Planet under Pressure

national and local governments, including
the optimization of infrastructure
and public facilities in global capital
markets. As issues related to sustainability
are drawing attention, there is a
growing need for investors, companies,
governments, and other economic entities
to explore ways to respond through
financial and capital markets.
In response to such social demand, the
Nomura Institute of Capital Markets
Research (NICMR) has been strengthening
its research related to sustainability
in recent years. In addition to
publishing research papers, NICMR
set up a dedicated, cross-collaborative
research group comprising experts from
industry, government and academia to
focus on the sustainable development
of ESG in February 2018. The results
were compiled into a book published
in June 2019 titled The Era of Sustainable
Finance- ESG / SDGs and the Bond Markets.
In December 2019, NICMR launched the
“Nomura Research Center of Sustainability.”
The center will strategically identify
and conduct research into areas of
sustainability related to the financial
and capital markets and provide valueadded
information and proposals to
clients.
In 1986, Nomura Securities began to publish
its domestic bond index NOMURA-
BPI (At that time, NRI-BPI) as an indicator
reflecting the overall performance
of the secondary market for publicly
offered, fixed-income bonds issued in
Japan, and since then it has been used
as a representative benchmark for many
years. In November, 2019, we began
publishing the “NOMURA-BPI SDGs,” a
new sub-index for NOMURA-BPI, which
consists of green bonds, social bonds,
and sustainability bonds.
We hope that the NOMURA-BPI SDGs
will be widely used as benchmarks to
invigorate the market. We will continue
to support the growth of the market in
Japan by developing indices and providing
information.
Reinforcing our commitment
In April 2020, we completed the acquisition
of Greentech Capital, LLC, a leading
boutique investment banking firm
focused on supporting clients across the
sustainable technology and infrastructure
sector. Amid growing corporate and
investor interest in ESG investments,
our group is strengthening its advisory
capabilities in ESG areas in addition to
financing.
Founded in 2009, Green Tech provides
merger and acquisition advice to businesses
and environment-related infrastructure
development such as renewable
energy. Our bases are mainly in the United
States and Europe, so we are building
complementary business relationships
in Asian countries as well as a solid
cooperative structure for the future. The
acquisition is expected to close on March
31, 2020, subject to the approval of the
relevant authorities.
We are also working to reduce our environmental
impact at our domestic and
global business sites. For example, we
have set a long-term target of reducing
CO 2
emissions 65 percent from 2012 levels
by 2050 for the entire Group in Japan
and overseas. In 2018, Nomura Holdings,
Inc., and Nomura Asset Management
expressed their support for the Task Force
on Climate-related Financial Disclosures.
We are reinforcing our commitment to
not only deliver unique value to our
global client base, such as advancing the
growth of sustainable technologies and
infrastructure, and contributing toward
the sustainable development of society
through our expertise in capital markets,
but also to reduce our ecological footprint
as a responsible corporate citizen.
Global Goals Yearbook 2020 131