Sustainable Finance Integrating sustainability into investment decisions

ESG ratings increasingly play a role in the financing of businesses with loans, IOUs or bonds. Ratings companies value various aspects of how a company deals with ESG issues. On the market, various ratings companies have established themselves, with different focuses to their analyses. We’ll prepare you for your ESG rating and assist you through the entire process.

Identifying the value creation model for the business frequently reveals starting points for other value creating activities. We’ll support you in quantifying and evaluating these activities and assist you with implementing them.

There are now many sustainable financial products (including sustainable bonds, green loans, SRI ETFs). Under the Sustainable Finance Disclosure Regulation (SFDR), vendors of financial products must show whether and how they take account of sustainability issues and objectives. Financial products are divided into three categories according to their effect on sustainability: light green financial products take account of ecological and social characteristics (article 8 products), dark green products pursue a sustainability objective (article 9 products), and all other products count as non-sustainable. We’ll advise you about the various kinds of products and the disclosure requirements associated with them.

Decisions about large investments and transactions are no longer made on the basis of financial criteria alone. Instead, opportunities and risks relating to ESG issues are to be analysed and considered (ESG due diligence), because at the end of the day they also have an effect on the financial value of the business and assets. The financial influence of the ESG aspects as part of a valuation is a complex challenge.

Many different classes of assets even have to be re-evaluated in view of the changing climatic conditions or the ban on certain kinds of technologies that damage the environment – which can lead to massive losses in value (stranded assets).

We’ll support you in integrating ESG issues into due diligence and valuation processes.

Changes in jurisdictions, tax rules, codes of conduct, international initiatives on tax transparency and measures to prevent tax avoidance hold new opportunities and risks for your tax strategy and tax management. We’ll help you better understand the effects of sustainability on your tax strategy and tax risk management and make appropriate improvements.