Integrating Gender in Sustainability-Linked Bonds

The policy brief argues that gender-smart sustainability-linked bonds (SLBs) can scale up financing for gender objectives by utilizing multi-KPI structures. It analyzes four different approaches to determining 'trigger events'—the conditions that lead to financial adjustments like coupon step-ups—using examples from Schneider Electric, EQT, H&M, and BlackRock. The authors recommend that issuers avoid structures that allow KPIs to be ignored and instead prefer frameworks requiring the full achievement of all sustainability targets to ensure high ambition and credibility.

• Gender-focused financing remains significantly underdeveloped compared to the broader sustainable investment market, with only USD 17 billion in assets in gender-labelled financial products against a global sustainable investment universe exceeding USD 40 trillion.
• Sustainability-linked bonds (SLBs) offer greater flexibility than traditional use-of-proceeds bonds because they are performance-based and do not require funds to be earmarked for specific projects, making them suitable for addressing gender inequality.
• The 'selective fulfillment' approach, where an issuer may only need to meet a subset of KPIs to avoid a penalty, is viewed as lenient and may reduce the incentive to achieve the most difficult or material sustainability targets.
• To maintain market credibility and high ambition, the document recommends that SLB frameworks should require the full achievement of all KPIs to avoid penalizing financial adjustments.
• The authors advise against any structure that allows an issuer to ignore specific KPIs, asserting that there should be negative consequences if gender targets are not delivered.

APA

Uzsoki, D., & Rahim, S. (2021). Integrating Gender in Sustainability-Linked Bonds. International Institute for Sustainable Development. https://www.iisd.org/system/files/2021-10/integrating-gender-sustainability-linked-bonds.pdf

Chicago

Uzsoki, David, and Safa Rahim. Integrating Gender in Sustainability-Linked Bonds. International Institute for Sustainable Development, 2021. https://www.iisd.org/system/files/2021-10/integrating-gender-sustainability-linked-bonds.pdf.

Wikipedia

{{cite report |last1=Uzsoki |first1=David |last2=Rahim |first2=Safa |title=Integrating Gender in Sustainability-Linked Bonds |publisher=International Institute for Sustainable Development |date=October 2021 |url=https://www.iisd.org/system/files/2021-10/integrating-gender-sustainability-linked-bonds.pdf |access-date=23 October 2026 |via=Climate Insights Directory}}

BibTeX

@techreport{uzsoki2021integrating, author = {Uzsoki, David and Rahim, Safa}, title = {{Integrating Gender in Sustainability-Linked Bonds}}, institution = {International Institute for Sustainable Development}, year = {2021}, month = oct, url = {https://www.iisd.org/system/files/2021-10/integrating-gender-sustainability-linked-bonds.pdf}, urldate = {2026-10-23}, note = {Indexed by Climate Insights Directory} }