ESG Investment Advisory Services
BASELINE | With the upcoming Carbon Border Adjustment Mechanism (CBAM) the European Union (EU) forces exporters of carbon-intensive products to prove activities in reducing their carbon footprint. Decarbonization efforts and emission reduction improvements are enforced through national regulation in Eurasian countries and become solid requirements of buyers, creditors, shareholders, and other stakeholders. While this pressure is likely to increase, affected companies are either already improving processes towards a “green” pattern, or they are committed to do so. However, an independent assessment which measures technologies, investments comply with CBAM and “green finance” regulation, is missing yet.
DEMAND | Carbon-extensive exporters in Eurasian countries require a comprehensive assessment of strategies, which fit the evolving “green economy” logic currently developed in the EU and Eurasia. Therefore, Creon Capital offers in-depth strategic, legal, economic, and political advisory to analyze a company’s potential to cope with the environmental policy-related challenges. Based on this, investment decisions should be made, Creon is ready to assist in attracting investors, to support in obtaining project financing and to co-invest in projects recommended to and required by the clients as anchor customers.
EXPERTISE | Creon has gained credibility as an expert for commercial-scale environmental projects since 2013, when the group of companies started developing the Environmental Transparency Rating of oil and gas companies in cooperation with WWF. Prior to the breakthrough of ESG policies and the Paris Climate Agreement (2015), this product has been established as a seismograph of companies for environmental activities. This expertise is deployed to advise companies on investments and further improvements. Creon team includes experts in Luxembourg, Germany, and Italy, among them lawyers, ecologists, economists, policy advisors.
ADVISORY | Concepts and solutions required by the market should generally aim at decreasing a company’s or regions carbon footprint and contribute to more ecological processes and structures. To give some examples:
- Company “A” invests in a “green technology”. But is this technology captured by the EU (or Eurasian) “green finance” framework? Could a green bond be issued to finance the project? Are any subsidies applicable?
- Company “B” is affected by the CBAM-regulation. Could the burden by the EU mechanism be mitigated by investing right now in forestation projects, renewable energy, or energy efficiency? Where to invest – Eurasia or EU?
- Company “C” started to invest in renewable energy, but oil exports remain a core business. Would it be worth issuing CO2-certificates? What would be the benefits? How does the verification project look like? How to choose the best partner for verification?
- Eurasian Bank “A” is keen to assess the carbon-footprint of their assets. Does it make sense to sell some of these assets right now? Or could some of these assets be “greened” to increase their value?
CONTRIBUTION | On top of the assessment of existing strategies, concepts, and running projects, we intend to suggest applicable technological and strategical solutions. These aim to comply with regulation such as CBAM and the “green finance” framework, CO2-certification rules, as well as market demand and requirement. Creon Capital offers in deal sourcing and technology search, and we are capable to prepare a “green bond” placement.
OUR POSITION | Creon Capital is General Partner of the Creon Energy Fund SICAV-SIF, providing investment and management advisory services, while Creon Group is a leading advisor in the Eurasian energy industry, including the sectors of oil, gas, petrochemicals, renewables and hydrogen. Given the existent expertise within the group and its network of experts and the strong demand for these solutions, we are ready to contribute with premium services: Apart from judgements and recommendations, Creon Capital co-invests in technology for and on behalf of clients in the industry of Eurasian countries. The capability to contribute to ESG-performance by acting as a co-investor, is an USP and the main distinction from competitors on the advisory market.
CONTACT | Creon Capital S.à.r.l., Florian Willershausen, CDO, +4915116244591, fw@creoncapital.lu