Neal Pandozzi Discusses What ESG Means for Public Finance in The Bond Buyer Podcast

April 18, 2023

Neal Pandozzi talks about what environmental, social and governance (ESG) really means for public finance in The Bond Buyer podcast “ESG: Separating politics from policy.” In the episode, Neal defines what ESG means and how it relates to municipal bond issuers. He notes that certain individual and institutional investors are increasingly considering ESG factors such as climate change or diversity when evaluating an issuer’s or a conduit borrower’s overall financial condition because they want to invest in projects that help support these types of initiatives.

During the podcast, Neal discusses the anti-ESG legislation that has been introduced or enacted by “red” states against so-called “boycotts” of GOP-favored industries such as fossil fuel and firearms, the pro-ESG agenda of “blue” states that allows retirement plans to consider ESG factors in their investment decisions, a California bill that would prohibit financial institutions that do business with the firearms industry from working on the state’s public finance transactions, and a Florida bill that would prohibit bond issuers from issuing environmental, social and corporate governance bonds.

Listen to the podcast “ESG: Separating politics from policy” to learn more and to hear Neal’s thoughts about the impact the various laws may have on public finance.