Contact Energy
Breadth, urgency and accountability in New Zealand’s sustainable finance story
The KangaNews-Westpac New Zealand Sustainable Finance Summit, which took place in Auckland in November 2024, featured the event’s most ambitious and wide-reaching agenda. Speakers discussed the urgent need to act on climate, nature and social challenges, how to do so while navigating the increasingly complex world of regulation and disclosure, and why it is critical to maintain the highest possible ambition.
Summing up the corporate equation
The KangaNews Corporate Debt Summit 2024 took place on 17 October, a matter of weeks after the Australian dollar corporate bond market passed its record for full-year issuance volume (see p21). Speakers discussed the prospects for a newly vibrant local debt funding option, and an economic and business environment where cautious optimism is the mood of the day.
GSS issuance in time and numbers
KangaNews has been tracking the progress of Australian and New Zealand sustainability labelled debt instruments since the market began, including coverage of groundbreaking transactions and keeping extensive issuance data in the KangaNews deal database. A timeline of key developments and data points illustrates market progress over the years.
Labelled issuance seeks traction in Australian credit
While Australia’s first green bond came from a high-grade issuer, bank and corporate borrowers were quick to get in on the action. But an initial rush to claim a series of market firsts has evolved into a much more complex network of supply drivers. The outcome to date is that labelled bonds are playing no more than a marginal role in the Australian credit market.
New Zealand reaches across-the-board inflection points
The KangaNews New Zealand Debt Capital Market Summit took place in Auckland in September, at a critical juncture for all of the local political, economic, market and environmental transition stories. Conversations at the conference were more wide-ranging than ever, with contributions from the political, business and markets sectors at a moment when the agenda for the coming years is being formed in real time.
Turning intent into action
In November 2022, KangaNews and Westpac hosted the New Zealand Sustainable Finance Summit as an in-person event in Auckland, for the first time since 2020. Speakers discussed the pressing need to turn good intentions and high-level thought into action on climate transition.
