At the following time, according to your time zone: 

• 07:00-09:30 PDT (Vancouver, Los Angeles)
• 08:00-10:30 CST (Mexico City, Managua, San Jose)
• 09:00-11:30 COT (Bogota, Dallas, Lima)
• 10:00-12:30 CLT (Sucre, Manaus, Caracas)
• 11:00-13:30 BRT (Santiago, Brasilia, Buenos Aires)
• 15:00-17:30 BST (London, Algiers, Abuja)
• 16:00-18:30 CEST (Paris, Madrid, Pretoria)

You can check your time zone here.

Format: Live Virtual via Zoom - North America, Latin America, Caribbean, Africa and Europe time zones

CLIMATE BONDS' GSS+ BONDS TRAINING

As the leading fixed-income debt instrument, green bonds have also paved the way for the appearance of other thematic-labelled bonds. New labels and formats contributing to long-term environmental and social projects have arisen to further expand the labelled bond market, which is a clear signal that issuers and investors are highly committed to a greener, fairer, and more sustainable world.

Cognisant of the rapid growth and relevance of the labelled bond market and bearing in mind the strong appetite for these innovative debt instruments, the Climate Bonds Initiative has structured a comprehensive course on green, social, sustainability, sustainability-linked and transition (GSS+ bonds) for a variety of professionals eager to acquire broad knowledge on these tools. Climate Bond Initiative’s GSS+ Bonds Training blends a set of elements and information which aim at providing an overview of thematic labelled bonds in a thorough and robust manner. 

The Climate Bonds Initiative has been collecting green bond data since its inception in 2010 and has delivered training about it since 2018. This training is a comprehensive and practical course on GSS+ bonds for a range of individuals who wish to gain a broad knowledge of these labels.

COURSE CONTENT

To enhance the learning experience, we use a mix of structured theory, case studies, experience sharing, and practical exercises:

• Finance landscape and GSS+ bonds basics 
• Market infrastructure and policy landscape
• Use-of-proceeds labelled bonds issuance process
• Market dynamics and development

WHO THIS COURSE IS FOR

The proposed programme targets groups and individuals from the public and private sectors as well as members of civil society who are interested in learning about how sustainable finance, in general, and thematic labelled bonds, in particular, can incite the adoption of more sustainable practices in our economies. These include:

• Issuers, potential issuers, or any organisation with bonding authority, e.g., governments, corporations, banks, etc.
• Investors, e.g., mainstream institutional investors, ESG specialists and responsible investors, corporate treasury, sovereign and municipal governments, retail investors, insurance companies, etc.
• Key actors supporting the sustainable finance agenda, e.g., underwriters, lawyers, external reviewers, credit ratings/indices, exchanges, regulators and supervisors, fiduciary agents, and financial auditors.
• Other organisations upholding the sustainable finance agenda, such as think tanks, not-for-profit organisations, etc.

The programme is suitable for introductory-level learners, individuals with knowledge and experience related to sustainable finance, or professionals working directly or indirectly with the issuance of new bonds at different levels of knowledge and experience.

PRE-REQUIREMENT

The course has no specific pre-requirements.

EXPECTED LEARNING OUTCOMES

The GSS+ Bonds Training's objective is to provide an overall understanding of the role of thematic labelled bonds in shifting financial practices to more sustainable approaches. 

Participants in the training programme can expect to acquire solid knowledge and be able to respond to the following questions at the end of the sessions:

• What are thematic labelled bonds their differences and similarities?
• How has the labelled bond market evolved in the past years?
• What are the common forms and benefits of thematic labelled bonds?
• Who are the actors involved in the GSS+ issuance process, their roles, and responsibilities?
• What is the market infrastructure supporting the issuance of GSS+ bonds (principles, standards, taxonomies, etc.)?
• What are the key policy developments that can help scale up the market?
• What are the requirements for use-of-proceeds labelled bond issuances (from inception to maturity)?
• What are the contents and characteristics of a use-of-proceeds labelled bond framework?
• What are the external review methodologies currently available in the market?
• What is the process for Climate Bonds certification?
• How did the GSS+ bond market start?
• How has the GSS+ bond market evolved?
• What are sovereign and sub-sovereign GSS+ bonds?
• What is the market’s forecast for the coming years?

TRAINING METHODOLOGY AND APPROACH

• Training format: 7.5 hours of content delivered online (Live Virtual via Zoom) in 3 sessions of 2.5 hours each (1 session per day). 
• Trainers: climate finance specialists will deliver the training
• Participants: 30 is the suggested number of participants per training
• Material: Climate Bonds Initiative provides participants with all training materials and presentations
• Language: training materials and communication are in English
• Certificate: participants who complete the course are awarded a Climate Bonds Certificate and a CPD Certification Service Certificate. 

Click here for more details.