation and impact KPIs, and monitor their eligible projects – all in the same place. 

As the CBI reminds us in its 2020 green Issuer survey, the ESG frameworks and debts offer greater market visibility and increase interactions with the investors. 

Once frameworks are created on the platform, issuers can manage everything from visibility to collaboration with teams, arrangers and SPO providers as well as answer investor questions in one place. The final step is to link the framework when issuing ESG debt on Onbrane.

On the investor and intermediary side, they can access and compare all frameworks on a single platform effortlessly, but more importantly, they can also be notified of updates and new reports released by all issuers in their portfolio. 

Onbrane provides you with the ultimate solution for ESG communication. The module improves collaboration between all concerned parties.

​Pressure on ESG is rising and so is the need to adapt

Such communications regarding the frameworks and impact reports released by issuers are more demanding in Europe and in the rest of the world. This is because of the ESG regulatory package that is being implemented and because of the growing demand from investors to access ESG information quickly and accurately. 

There is a strong need to collaborate with ESG experts to support market participants in their ESG integration and to provide them with reliable ESG data and reviews.

That’s why Onbrane’s ESG+ module aims to provide a one-stop solution to connect with ESG providers (such as Greenomy, Vigeo Eiris, etc) and offer a personalized working environment to market participants. The goal is to help gather, track, manage, and, ultimately, give them control over the largest set of relevant ESG information possible.

The latter is made possible by our Data Intelligence services that enables all stakeholders to stay on top of a wide range of data from the ESG ecosystem, accumulated from different sources

ESG is a crucial shift to secure debt financing

Some investors are now unwilling to deal with non-ESG companies and intermediaries due to reputation and regulatory risks. 

This is pushing treasurers to embrace sustainability with ESG components and this trend is not likely to stop as the demand for ESG debt is far greater than the supply, which could give issuers a competitive advantage that could be reflected in the cost of financing. 

This ESG integration in the issuance of debt products is generally associated with much confusion about how to proceed in practice. Integrating ESG variations into debt products is becoming increasingly trendy, as we see +$85 billion of sustainability-linked debt being issued only in 2021 (+1600% from 2020).

That’s why Onbrane wants to help issuers and investors explore the world of possibilities for linking ESG KPIs to debt products by offering a KPI variation tool designed for and with the market.

Our KPI variation toolkit enables issuers to build their ESG metrics and variations based onwhat the market is doing and monitor all existing and newly issued ESG-linked debts with full traceability over the maturity. 

The next step is to automatically generate the ESG clause sheet setting out your KPI variation link by using our legal tech module. This will allow you to have all your ESG documentation in one place and additionally benefit from Onbrane best in class security and full audit trail.

Onbrane is perfectly positioned for ESG

Onbrane is the most comprehensive OTC debt platform that has embedded ESG in its DNA from day one. This has led us to provide the most advanced ESG offering with one of the best user experiences in the capital markets.

Our ESG+ debt module was based on our vision to build a better, more sustainable primary debt market. We are on a mission to create the primary debt market fabric, which brings all debt players together to engage in the digital and ESG transformations that are already happening.

The ESG debt market is in its infancy, unleashing a continuous stream of innovation. We believe that the future of financing is sustainable and we’re doing our part in building it.

About Onbrane

At Onbrane, we know the Debt Market is made up of experts that are well informed on which financial instruments best suit their needs. Therefore we want to retain the diversity and flexibility of their choices on our platform.

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