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Sustainable finance is no substitute for net zero targets

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Sustainable finance is no substitute for net zero targets

As universities embrace the transition to net zero, it is unsurprising to see more institutions adopting sustainable financing of their major infrastructure investments. The European Commission defines “sustainable financing” as the process of taking environmental (such as climate change mitigation or biodiversity), social (tackling inequality or inclusion) and governance, or “ESG” considerations, into account when making investment decisions, leading to more long-term investments in sustainable economic activity.

Borrowing associated with sustainability is an attractive option for universities, given the alignment with their strategic goals and the interests of students, staff and alumni. For universities with capital investment plans for green energy or net zero transitions, this form of borrowing makes sense. World Bank data show the global market for green, social and sustainability bonds (looking at both sovereign and sub-sovereign issuers) has grown from $114 billion (£91 billion) in 2016 to $948 billion in 2022 in terms of annual issuance.

Various borrowing instruments are applicable to funding university activities, from “sustainability bonds” and “sustainability-linked bonds” (or “sustainability loans”) to social bonds and green loans.

A useful distinction is between those bonds or private placements labelled as “sustainable”, where the focus is on the use of proceeds, and their equivalents that are “sustainability-linked”, where the university’s performance against organisational KPIs affects the borrowing cost.

The use-of-proceeds approach requires universities to set out eligible projects based on compelling cases – for example, investment in renewables infrastructure against the United Nations’ Sustainable Development Goals or for social impact. The selection of projects and how funds are used must follow principles set out by the International Capital Market Association. Recently we have seen several institutions issuing long-term bonds (UCL’s 40-year £300 million sustainable bond of 2021, for example, or the London School of Economics and Political Science’s 50-year sustainability private placement). In practice, many projects funded by this borrowing are “green” rather than social projects (linked to renewable energy, sustainable water management or clean transportation, for example).

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In contrast, “sustainability-linked” borrowing incentivises universities to meet certain targets for carbon emissions or energy use, and failure to meet these will increase the loan cost. In general, sustainability bonds or private placements have longer maturities, while sustainability-linked borrowing is over shorter periods of time.

But what are the main considerations for universities contemplating sustainable finance?

First, there are clearly reputational gains from aligning an institution’s financing strategy to its sustainability strategy. It gains buy-in from stakeholders and imposes discipline in meeting the university’s goals. However, sustainable finance is not a substitute for adopting a credible net zero plan for emissions: it is a means to that end. Students and staff are likely to care more about whether their institution has a credible plan to reduce emissions by a certain date (and the extent to which any verifiable offset projects are used), than whether the projects are labelled as “sustainable finance”. In 2023, the Financial Conduct Authority tightened regulations around the labelling of investment products as “sustainable” because of fears of “greenwashing”.

Similarly, universities must heed warnings that sustainable financial frameworks and associated projects must have verifiable outcomes. This requires strong governance around financial frameworks overseeing borrowing that are fully integrated into the overall institutional strategy for sustainability/net zero.

Second, one cannot conclude that those universities that have not yet gone down the sustainable bonds or loans route are uninterested in sustainability. Internal financing reduces the need for external borrowing, and the recent increase in interest rates (yields on UK universities’ public bonds have risen from 2 per cent or below in 2021 to around 4-5 per cent in 2023) means those universities with stronger cash flow generation will want to wait before entering this market. In my view, we will not see a steady state of emerging university capital structures for another five to 10 years.

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Third, there are other financial structures and instruments beyond purely borrowing. Those universities with land or capital assets that could be used for net zero (to generate renewable power, for instance) could look at shared ownership structures to raise investment funds and manage risks in projects.

Sustainable finance is undoubtedly a complex field. Universities must develop strong management expertise to navigate the intricacies of a still-evolving market. Above all, it requires robust internal governance to ensure financial strategy is complementary to overall institutional strategy, and not simply a bolt-on.   

Sir Anton Muscatelli is principal and vice-chancellor of the University of Glasgow and a professor of economics.

The THE Impact Rankings 2024 will be published on 12 June. 

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New Resource: Finance Fundamentals – Richardson ISD

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New Resource: Finance Fundamentals – Richardson ISD

We’ve launched a new Finance Fundamentals page to help our community better understand how Richardson ISD’s budget works. This resource breaks down where funding comes from, how dollars are spent, and how financial decisions support students and schools.

Whether you’re a parent, staff member, or community member, this page offers a clear, easy-to-understand look at district finances.

Explore the Finance Fundamentals webpage.

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India’s Adani Green quarterly profit slumps on higher finance costs

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India’s Adani Green quarterly profit slumps on higher finance costs

BENGALURU, Jan 23 (Reuters) – India’s Adani Green Energy posted a 99% drop in third‑quarter profit on Friday, as higher finance costs inflated its ​expenses and offset gains from strong power sales and improved capacity ‌utilisation.

Shares of Adani Group’s green arm were down 13.8%.

Group stocks fell 2% to 11% after the ‌U.S. SEC sought court approval to serve summons to Gautam Adani and Sagar Adani by email in a fraud and $265 million bribery case.

For Adani Green, consolidated profit slumped to 50 million rupees ($544,051.88) in the quarter ended December 31, from 4.74 billion rupees ⁠a year earlier.

A sharp ‌27.14% rise in expenses to 29.61 billion rupees and a 35.73% surge in finance costs absorbed most of the company’s topline, ‍even as power sales remained strong.

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The company also booked a 1.03 billion rupees from its associates and joint ventures, offering a modest cushion to earnings.

Power consumption in India is expected ​to rise as the economy expands, requiring an estimated 40% increase in ‌coal‑fired capacity to more than 307 gigawatts by 2035, according to government projections.

The country, which currently meets about a third of its power demand from thermal plants, aims to achieve net‑zero emissions by 2070 and plans to more than double its renewable capacity to 500 gigawatts as part of that effort.

Finance costs for ⁠the company include interest on borrowings as well ​as currency‑related gains and losses on its foreign‑currency ​loans and the impact of derivative hedges used to manage those exposures.

The renewable energy arm of billionaire Gautam Adani’s group, which operates ‍solar, wind and ⁠hybrid assets across India, said revenue from power supply rose 21% to 19.93 billion rupees, helped by 5.6 GW of capacity additions over the ⁠past year.

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The company said the growth also reflected strong plant performance and the commissioning of new ‌capacity at resource‑rich sites in Khavda, Gujarat, and in Rajasthan.

($1 = 91.9030 ‌Indian rupees)

(Reporting by Yagnoseni Das in Bengaluru)

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Why I’m Not Reporting on Campaign Finance Reports Right Now – Montgomery Perspective

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Why I’m Not Reporting on Campaign Finance Reports Right Now – Montgomery Perspective

By Adam Pagnucco.

Yesterday was the deadline for candidates to file their Annual 2026 campaign finance reports.  It’s an important moment in this election season as candidates show their financial strength heading into the period when voters are paying attention.  For candidates in traditional financing, the next report is not due until April 21.  So normally, I would be crunching and reporting on all of these numbers, at least for candidates in Montgomery County.

But I’m not going to do that quite yet.

The reason is that the State Board of Elections (SBE) just rolled out a new reporting system for campaign finances and many candidates are struggling to use it.  I have been using this data for almost 20 years and I have never heard complaints of such volume and ferocity as those I have received this week.  (An aside: I’m a former campaign treasurer and you better believe I will never be one again after this!)  I can’t get into the specifics of these complaints because it would risk compromising my sources, something I will never do.  But I expect there to be MANY late reports and amended reports as campaigns try to report accurate information while minimizing fines – fines for which most of them bear no responsibility.

As an analyst, these failures impede my ability to analyze campaign finance data.  First, SBE has inexplicably removed all campaign finance information predating the 2019-22 cycle from its website.  Previously, the site included data from 2005 on.  I asked SBE to fix this issue last month.  They told me it would be fixed.  It has not been fixed.  Until it is, my ability to provide historical context is limited at best.

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Second, I have noticed that on some reports, the summary sheets do not match the totals of downloaded data.  I don’t know why.  For now, I am going to rely on the spreadsheet downloads, but that is going to limit my processing speed.

Third, loans previously appeared in contribution downloads.  Now they don’t.  Instead, I have to locate them in individual filings and manually enter them.  There is no reason why this change needed to occur.

Fourth, aggregate totals for contributions appear to be inaccurate in some reports.  That’s a big deal for candidates in public financing, who are currently limited to $500 per individual in this cycle.  If their aggregates are inaccurately reported as higher than $500, they will appear to be in violation of the public financing law when they in fact did nothing wrong.

Finally, I expect a significant volume of amendments as candidates work through their issues with the reporting software.  That’s a problem because the data in any analysis that I do may shift without warning.  Analyses of data like this take a long time, and changes due to state reporting issues will undermine that work.  Let’s just stipulate that when I start posting analyses, the resulting data will be estimates at best.

As a result of the above issues and others, I’m reluctant to start crunching this data right now.  At minimum, I’m going to wait a few days while candidates resolve their issues with SBE.

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New reporting systems always have glitches and this one has to cover hundreds of accounts and millions of records from all across Maryland.  SBE should have rolled out this new system at the start of a campaign cycle when the stakes are lower and glitches can be fixed quietly.  By rolling it out in the heat of election season, when lots of new candidates are filing and all of them are scrambling to show their strength, SBE has compounded its problems and hindered analysis of campaign finances.

All of this is tremendously unfair to the folks who are running for office as well as their treasurers.  For their sake as well as that of the public, these problems must be fixed as soon as possible.

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