Emerging economies are generally considered to have high potential, primarily due to demographic growth and a population that is on average younger than that of developed countries. At the same time, however, these markets are often perceived as less robust in terms of environmental and social sustainability and the quality of democratic institutions. Precisely for this reason, the integration of sustainability criteria into emerging market debt portfolios represents a source of real and measurable added value.

2025 was marked by regulatory volatility and simplification efforts in the EU, with the European Commission announcing 10 omnibus packages to reduce regulatory burdens and boost competitiveness. These covered sustainability, chemicals, defence, digital, agriculture, and more.

Corporate labelled bonds are now central to ESG investing. However, the quantity of labels - green, social, sustainability, transition and blue - has made it increasingly important for investors to focus on the real-world impact of these instruments. In our whitepaper, we explore the latest market trends and offer a framework to measure, attribute and manage outcomes at issuer level.