Financiers will not automatically provide funding for projects just because they are focused on sustainability.
That is the reality, said Barbados Stock Exchange (BSE) managing director Marlon Yarde, that entities seeking money for such ventures must face.
He said that those providing financing needed valid projects, credible issuers, appropriate returns, a clear understanding of risk, and reliable information.
Yarde’s hope was that a new agreement between the BSE and IDB Invest would “identify what the market needs and give prospective issuers and investors a clear point of reference”.
He saw “potential opportunities for renewable energy, resilient infrastructure, water-related investments, environmental activity, and projects that deliver social benefits”.
The BSE boss was speaking on Friday as the Institute of Chartered Accountants of Barbados’ (ICAB) Annual Conference 2026 opened at the Lloyd Erskine Sandiford Centre.
The expert panel he was on focused on Barbados’ Sustainability Journey: Climate, Natural Assets and Capital. It was moderated by Ricaido Jennings, ICAB vice-president (VP) and VP, finance at Barbados Light & Power Company Limited, who defined sustainability as “meeting our needs today without using up what we will need tomorrow”.
Yarde said that Barbados had potential sources of capital, including pension funds, insurers, banks, investment funds, international business and individual investors and that there were also regional and international providers or funds.
However, he said that capital “does not move simply because a project has a sustainability label on it”.
“If we are discussing a green or social bond, there must be a clear explanation of what the funds will finance, how these funds will be managed, and what reporting investors can expect. The projects must also make financial and commercial sense.”
Yarde said this was where there was a potential role for the BSE.
He shared that on October 5 the organisation signed an advisory services client beneficiary agreement with IDB Invest to support the development of a green social and sustainability model guide for Barbados.
“The work is intended to draw on international market guidance, consult with stakeholders, and provide training and practical guides for
our markets. I consider this as a useful example of moving from awareness to action,” Yarde said.
“It will not by itself create an active sustainable bond market, and it does not represent a communication by IDB Invest to finance bond issues, but can we help us identify what the market needs and give prospective issuers and investors a clear point of reference.”
He cautioned against assuming “that every project will be suitable for a bond, or that a sustainable label automatically makes financing cheaper”.
“Issuance, verification, reporting, and monitoring all have costs. The other issue is investor readiness. Regional and global capital providers may already be asking more detailed sustainability questions,” Yarde said.
“Local investors, lenders, and insurers may be at different stages, but I expect these matters to become increasingly relevant to them. So we must engage investors as well as issuers and ask what information they will actually use.
“In short, credible projects, clear guidance, trustworthy disclosures, and interested investors will have to come together.
“Our IDB Invest initiative is one of the practical sense towards developing those conditions alongside the broader sustainability disclosure roadmap that ICAB and other stakeholders are exploring,” Yarde said. (SC)