Raising standards

Addenda Capital, the First Nations Major Project Coalition (FNMPC), and the First Nations Management Board (FMB) brought together Indigenous leaders, debt issuers, asset owners, and sustainable finance leaders for a focused roundtable discussion. Held under Chatham House Rules, the session explored how the success of the sustainable bond market could help meet the financing needs of Indigenous Peoples. Participants discussed the potential of developing an Indigenous Sustainable Bond Framework to attract investment while ensuring proceeds support projects that benefit Indigenous communities.   

This discussion led to the development of a thought leadership paper.

Addenda Capital provided input to the Canadian Sustainability Standards Board’s (CSSB) Proposed 2025-2028 Strategic Plan Consultation. We support efforts to align Canada with global best practices to enhance investor confidence in material sustainability disclosures, and to encourage mandatory disclosure requirements aligned with CSDS 1 and CSDS2. We also encourage a more proactive approach by the CSSB regarding Indigenous inclusion and recognition of UNDRIP and Free Prior and Informed Consent (FPIC), to take a lead role in facilitating uptake of the standards, as well as facilitating input from Canadian stakeholders to the ISSB’s biodiversity research projects, amongst other suggestions.

Addenda Capital submitted comments on several questions that the Taskforce on Nature-related Financial Disclosure released as part of its consultation on the Discussion Paper on Nature Transition Plans. We view “transition plans” as a mechanism for guiding organizations on the integration of nature, water, climate, human capital issues into their business strategies and planning. It is understood that supply chains and economies rely on nature’s services, human capital, stable economies, and stable ecosystems (both biotic and abiotic). With this in mind, companies need to focus on building business plans, which include the actions, rationale and investments required to address and mitigate these risks and expand the opportunities and/or solutions, that address how they will maintain sustainable, long-term performance in a changing landscape. The TNFD approach will likely gain far more long-term traction if it is rolled out with a broader nexus approach that interweaves larger planetary and societal elements.

Addenda supports the initiative encouraging 25 per cent of the companies on the Toronto Stock Exchange to voluntarily adopt plans for Indigenous reconciliation. This initiative is in line with the calls to action prescribed in the report of the Truth and Reconciliation Commission of Canada, previously chaired by the late Murray Sinclair. For more detail: Investors set target for Canadian corporate reconciliation plans

Addenda submitted comments expressing support for the IASB’s effort to educate market participants through releasing illustrative examples to clarify how existing IFRS requirements apply to climate-related disclosures in financial statements. Continuing education on this topic will support informed investment decisions and effective capital allocation.

Addenda’s comments are publicly posted on the IASB website at this link.