Sustainable Finance

In recent years, Sustainable finance markets have expanded globally. In particular, the amount of SDG bonds issuance in Japan has continuously increased since fiscal 2016, with the issuance of 8,329.7 billion yen in fiscal 2023, 1.8 times compared to the previous fiscal year.

Daiwa Securities started to work on Sustainable finance ahead of others. In 2008, the company sold Vaccine Bonds for individual investors, Japan's first impact investment bonds.

We have also worked to develop standards for Sustainable finance in Japan and overseas. In 2017 and 2020, we served as a member of the Green Bond Review Committee set up by the Ministry of the Environment to develop the Green Bond Guidelines.

In 2020, we became Asia's only underwriter selected as a member of the Advisory Council of the International Capital Market Association (ICMA) and were selected for the second time in 2024.

In 2020, Daiwa Securities Group established a team specialized in Sustainable finance within Daiwa Securities to further enhance the company's underwriting system. We provide Sustainable finance products, services and proposals that meet the needs for Sustainable finance from issuers and investors who are our customers. In 2023, we served as an advisor, providing advice and support, as well as conducting trend research towards the issuance of the world's first Climate Transition Bond in Japan.

We will continue to contribute to the spread and expansion of Sustainable finance.

Promotion of Sustainable Finance

Mami Negishi Managing Director Sustainability Solutions Dept. Daiwa Securities Co. Ltd.
Mami Negishi
Managing Director
Sustainability Solutions Dept.
Daiwa Securities Co. Ltd.

The Sustainability Solutions Department is committed to supporting sustainable finance, which seeks economic outcomes while considering the aspects of Environment, Social, and Governance (ESG). While traditional finance has focused on profitability and risk, addressing social issues as climate change is imperative in sustainable finance.

Solving climate change and other social issues requires substantial funding and collaboration between the public and private sectors. By promoting the vitality of sustainable finance, we can enhance the functioning of the private financial market and support businesses in their ESG initiatives.

Moreover, by linking a company's significant corporate actions, such as fundraising, to its materiality regarding social issues, we envision the integration of ESG into the core of corporate management, bringing us closer to realizing a sustainable society.

As stated in the Daiwa Securities Group's 2030 Vision "From Savings to SDGs - Realize the SDGs by creating a sustainable capital cycle -", we will continue to make concerted efforts to contribute to a sustainable future as a bridge connecting market participants such as issuers and investors.

Major Results

Japan

FY2023

  • March 22, 2024

Central Nippon Expressway Company Limited ⟨ Japanese only ⟩

  • Green
  • March 1, 2024

Hitachi Construction Machinery Co., Ltd. ⟨ Japanese only ⟩

  • Green
  • February 22, 2024

Hankyu Hanshin Holdings, Inc. ⟨ Japanese only ⟩

  • Green
  • February 20, 2024

Daiwa Securities Group Inc. ⟨ Japanese only ⟩

  • Blue
  • January 19, 2024

Mitsui O.S.K. Lines, Ltd. ⟨ Japanese only ⟩

  • Sustainability
  • January 19, 2024

Keihan Holdings Co.,Ltd. ⟨ Japanese only ⟩

  • December 8, 2023

Alfresa Holdings Corporation ⟨ Japanese only ⟩

  • Green
  • December 7, 2023

Mitsubishi Electric Corporation ⟨ Japanese only ⟩

  • Green
  • November 30, 2023

DAIBIRU CORPORATION ⟨ Japanese only ⟩

  • Green
  • November 29, 2023

Asahi Kasei Corp. ⟨ Japanese only ⟩

  • Transition
  • November 8, 2023

Japan ⟨ Japanese only ⟩

  • Sustainability
  • October 19, 2023

Miyagi Prefecture ⟨ Japanese only ⟩

  • Green
  • October 13, 2023

Toyo Seikan Group Holdings, Ltd. ⟨ Japanese only ⟩

  • Green
  • October 13, 2023

Tokyo Metropolitan ⟨ Japanese only ⟩

  • Sustainability
  • October 11, 2023

NEC Capital Solutions Limited ⟨ Japanese only ⟩

  • September 8, 2023

Tokyo Metropolitan Housing Supply Corporation ⟨ Japanese only ⟩

  • Sustainability
  • September 8, 2023

JICA ⟨ Japanese only ⟩

  • Sustainability
  • July 7, 2023

Nagoya Railroad Co., Ltd. ⟨ Japanese only ⟩

  • Sustainability Linked
  • July 5, 2023

NEC Corporation ⟨ Japanese only ⟩

  • Sustainability Rights Offering
  • June 22, 2023

TESS Holdings Co., Ltd. ⟨ Japanese only ⟩

  • Sustainability Linked
  • June 9, 2023

Kao Corporation ⟨ Japanese only ⟩

FY2022

  • Sustainability Linked
  • March 16, 2023

KAJIMA CORPORATION ⟨ Japanese only ⟩

  • Sustainability
  • March 3, 2023

Nankai Electric Railway Co., Ltd. ⟨ Japanese only ⟩

  • Green
  • February 22, 2023

Tokyu Fudosan Holdings Corporation ⟨ Japanese only ⟩

  • Green
  • January 18, 2023

TOKYU REIT, Inc. ⟨ Japanese only ⟩

  • Sustainability
  • December 9, 2022

National University Corporation Tokyo Institute of Technology ⟨ Japanese only ⟩

  • Green
  • December 9, 2022

Samty Residential Investment Corporation ⟨ Japanese only ⟩

  • Green
  • December 9, 2022

Kyoto City ⟨ Japanese only ⟩

  • Sustainability Linked
  • December 2, 2022

Shiseido Company, Limited ⟨ Japanese only ⟩

  • SustainabilitySustainability Linked
  • November 30, 2022

TOKYU RAILWAYS Co., Ltd. ⟨ Japanese only ⟩

  • Transition
  • November 17, 2022

TOHO GAS Co., Ltd. ⟨ Japanese only ⟩

  • Sustainability
  • October 21, 2022

KDDI CORPORATION ⟨ Japanese only ⟩

  • Green
  • October 14, 2022

Tokyo Metropolitan Government ⟨ Japanese only ⟩

  • Green
  • October 7, 2022

Sumitomo Metal Mining Co., Ltd. ⟨ Japanese only ⟩

  • Sustainability
  • September 16, 2022

The Gunma Bank, Ltd. ⟨ Japanese only ⟩

  • Green
  • September 8, 2022

INFRONEER Holdings Inc. ⟨ Japanese only ⟩

  • August 5, 2022

New Kansai International Airport Company, Ltd. ⟨ Japanese only ⟩

  • Sustainability Linked
  • July 6, 2022

NEC Corporation ⟨ Japanese only ⟩

  • Green
  • June 10, 2022

Sanken Electric Co., Ltd. ⟨ Japanese only ⟩

  • Green
  • June 9, 2022

Sotetsu Holdings, Inc. ⟨ Japanese only ⟩

  • Sustainability
  • June 3, 2022

Air Water Inc. ⟨ Japanese only ⟩

  • Green
  • May 18, 2022

Sumitomo Corporation ⟨ Japanese only ⟩

  • April 14, 2022

FUJIFILM Holdings Corporation ⟨ Japanese only ⟩

  • SDGs-IPO
  • April 13, 2022

Fuluhashi EPO Corporation ⟨ Japanese only ⟩

Overseas

Activity

Winning the Minister of the Environment Awards (Silver Prize) in the 5th ESG Finance Awards Japan hosted by the Ministry of the Environment

Daiwa Securities Group Inc. today announced that its subsidiary, Daiwa Securities Co., Ltd., has won the Minister of the Environment Awards (Silver Prize) in the financial services category (securities category) of the 5th ESG Finance Awards Japan (hereinafter, "the Awards") hosted by the Ministry of the Environment. It is our first winning in the Awards.

Election to the International Capital Market Association "Advisory Council"

Daiwa Securities Co. Ltd., a subsidiary of Daiwa Securities Group Inc. was selected as a member of the Advisory Council of the International Capital Market Association (hereinafter, "ICMA"). It is our second nomination since 2020.

Winning the Award for Excellence in the 9th Sustainable Finance Award hosted by Research Institute for Environmental Finance (RIEF)

Daiwa Securities Group Inc. today announced that its subsidiary, Daiwa Securities Co., Ltd., has won the award for excellence in the 9th Sustainable Finance Award hosted by Research Institute for Environmental Finance (hereinafter, "RIEF"). It is the only one securities company to win the award of excellence in this year.

Japan has formulated the world's first Climate Transition Bond Framework.

The Japanese government plans to implement more than 150 trillion yen in public and private GX (Green Transformation) investments over the next 10 years. As part of this, the Japanese government plans to issue "Climate Transition Bonds" on the scale of about 20 trillion yen, with the aim of supporting preliminary investments.
Climate Transition Bonds will not only be issued as the same financial products as the current government bonds (construction bonds, special deficit-financing bonds, reconstruction bonds, etc.), but also issued based on a framework describing the use of proceeds, reporting methods, etc. In addition, they have obtained verification (second party opinion) from external reviewers regarding the alignment with international standards.

Daiwa Securities served as an advisor to provide advice and support in relation to trend research, framework formulation, and the acquisition of second party opinion for the issuance of these Climate Transition Bonds.

Classification of the use of proceeds
Main Category
(Green category)
Sub-category
Eligibility criteria
Typical use of proceeds
(eligible projects)
1 Energy efficiency Promotion of thorough energy efficiency improvement
  • Promote the spread of energy-efficient appliances
Houses and buildings
  • Support for building new houses and buildings with high energy efficiency and retrofitting to improve energy efficiency
  • Replacing windows with thermal insulated models with higher energy efficiency
Digital investment aimed at decarbonization
  • Facilitating the development of and investment in energy efficient semiconductors, photonics electronics convergence technologies
Battery industry
  • Investments in plants manufacturing batteries together with their material and components
2 Renewable energy Making renewable energy a major power source
  • Floating offshore wind
  • Next-generation solar cells (perovskite)
Infrastructure
  • Development of cities and communities contributing to decarbonization
3 Low-carbon and decarbonized energy Utilization of nuclear power
  • Next-generation advanced reactors with built-in new safety mechanisms
Establishing electricity and gas markets to achieve carbon neutrality
  • Promoting zero-emission thermal power
  • Development of submarine DC transmission systems
4 Clean transportaition GX in transport sector
  • Support for the introduction of next-generation vehicles
  • Developing demonstration aircraft by 2030s and spreading the use of zero-emissions ships
Infrastructure (repost)
  • Development of cities and communities contributing to decarbonization
5 Circular economy adapted products, production technologies and processes Restructuring the manufacturing industry (fuel and feedstocks transition)
  • Development and introduction of innovative technologies such as hydrogen reduction steelmaking
  • Conversion to Carbon-Recycling production systems
Facilitating introduction of hydrogen and ammonia
  • Building supply chain both domestically and internationally
  • Research and development as well as the introduction support of production and usage of hydrogen derived from excess renewable energy sources
Carbon Recycling and CCS
  • Support for research and development of Carbon Recycling fuel
6 Environmentally sustainable management of living natural resources and land use, Circular economy Food, agriculture, forestry, and fisheries industry
  • Decarbonization of agriculture, forestry and fisheries
Resource circulation
  • Investment to accelerate resource circulation including plastics, metals, sustainable aviation fuel (SAF)

Report on Media Appearance : Economic education program "Manabiya-17"

Report on Media Appearance

Economic education program "Manabiya-17"

Economic education program "Manabiya-17"

Yukino Yamada, the Equity Research Department of Daiwa Securities, appeared on BS-TBS' economic educational program "Manabiya-17 (Seventeen)," which conveys ESG investment in an easy-to-understand manner.
This program was supervised by the Public Institutions Dept., the Debt Capital Market Dept. (II), and Sustainability Solutions Dept. of Daiwa Securities. It was planned for SDGs beginners, and introduced companies' efforts to achieve SDGs.

⟨ Issuers Introduced in the Program *in order of appearance ⟩

  • Fuji Film Co., Ltd.
  • Japan Railway Construction, Transport and Technology Agency

Report on Media Appearance : Economic Education Program "Sustainable Every Day-What Economy Can Do for the Future"

Report on Media Appearance

Economic Education Program "Sustainable Every Day-What Economy Can Do for the Future"

Economic Education Program "Sustainable Every Day-What Economy Can Do for the Future"

Yukino Yamada, Chief ESG Strategist at Daiwa Securities, appeared in "Sustainable Every Day-What Economy Can Do for the Future," a TV program (broadcast on BS TV TOKYO) communicating ESG in an easy-to-understand manner.
The program was supervised entirely by the Public Institutions Banking Dept. and the Debt Capital Market Deprt. (I) to (III) of Daiwa Securities. It was planned for those engaged in business and college students who have a great interest in social contribution. Showing specific cases, the program introduced corporate activities aimed at achieving the SDGs and fund procurement methods.

⟨ Issuers Introduced in the Program *in order of appearance ⟩

  • Poppins Holdings Co., Ltd.
  • Gakken Holdings Co., Ltd.
  • Nidec Corporation
  • Japan Railway Construction, Transport and Technology Agency
  • KDDI CORPORATION

Selected as Member of ICMA's Advisory Council of the Green Bond and Social Bond Principles

Daiwa Securities Co. Ltd. was selected as a member of the Advisory Council of the Green Bond and Social Bond Principles ("Green Bond Principles, etc.") of the International Capital Market Association (ICMA), becoming Asia's only underwriter selected for the Council.

We believe that this selection was due to the high evaluation of our efforts and achievements related to SDGs. Daiwa Securities Group will strive to establish and develop new frameworks, such as sustainability linked bonds and transition bonds, in addition to existing green bonds, social bonds, and sustainability bonds, and will continue to contribute to creating a sustainable society.

Selected as Top Performer in IFC's ESG Scoring Survey (July 2020)

In an ESG survey for underwriters conducted for the first time by International Finance Corporation (IFC), Daiwa Securities was selected as a top performer, becoming one of only six companies receiving the highest rank title among 44 companies.

Major check points

  • ESG policy
  • Handling of ESG-related products
  • Collaboration with stakeholders
  • Initiatives to reduce environmental impact
  • Reporting on nonfinancial information, etc.

Daiwa Securities Group Inc.'s MSCI ESG Rating Upgraded to A for the First Time (December 2019)

MSCI Inc. is the world's largest ESG index provider.
The ESG index assesses companies comparatively by industry on a global scale and assigns ratings on a seven-point scale from AAA to CCC. The initiatives we implemented in our core businesses to achieve the SDGs were highly evaluated by the external organization.

Holding of Seminars

Daiwa Securities Group holds various sustainability-themed seminars while receiving support from issuers, investors, and rating agencies. We aim to spread and expand Sustainable finance by communicating the latest topics and approaches to customers.

Holding of Engagement Meetings

Daiwa Securities Group arranges engagement meetings with issuers and investors with the aim of further enhancing Sustainable finance.

In these meetings, we communicate investors' frank opinions to SDG bond issuers, thereby contributing to the positive development of SDG bond markets for both issuers and investors.

Engagement discussion at Kitakyushu City Hall
Engagement discussion at Kitakyushu City Hall

- Japan Railway Construction, Transport and Technology Agency × Kitakyushu City (November 28, 2023)

On November 28, 2023, an engagement meeting was held between the Japan Railway Construction, Transport and Technology Agency and Kitakyushu City, the issuer of sustainability bonds.

Japan Automobile Recycling Promotion Center × Kitakyushu City

Engagement discussion at Kitakyushu City Hall
Engagement discussion at Kitakyushu City Hall

- Japan Automobile Recycling Promotion Center × Kitakyushu City (November 30, 2022)

On November 30, 2022, an engagement meeting was held between the Japan Automobile Recycling Promotion Center and Kitakyushu City, the issuer of sustainability bonds.

Realization of a green society through regional revitalization and development of transportation infrastructure

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- JRTT×Kiraboshi Bank, Ltd. (April 2021)

Support for students being required now

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- Japan Student Services Organization×Japanese Red Cross Toyota College of Nursing (January 2021)

Holding of Community-Based Seminars -SDGs×Regional Revitalization-

Since 2021, our sales branches across Japan have been holding seminars (webinars) that introduce initiatives taken by various organizations toward achievement of the SDGs.

For details, click here. ⟨ Japanese only ⟩