Menu
On February 20, our consultant Pedro Paniagua participated as a guest lecturer in the Sustainable Finance course at Tecnológico de Monterrey, where he delivered a class on the structuring and issuance of thematic bonds.
During the session, he presented a comprehensive overview of the thematic bond market, covering both use-of-proceeds instruments (green, social, and sustainable bonds) and Sustainability-Linked Bonds. He also explained the step-by-step issuance process: from portfolio segmentation and framework development, to obtaining the Second Party Opinion, market placement, and post-issuance reporting. The class concluded with practical case studies and recent innovations, helping translate the concepts into real market experiences.
We thank Tecnológico de Monterrey for the invitation and for creating these spaces that strengthen technical training in sustainable finance and bring students closer to capital markets practice.
On November 6th, our Associate Gabriela Sepúlveda participated in the Foro Empresarial 1: La Sostenibilidad y el Controller, organized by AICOGestión as part of the XXII Congreso Iberoamericano de Control de Gestión.
The event highlighted the growing importance of sustainability as a strategic pillar for business management and the evolving role of the Controller in integrating ESG principles into decision-making. Discussions focused on the challenges and opportunities of aligning global sustainability standards with local contexts, developing metrics to demonstrate the value of sustainable initiatives, and strengthening governance and professional capabilities to meet the demands of a changing regulatory landscape
In October, HPL participated in México por el Clima and Finanzas Sostenibles MX 2025, two key gatherings on climate and finance in Latin America. Our Consultant, Pedro Paniagua, and Analysts, Brenda Aguilar and María Fernanda Benítez, represented HPL among more than 100 institutions convened in Mexico City to advance climate action through finance, governance, and local innovation.
Sessions explored public–private strategies ranging from climate-aligned fiscal policy and sustainable infrastructure to regenerative value chains and circular economies. Nature, justice, and transition stood out as cross-cutting themes, alongside calls for deeper local investment, stronger ESG disclosure, and inclusive climate governance.
HPL took part in the 2025 edition of the Climate Governance and Risk Program, organized by IFC Latin America and the Caribbean, the CFA Institute and Amafore. This program strengthens the capacities of Mexican Pension Fund Administrators (Afores) in corporate governance, sustainable finance, climate risk and energy transition. Representing HPL, our Managing Director, Kurt Vogt, and our Consultant, Pedro Paniagua, participated as jurors in the program’s simulator exercise, assessing the final presentation of each participant.
Despite a 65% drop in thematic bond issuance across Latin America in the first half of 2025, market sentiment remains strong. In an interview with LatinFinance, our Managing Director Kurt Vogt emphasized that investor appetite, particularly from Europe, remains solid: “Yes, politically there’s a lot of noise, but the transition is something that is baked into the investment theses of these asset owners.”
At HPL, we continue to advise both issuers and investors throughout the thematic issuance process, helping bridge financing gaps and supporting the growth of sustainable finance in Latin America and the Caribbean. Ongoing efforts to build sustainable taxonomies across the region are also contributing to stronger market credibility and transparency.
From June 16 to 18, HPL participated in the XXXIV Congreso Iberoamericano by COPAPROSE in Mexico City. Our Managing Director, Kurt Vogt, and Analyst, María Fernanda Benítez, joined sector leaders to explore how the insurance industry is navigating major global megatrends: population aging, rising geopolitical and economic tensions, accelerated adoption of technologies like AI, and climate change as a risk amplifier.
The event highlighted the critical role of the insurance sector in fostering resilience among uncertainty. At HPL, we are committed to supporting industries that drive long-term adaptation to social, technological, and environmental challenges. We thank COPAPROSE President Elisabeth Vogt de Weber for the invitation and congratulate her and the organizing board on an outstanding event.
On May 8th and 9th, our Managing Director, Kurt Vogt, participated as a panelist in the session “Operators in Action: Innovation and Management for the Future”, part of the IDB Water and Sanitation Division Knowledge Week, held in Monterrey, Nuevo León. He was joined by our Associate, Gabriela Sepúlveda.
During the session, Kurt shared perspectives on financing opportunities for the water and sanitation sector, including innovative instruments such as green, social, sustainable, and sustainability-linked bonds. He also presented successful case studies and highlighted consulting projects in which HPL has provided strategic advisory in the sector.
On December 18th, our Managing Director, Kurt Vogt participated in the last panel of Green Banking Webinar Series, Sustainable Finance 2024: Annual Review and Outlook for Latin America and the Caribbean, hosted by IFC. Along with representatives of FELABAN and RENAC, Kurt shared some insights on the performance of sustainable finance in 2024 and perspectives that will be important for the region in the near future.
During the webinar, opportunities for the financial sector in the areas of transition, resilience and adaptation to climate change and biodiversity were highlighted. The progress of renewable energies and the importance of deepening engagement between banks and companies to seek comprehensive solutions to advance sustainability were also discussed.
On Tuesday, December 10th, our Managing Director, Kurt Vogt, had the honor of moderating the UN panel discussion: “Green Investment, Climate Law, and Sustainable Development”. This event, organized by the Permanent Observer Mission of the Sovereign Order of Malta to the United Nations, brought together leading voices to address critical dimensions shaping the future of sustainable development.
During the panel, Kurt Vogt joined experts Anthony Annett, Achinthi Vithanage, Dorian van Raalte, and Klaus Lackner to discuss four key “building blocks” for driving sustainable development and contribute to the global combat of poverty and nature degradation: the moral imperative to address climate change, guided by the principle of integral ecology; the role of environmental law in advancing sustainable development; the importance of innovative technology solutions in tackling climate challenges; and the critical role of an active financial sector in allocating capital to projects with positive environmental and social impacts.
On November 12th, IDB Invest hosted a webinar to introduce the “Financing Sustainability Through Capital Markets” guide, co-authored by HPL. This comprehensive guide serves as a roadmap for structuring and issuing GSS+ bonds, specifically tailored for issuers in Latin America and the Caribbean.
HPL’s Managing Director, Kurt Vogt, presented alongside IDB Invest’s Carole Sanz-Paris and Leonardo Mazzei, offering insights into the guide’s key components. The session was further enriched by contributions from David Pacheco, Sustainability Director at BBVA Colombia, and Nereu Daltin Neto, Treasury Director at Natura, who shared practical experiences and lessons learned from thematic bond issuances across the region.
On November 8th, HPL Consultant Yvonne Vogt Gwerder delivered an engaging presentation to Energy for Sustainability students at the University of Coimbra. Drawing from her extensive experience with financial institutions, corporations, and governments across emerging markets, Yvonne explored the essential role of sustainable finance in the energy sector. The session included an interactive activity that allowed students to apply key concepts in a practical setting, fostering a deeper understanding of sustainable finance in action.
HPL was recognized for its support in the development of the Green, Social, Sustainable and Sustainability-Linked Bond Guide for Jamaican issuers in collaboration with the Jamaican Stock Exchange (JSE) and the IDB Invest in the Environmental Finance article entitled Jamaican Sustainable Bond Listing Framework on Track for September.
HPL Consultant, Yvonne Vogt, participated virtually in the launch event of the Green, Social, Sustainability, and sustainability-Linked (GSS+) bond guide for the Jamaican market, presenting the work developed by HPL in the preparation of the Guide, whose objective is to provide the market with tools for the issuance of these types of instruments and to promote the advancement of sustainable finance in the country.
HPL’s team prepared a presentation focused on ESG Strategy Development for the High Impact Business Acceleration Course organized by BIVA. During the presentation, HPL presented the key elements for the development of ESG strategies as well as provided recommendations on how to adopt informed and responsible decisions that benefit both their businesses and the environment. Additionally, HPL prepared an interactive session where participants had to respond to two case studies related to sustainable finance instruments.
HPL’s team, in partnership with IFC, participated in a webinar presenting the Reference Guide “Preparing for Green Bond Issuances: Latin America and the Caribbean”.
This guide aims to bolster private issuances of thematic instruments in the region, providing financial institutions with a detailed process on how to issue a green bond. It focuses on regional gaps, describes existing barriers, and provides recommendations for best practices.
The Webinar includes a Panel Session, moderated by HPL’s Managing Director Kurt Vogt, where Fiorella Rossel from BCP, Laura Avalos from Banco Promerica El Salvador, and Carla Dueñas from Banco Pichincha shared their experiences regarding thematic bonds in their organizations.
On May 21st, HPL’s team had the honor of being part of the fourth class of the Chief Sustainability Officer (CSO) Accelerator Program organized by BIVA CSO. The program seeks to equip Mexican issuers and potential issuers with CSOs to incorporate sustainability in their financing operations. The HPL team focused on evaluating pitches from participating financial institutions, assessing their sustainability proposals and progress, and highlighting their commitment to corporate responsibility.
HPL’s Team participated in fourth class of the Chief Sustainability Officer (CSO) Accelerator Program organized by BIVA in collaboration with Instituto BIVA, the Social Value Institute, and the International Finance Corporation. The program seeks to equip Mexican issuers and potential issuers with CSOs to incorporate sustainability in their financing operations. The HPL Team evaluated participants’s pitch presentations during the second session of Module 5: Communication and ESG Capital Raising as well as in the closing event for representatives from different financial institutions, corporations, and local governments.
HPL Consultant, Isabel Montojo, participated in the First Sustainable Finance Forum organized by the Asociación de Bancos Privados del Ecuador (ASOBANCA) in Quito, Ecuador. Isabel participated in a discussion panel along with other experts in sustainable finance where they discussed new trends, opportunities and challenges for the development of sustainable finance in the Ecuadorian banking sector. The event brought together more than 200 participants from Ecuador’s banking industry, along with local authorities and several professionals from DFIs such as IDB Group, FMO, IFC, and KfW DEG.
Kurt Vogt, Managing Director at HPL, participated as a panelist in the workshop on Promoting Net Zero and Carbon Neutral Commitments for the Asia-Pacific region, organized by USAID and APEC. The series of conferences were held in Honolulu, Hawaii where experts from different sectors of the economy presented and discussed the topic of decarbonization. Kurt discussed barriers and enablers to implementing carbon reduction projects from a sustainable financing perspective.
Kurt Vogt, Managing Director at HPL, participated as a panelist in the second edition of the Global Center on Adaptation’s Masterclass on Mainstreaming Climate Resilience into Public-Private Partnerships (PPP) in Africa. The event was held in a hybrid format in Accra, Ghana. Kurt conducted a masterclass on thematic instruments and sustainable finance in which he discussed the role of the market and the situation in Africa for the public and private sector.
Kurt Vogt, Managing Director at HPL, participated as panelist in the Green Summit Mexico 2022, the first Latin America-based event of the Global Green Guide Initiative. Kurt Vogt was part of the second panel “The role of GCs when it comes to sustainable practice and strategy”, where he exposed the essential elements a business needs to integrate ESG as well as the importance of the General Counsels in order to do so. Kurt was joined by some of the most high-profile experts in various sectors of the Mexican economy.
Daniela Canevaro, Associate at HPL, participated as a panelist at the VI Latin American Sanitation Conference held in Cochabamba, Bolivia. Moderated by Maria Eduarda Gouvêa Berto, IDB Water and Sanitation Specialist, Daniela presented the “Practical Guide to Innovative Financial Instruments for the Water and Sanitation Sector in Latin America and the Caribbean” prepared by HPL and IDB. In particular, she spoke about the role of thematic bonds and sustainability-linked bonds in the water and sanitation sector.
Kurt Vogt, Managing Director at HPL moderated a panel session entitled “DFIs: Underpinning ESG Markets Region-Wide” at the Latin American ESG Markets Summit hosted by New Energy Events. Gathering lessons learned from leading DFIs in the region from panelists Maria Netto, Chief, Financial Institutions and Markets, New Development Bank; Carole Sanz-Paris, Head of Debt Capital Markets, IDB Invest; Jesús Alan Elizondo Flores, Director General, Fideicomisos Instituidos en Relación con la Agricultura (FIRA); and Manuel Valdez, Head of DCM Funding and Derivatives, CAF; the session explored initiatives underway and new approaches to unlock ESG-linked capital.
In March 2022, Kurt Vogt and one of HPL’s Consultants delivered an in-person workshop and Q&A session at the Panamanian Stock Exchange (Latinex Holdings) regarding the step by step process to issue thematic bonds for public sector issuers in Panama. The workshop was moderated by Christian Schneider, Senior Financial Markets Specialist at IDB. Patricio Sepúlveda, from Chile’s Ministry of Finance, Lizeth Camila Erazo, from Colombia’s Ministry of Finance, Juan Carlos Pacheco, CFO at Instituto Costarricense de Electricidad (ICE), and María Paola Carvajal from Bancoldex participated sharing their experience as thematic bond issuers in LAC.
Kurt Vogt, Managing Director at HPL, participated as a guest panelist in a three-day course organized by the International Centre for Hydropower (ICH) and the Instituto Costarricense de Electricidad (ICE) on risk management and financial sustainability in the electricity sector. Kurt presented on a panel session on the role of multilateral development banks in promoting the thematic bond market in Latin America and the Caribbean alongside César Restrepo, Director of the Costa Rican Stock Exchange, Sylvia Larrea, Energy Lead Specialist at the Inter-American Development bank, and José Alfaro, Director of Global Engagement and Assistant Professor of Environmental Practice at the University of Michigan. The session was moderated by Guillermo Zúñiga, Former Minister of Finance of Costa Rica.
Yvonne Vogt, Consultant at HPL participated as a guest lecturer in a three-day course organized by the International Centre for Hydropower (ICH) and the Instituto Costarricense de Electricidad (ICE) on risk management and financial sustainability in the electricity sector. Yvonne’s lecture focused on structuring Sustainability-Linked Bonds for issuers in the electricity sector, providing practical guidelines on how to select relevant Key Performance Indicators (KPIs) and ambitious Sustainability Performance Targets (SPTs). At the end of the class, participants were provided a case study to develop their own KPIs and SPTs, which were presented during an interactive group session.
HPL was hired by the Global Green Growth Institute (GGGI) to design and deliver a workhop on sustainable finance for Peru Sostenible a Peruvian NGO that promotes sustainability within the private sector. This workshop was organized within the project financed by the Government of the United Kingdom, through its UK PACT program in Peru. The workshop covered topics such as the global and regional climate finance context, sustainable debt instruments, gender equity and social inclusion matters in project formulation, gender lens finance and ESG integration in the corporate strategy. Kurt Vogt, Managing Director at HPL, Isabel Montojo, Consultant at HPL, and Cristina L. Mayher, Gender Equity and Social Inclusion Expert delivered a one hour and thirty minute workshop addressed to CEOs and CSOs from a wide range of sectors in Peru. Micaela Rizo Patrón, General Manager at Peru Sostenible and Alberto Dante Maurer Fossa GGGI’s Country Representative in Peru delivered the opening and closing remarks. Aldo Ferrini, Director at Perú Sostenible and CEO at AFP Integra (SURA) moderated the Q&A session with the audience.
HPL was hired by the Global Green Growth Institute (GGGI) to design and deliver a workshop on sustainable finance for ESAN Graduate School of Business (Lima, Peru), within the project financed by the Government of the United Kingdom, through its UK PACT program in Peru. The workshop covered topics such as the global and regional climate finance context, sustainable debt instruments, gender equity and social inclusion matters in project formulation, gender lens finance and ESG integration in the corporate strategy. Kurt Vogt, HPL’s Managing Director, Isabel Montojo, Consultant at HPL, and Cristina L. Mayher, Gender Equity and Social Inclusion Expert delivered a one hour and fifty minute workshop addressed to CEOs and CFOs from a wide range of sectors in Peru. Professor Marco Vinelli, Director of the Master in Agribusiness Administration at ESAN and Alberto Dante Maurer Fossa GGGI’s Country Representative in Peru participated as co-hosts and moderators during the event.
Kurt Vogt, Managing Director at HPL, participated as an expert panelist alongside Carole Sanz-Paris, Head of Debt Capital Markets & Structured Finance at BID Invest; Isabelle Braly-Cartillier, Senior Financial Specialist at IDB; and Alma Agustí, Senior Associate at Instiglio, in a panel hosted by IDB’s Water and Sanitation Division, and moderated by Lucio Javier García, Water and Sanitation Specialist at IDB. In this session, Kurt presented and discussed the applications of climate finance in the water and sanitation sector in Latin America and the Caribbean.
Kurt Vogt, Managing Director at HPL, participated as an expert panelist alongside Alberto Gómez-Obregón, Managing Partner, at CO Capital; Daniela Calleja, Head of New Issuers and Entrepreneurs at BIVA; and Cristian Jaramillo, Sustainability & Risk (ESG) Senior Manager at PWC, in a webinar hosted by PYMO, a Mexican startup dedicated to connecting companies with the best NGOs in Mexico. In this session, Kurt discussed the impact of ESG and how it should be incorporated within company’s mandates.
HPL supported KfW and ALIDE in organizing and hosting a seminar on the EU Taxonomy and its potential impacts in Latin America and the Caribbean (LAC). HPL worked with KfW and ALIDE to select the seminar’s topics, design the event’s minute, and prepare the hosts, keynote speaker, and panelists for the event. HPL’s Managing Director, Kurt Vogt, acted as a moderator during the session. Claudia Arce, Director of LAC at KfW Development Bank and Edgardo Alvarez, Secretary General of ALIDE acted as hosts. A Keynote on the EU Taxonomy was delivered by Caroline Wellemans, Head of Unit Sustainable Finance Policy at the Directorate-General for International Partnerships (DG-INTPA) of the European Commission. The experts in the panel included Bianca Nasser, CFO at the National Bank for Economic and Social Development in Brazil (BNDES); Cesar Arias, Director of Public Credit and National Treasury at the Ministry of Finance from Colombia; Alfredo Mordezki, Head of Latin America Fixed Income at Santander Asset Management; Maria Netto, Financial Markets Principal Specialist, Connectivity, Markets and Finance Division at the Inter-American Development Bank (IDB); and Claudia Arce.
HPL’s Consultant, Yvonne Vogt, participated as an expert in a Webinar hosted by IDB Invest and ANBIMA on the main steps to structure thematic bonds and sharing experiences on sustainability in the brazilian capital markets. The experts in the panel included Alexandre da Rosa, Chief Strategy Officer at IDB Invest, Carlos Takahashi, Director at ANBIMA, Sergio Gusmão, President at Development BAnk of Minas Gerais (BDMG), Fabiana Silva, Financial Institutions at Banco ABC Brazil, and Luiz Maia, Senior Consultant at Brookfield Asset Management. The event was moderated by Gabriel Azevedo, Chief Social, Environmental and Governance Division at IDB Invest and Marcia Groszman Faria, Lead Investment Officer for Brazilian Financial Institutions at IDB Invest.
HPL´s Managing Director, Kurt Vogt, participated as an expert in a Webinar hosted by IDB Invest, discussing the key steps companies can undertake for structuring thematic bonds. The experts in the panel included Gema Sacristan, Chief Investment Officer at IDB Invest, Carole Sanz-Paris, Head of Capital Markets at IDB Invest, Colin McKee, ESG Lead Officer at IDB Invest, and David Grey, Sustainability and Communications Manager at Banco Bichincha. The session was moderated by Bloomberg News Senior Editor James Crombie.
HPL´s Managing Director, Kurt Vogt, moderated a webinar hosted by HSBC Mexico on Gender Lens Finance in Latin America. The panel of experts included Eusebio Garre, Head of Funding at IDB Invest, Anoushka Mehta, Head of Gender Lens Finance at HSBC, and Leticia Robles DeLas Fuentes Institutional Relations and Business Development Director at Konfio. The session was hosted by Aidee Olmos, Head of Corporate Sustainability at HSBC Mexico.
Hosted by Birdlife International, HPL´s Managing Director participated in the conference’s closing session. Kurt and Piera Waibel, a former Sustainability Manager at Lindt & Sprüngli, had an interactive conversation about forest conservation and its contribution to the finance and corporate sectors at the Accelerator Online Conference 2021.
Kurt Vogt, Managing Director at HPL coorganized and participated in a capacity building session on sustainability integration (lessons learned) together with Latinex: Bolsa Latinoamericana de Valores (Panama’s Stock Exchange), IDB Invest and UN Global Compact Panamá (Sumarse).
Isabel Montojo, Consultant, at HPL hosted and moderated a capacity building session for the corporate sector in Panama on universal sustainability principles for corporates and investors: UN Principles for Responsible Investment (PRI), and UN Global Compact.
HPL, together with Latinex: Bolsa Latinoamericana de Valores (Panama’s Stock Exchange), IDB Invest and UN Global Compact Panamá (Sumarse) organized a capacity building session on climate-related financial disclosures for companies and financial institutions in Panama.
Isabel Montojo, Consultant at HPL, hosted and moderated a capacity building session for the corporate sector in Panama on ESG disclosure standards: Sustainability Accounting Standards Board (SASB) and Global Reporting Initiative (GRI).
Isabel Montojo, Consultant, and Kurt Vogt, Managing Director at HPL cohosted and moderated a capacity building session for the corporate sector in Panama on how to use the Guide for Voluntary Reporting and Disclosure of ESG Factors. The session included a discussion panel, moderated by Mr Vogt with the participation of CIFI’s ESG Head and Fondo de Ahorro de Panama.
HPL, together with Latinex: Bolsa Latinoamericana de Valores (Panama’s Stock Exchange), IDB Invest and UN Global Compact Panamá (Sumarse) organized a capacity building session on the business case for sustainability addressed to the corporate sector in Panamá.
Isabel Montojo, Consultant, and Kurt Vogt, Managing Director at HPL cohosted and moderated the publication launch event of the Guide for Voluntary Reporting and Disclosure of ESG Factors, held virtually by Latinex: Bolsa Latinoamericana de Valores (Panama’s Stock Exchange), together with IDB Invest and UN Global Compact Panamá (Sumarse). Ms Montojo moderated a discussion panel with Panama’s Capital Market Regulator and a Panamanian Investment Bank.
Our Associate Maria-Teresa Grez participated in a webinar panel alongside Maria Netto, Financial Institutions Principal Specialist at the Inter-American Development Bank, and Jésus Alan Elizondo Flores, Managing Director, FIRA focused on the opportunity of using thematic bonds to support recovery efforts in the Paraguayan market.
(Image Source: IDB)
Our Associate Yvonne Vogt participated alongside Fabio Zenaro, from the Brazilian Stock Exchange (B3), Maria Netto, from the IDB, and Sandro Damásio from Eletrobras in a webinar organized by the Inter-American Development Bank, CVM (Comissão de Valores Mobiliários), United Nations Sustainable Stock Exchanges Initiative (SSE) and Laboratório de Inovação Financeira.
(Image Source: IDB)
Our Managing Director Kurt Vogt presenting at the European Investment Bank Caribbean Roadshow in Santo Domingo, Dominican Republic on the role of Multilateral Development Banks in Adaptation Finance.
Our Managing Director Kurt Vogt presenting at the European Investment Bank Caribbean Roadshow in Kingston, Jamaica on Climate Adaptation Finance.
The event was held in Medellín, Colombia on November 8th and November 9th of 2018.
Our Managing Director Kurt Vogt discussed the state of sustainable finance in Latin America alongside panelists from Bancolombia and Celsia. HPL also conducted a workshop on how to develop a responsible investment policy. Listen to Kurt Vogt’s conclusions from the event.
(Image Source: IRS)
HPL’s Managing Director, Kurt Vogt, was also interviewed by Revista RS as part of this event. Take a look at HPL’s insights on the development of sustainable finance practices in Latin America.
The event was held in Ciudad de México on April 12th of 2018 and was organized by the British Embassy and MEXICO2.
HPL’s Managing Director, Kurt Vogt, moderated the panel “Challenges to Sustainable Finance”.
(Image Source: British Embassy and MEXICO2)
Televisa interviewed Kurt Vogt in April of 2018 on the goal of sustainable finance and its relationship to climate change.
(Image Source: Televisa)
© HPL.LLC 2026
