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National University of Singapore (NUS), Northern Trust, and UOB have launched a pioneering initiative to tokenize green bond credentials using blockchain technology. This first-in-market initiative aims to enhance transparency in ESG reporting, with NUS becoming Singapore’s first university to implement blockchain for this purpose.
The project will utilize Northern Trust’s Matrix Zenith™ digital assets platform to mint and hold a green bond reporting token containing environmental impact reporting data from NUS’ third green bond, issued in 2023. UOB, as lead arranger, will provide feedback on how tokenized data can improve investors’ sustainability reporting practices.
This initiative is part of the Monetary Authority of Singapore’s Project Guardian, focusing on enhancing financial markets through asset tokenisation. The collaboration is supported by a three-year MoU signed between NUS and Northern Trust in November 2024, aimed at exploring blockchain technology applications in green finance practices.
La National University of Singapore (NUS), Northern Trust e UOB hanno lanciato un’iniziativa pionieristica per tokenizzare le credenziali delle obbligazioni verdi utilizzando la tecnologia blockchain. Questa iniziativa, prima sul mercato, mira a migliorare la trasparenza nel reporting ESG, con la NUS che diventa la prima università di Singapore a implementare la blockchain a questo scopo.
Il progetto utilizzerà la piattaforma di asset digitali Matrix Zenith™ di Northern Trust per coniare e mantenere un token di reporting delle obbligazioni verdi contenente dati di reporting sull’impatto ambientale riguardanti la terza obbligazione verde di NUS, emessa nel 2023. UOB, in qualità di arrangiatore principale, fornirà un feedback su come i dati tokenizzati possano migliorare le pratiche di reporting di sostenibilità degli investitori.
Questa iniziativa fa parte del Project Guardian dell’Autorità Monetaria di Singapore, che si concentra sul miglioramento dei mercati finanziari attraverso la tokenizzazione degli asset. La collaborazione è supportata da un MoU triennale firmato tra NUS e Northern Trust nel novembre 2024, teso ad esplorare le applicazioni della tecnologia blockchain nelle pratiche di finanza verde.
La Universidad Nacional de Singapur (NUS), Northern Trust y UOB han lanzado una iniciativa pionera para tokenizar las credenciales de bonos verdes utilizando tecnología blockchain. Esta iniciativa, que es la primera en el mercado, tiene como objetivo mejorar la transparencia en la elaboración de informes ESG, siendo NUS la primera universidad de Singapur en implementar blockchain con este propósito.
El proyecto utilizará la plataforma de activos digitales Matrix Zenith™ de Northern Trust para acuñar y mantener un token de informe sobre bonos verdes que contenga datos de impacto ambiental de la tercera emisión de bonos verdes de NUS, emitida en 2023. UOB, como organizador principal, proporcionará retroalimentación sobre cómo los datos tokenizados pueden mejorar las prácticas de informes de sostenibilidad de los inversores.
Esta iniciativa es parte del Project Guardian de la Autoridad Monetaria de Singapur, que se centra en mejorar los mercados financieros mediante la tokenización de activos. La colaboración está respaldada por un MoU de tres años firmado entre NUS y Northern Trust en noviembre de 2024, destinado a explorar las aplicaciones de la tecnología blockchain en las prácticas de finanzas verdes.
싱가포르 국립대학교(NUS), 노던 트러스트, UOB가 블록체인 기술을 활용하여 친환경 채권 인증을 토큰화하는 혁신적인 이니셔티브를 시작했습니다. 이번 시장 최초의 이니셔티브는 ESG 보고의 투명성을 강화하는 것을 목표로 하며, NUS는 이를 위한 블록체인을 구현한 싱가포르 최초의 대학이 되었습니다.
이 프로젝트는 노던 트러스트의 Matrix Zenith™ 디지털 자산 플랫폼을 활용하여 2023년에 발행된 NUS의 세 번째 친환경 채권에 대한 환경 영향 보고 데이터를 포함한 친환경 채권 보고 토큰을 민팅하고 보관합니다. UOB는 주선자로서, 토큰화된 데이터가 투자자의 지속 가능성 보고 관행을 어떻게 개선할 수 있는지에 대한 피드백을 제공합니다.
이 이니셔티브는 자산 토큰화를 통해 금융 시장을 강화하는 데 중점을 둔 싱가포르 통화청의 Project Guardian의 일환입니다. 이 협업은 2024년 11월 NUS와 노던 트러스트 간에 체결된 3년간의 양해각서(MoU)로 지원되며, 친환경 금융 관행에서 블록체인 기술 응용에 대한 탐색을 목표로 합니다.
La National University of Singapore (NUS), Northern Trust et UOB ont lancé une initiative novatrice pour tokeniser les certificats d’obligations vertes en utilisant la technologie blockchain. Cette initiative, la première de son genre sur le marché, vise à améliorer la transparence des rapports ESG, avec la NUS devenant la première université de Singapour à mettre en œuvre la blockchain à cet effet.
Le projet utilisera la plateforme d’actifs numériques Matrix Zenith™ de Northern Trust pour créer et conserver un token de reporting des obligations vertes contenant des données sur l’impact environnemental provenant de la troisième obligation verte de la NUS, émise en 2023. UOB, en tant que principal arrangeur, fournira des retours sur la manière dont les données tokenisées peuvent améliorer les pratiques de reporting en matière de durabilité des investisseurs.
Cette initiative fait partie du Project Guardian de l’Autorité monétaire de Singapour, axé sur l’amélioration des marchés financiers grâce à la tokenisation des actifs. La collaboration est soutenue par un protocole d’accord (MoU) de trois ans signé entre NUS et Northern Trust en novembre 2024, visant à explorer les applications de la technologie blockchain dans les pratiques de finance verte.
Die National University of Singapore (NUS), Northern Trust und UOB haben eine bahnbrechende Initiative zur Tokenisierung von grünen Anleihezertifikaten mithilfe von Blockchain-Technologie gestartet. Diese erste ihrer Art auf dem Markt zielt darauf ab, die Transparenz im ESG-Reporting zu erhöhen, wobei die NUS die erste Universität Singapurs ist, die Blockchain zu diesem Zweck implementiert.
Das Projekt wird die digitale Vermögensplattform Matrix Zenith™ von Northern Trust nutzen, um einen Reporting-Token für grüne Anleihen zu prägen und zu halten, der Daten zum Umweltimpact aus der dritten grünen Anleihe der NUS enthält, die 2023 emittiert wurde. UOB wird als Hauptarrangeur Feedback dazu geben, wie tokenisierte Daten die Nachhaltigkeitsberichterstattung der Investoren verbessern können.
Diese Initiative ist Teil des Project Guardian der Monetary Authority of Singapore, das sich auf die Verbesserung der Finanzmärkte durch die Tokenisierung von Vermögenswerten konzentriert. Die Zusammenarbeit wird durch ein dreijähriges MoU unterstützt, das im November 2024 zwischen NUS und Northern Trust unterzeichnet wurde, mit dem Ziel, Anwendungen der Blockchain-Technologie in den Praktiken der grünen Finanzierung zu erkunden.
Positive
- First-mover advantage in green bond tokenization technology
- Partnership with established financial institutions (Northern Trust and UOB)
- Part of MAS’ Project Guardian, indicating regulatory support
- Implementation of innovative blockchain technology for ESG reporting
Insights
This pioneering green bond tokenization initiative represents a significant technological advancement in ESG reporting infrastructure. Northern Trust’s Matrix Zenith™ platform implementation for tokenizing environmental impact data creates an immutable audit trail that solves critical transparency and data integrity challenges in the green bond market. The solution’s ability to maintain consistent reporting data throughout secondary market trading addresses a key pain point in ESG investment verification.
The integration with MAS’ Project Guardian positions this initiative within a broader regulatory sandbox environment, potentially accelerating the adoption of blockchain-based ESG reporting standards. While the immediate financial impact on Northern Trust may be , the successful execution could establish the company as a leader in institutional-grade digital asset infrastructure for ESG markets, opening significant future revenue streams in the rapidly growing sustainable finance sector.
The initiative’s strategic importance lies in its potential to standardize and streamline ESG reporting in the $2.5 trillion green bond market. Current manual verification processes create friction in secondary market trading and raise concerns about greenwashing. By tokenizing green credentials, Northern Trust is positioning itself at the forefront of solving these industry-wide challenges.
The partnership with NUS and UOB provides an ideal testing ground, combining academic rigor with real-world market feedback. While revenue impact will be minimal short-term, successful implementation could drive significant growth in Northern Trust’s digital assets business, particularly in Asia where ESG investing is seeing rapid institutional adoption. The initiative aligns with broader market trends toward automated compliance and increased transparency in sustainable finance.
The pioneering initiative leverages blockchain for greater transparency in ESG reporting, and is part of MAS’ Project Guardian
SINGAPORE–(BUSINESS WIRE)– The National University of Singapore (NUS), Northern Trust and UOB are proud to announce a groundbreaking collaboration to launch a first-in-market initiative aimed at tokenising green bond credentials. NUS is the first university in Singapore to implement blockchain technology for environmental, social, and governance (ESG) reporting.
This initiative, a key milestone in green finance innovation, will leverage blockchain technology to enhance transparency, data integrity, and investor confidence in sustainable investment practices.
Based on the market best practice, issuers of green bonds provide regular updates to investors regarding the use of funds. On their part, investors may require such data for their own sustainability reporting obligations and to assess their progress towards their ESG goals.
Under the initiative, Northern Trust will utilise its cutting-edge digital assets platform, Northern Trust Matrix Zenith™, to mint and hold a green bond reporting token. The token will hold the environmental impact reporting data from NUS’ third green bond, issued in 2023. UOB, as the lead arranger of the bond issuance, will solicit and provide crucial feedback on how the tokenised data can enhance investors’ sustainability reporting practices.
The tokenisation process will focus on ensuring data integrity, providing investors with confidence that the environmental impact reporting data is secure, immutable, and reliable for their own sustainability reporting obligations. Investors of the bond will receive the same complete set of information which will remain unchanged even as the bond changes hands. This initiative marks a significant step toward aligning green finance practices with global transparency and regulatory standards.
The tokenisation of NUS’ green bond credentials is part of Project Guardian, a global collaboration between policymakers and key industry players, led by the Monetary Authority of Singapore to enhance liquidity and efficiency of financial markets through asset tokenisation. It falls under the fixed income workstream of Project Guardian, which focuses on demonstrating the benefits of tokenising bonds and other fixed income securities.
Collaborative expertise
Mr. Tan Kian Woo, Senior Vice President and Chief Finance Officer at NUS, said: “We are proud to be leading this first-in-market green bond reporting tokenisation initiative in partnership with Northern Trust and UOB. This project is a significant milestone in our ongoing commitment to advancing green finance innovation. By creating a token that enhances the integrity and transparency of our environmental data, we aim to provide greater confidence to investors, helping them meet their sustainability reporting goals. This is only the beginning, as we continue to push boundaries in sustainable financial practices.”
Mr. Koh Yan Leng, Vice President (Campus Infrastructure) at NUS, said: “In our pursuit of driving campus decarbonisation, we are equally committed to reporting the sustainability performance of our green buildings in a transparent, timely and reliable manner. Through this project, investors and stakeholders will get access to prompt updates to support their sustainability reporting needs. It also reflects NUS’ ongoing efforts to optimise energy use and reduce carbon emissions across our campuses.”
Mr. Justin Chapman, Global Head of Digital Assets and Financial Markets at Northern Trust, said: “This initiative is a testament to the transformative potential of blockchain technology in green finance. By leveraging our Matrix Zenith™ platform, we are ensuring the integrity and transparency of green bond reporting data, addressing critical needs for investors while paving the way for a more sustainable financial ecosystem.”
Mr. Edmund Leong, Head of Group Investment Banking at UOB, said: “At UOB, we are committed to driving sustainable finance solutions that meet the evolving needs of our clients. By participating in this data tokenisation initiative, we aim to provide real-world feedback on the usability of tokenised data, ensuring that it meets the standards required for transparent and reliable sustainability reporting.”
Driving green finance innovation
The green bond reporting token is the first step in NUS’ broader strategy to explore how blockchain technology can enhance green finance practices through a three-year Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) signed with Northern Trust in November 2024. The collaboration will focus on fostering cutting-edge research and developing actionable solutions to address the challenges of ESG finance.
As part of its commitment to lead green finance innovation, NUS will continue to explore opportunities for leveraging tokenisation to improve transparency, accountability, and impact in the sustainable finance sector.
For more information about NUS’ green finance initiatives, visit https://sustainability.nus.edu.sg/campus/green-finance/.
About National University of Singapore (NUS)
The National University of Singapore (NUS) is Singapore’s flagship university, which offers a global approach to education, research and entrepreneurship, with a focus on Asian perspectives and expertise. We have 16 colleges, faculties and schools across three campuses in Singapore, with more than 40,000 students from 100 countries enriching our vibrant and diverse campus community. We have also established more than 20 NUS Overseas Colleges entrepreneurial hubs around the world.
Our multidisciplinary and real-world approach to education, research and entrepreneurship enables us to work closely with industry, governments and academia to address crucial and complex issues relevant to Asia and the world. Researchers in our faculties, research centres of excellence, corporate labs and more than 30 university-level research institutes focus on themes that include energy; environmental and urban sustainability; treatment and prevention of diseases; active ageing; advanced materials; risk management and resilience of financial systems; Asian studies; and Smart Nation capabilities such as artificial intelligence, data science, operations research and cybersecurity.
For more information on NUS, please visit nus.edu.sg.
About Northern Trust
Northern Trust Corporation (Nasdaq: NTRS) is a leading provider of wealth management, asset servicing, asset management and banking to corporations, institutions, affluent families and individuals. Founded in Chicago in 1889, Northern Trust has a global presence with offices in 24 U.S. states and Washington, D.C., and across 22 locations in Canada, Europe, the Middle East and the Asia-Pacific region. As of September 30, 2024, Northern Trust had assets under custody/administration of US$17.4 trillion, and assets under management of US$1.6 trillion. For more than 135 years, Northern Trust has earned distinction as an industry leader for exceptional service, financial expertise, integrity and innovation. Visit us on northerntrust.com. Follow us on X (formerly Twitter) @NorthernTrust or Northern Trust Corporation on LinkedIn.
Northern Trust Corporation, Head Office: 50 South La Salle Street, Chicago, Illinois 60603 U.S.A., incorporated with limited liability in the U.S. Global legal and regulatory information can be found at https://www.northerntrust.com/terms-and-conditions.
About UOB
UOB is a leading bank in Asia. Operating through its head office in Singapore and banking subsidiaries in China, Indonesia, Malaysia, Thailand and Vietnam, UOB has a global network of around 500 offices in 19 countries and territories in Asia Pacific, Europe and North America. Since its incorporation in 1935, UOB has grown organically and through a series of strategic acquisitions. Today, UOB is rated among the world’s top banks: Aa1 by Moody’s Investors Service and AA- by both S&P Global Ratings and Fitch Ratings.
For nearly nine decades, UOB has adopted a customer-centric approach to create long-term value by staying relevant through its enterprising spirit and doing right by its customers. UOB is focused on building the future of ASEAN – for the people and businesses within, and connecting with, ASEAN.
The Bank connects businesses to opportunities in the region with its unparalleled regional footprint and leverages data and insights to innovate and create personalised banking experiences and solutions catering to each customer’s unique needs and evolving preferences. UOB is also committed to forging a sustainable future through working with its stakeholders to create positive environmental impact, fostering social inclusiveness and pursuing economic progress. UOB believes in being a responsible financial services provider and is steadfast in its support of art, social development of children and education, doing right by its communities and stakeholders.
View source version on businesswire.com: https://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20250112348353/en/
For media enquiries, please contact:
For NUS
Gayathri DE SILVA
Office of University Communications
National University of Singapore
DID: +65 6601 1341
Email: gayathri.desilva@nus.edu.sg
For Northern Trust
John O’Connell
Northern Trust
DID: +1 847-510-3334
Email: John_O’Connell@ntrs.com
For UOB
Jonathan KWOK
Group Strategic Communications and Brand
UOB
DID: +65 6539 4062
Email: Jonathan.Kwok@UOBGroup.com
Source: Northern Trust Corporation
FAQ
What is the purpose of NUS’s green bond reporting tokenization initiative with NTRS?
The initiative aims to enhance transparency and data integrity in ESG reporting by leveraging blockchain technology to tokenize green bond credentials, providing investors with secure and immutable environmental impact reporting data.
How will Northern Trust (NTRS) implement the green bond tokenization process?
Northern Trust will use its Matrix Zenith™ digital assets platform to mint and hold a green bond reporting token containing environmental impact reporting data from NUS’s 2023 green bond.
When did NUS and NTRS sign their Memorandum of Understanding for blockchain collaboration?
NUS and Northern Trust signed a three-year Memorandum of Understanding in November 2024 to explore blockchain technology applications in green finance practices.
What role does UOB play in the NTRS-NUS green bond tokenization initiative?
UOB, as the lead arranger of the bond issuance, will provide feedback on how the tokenized data can enhance investors’ sustainability reporting practices.
How does the NTRS tokenization initiative relate to Project Guardian?
The initiative is part of Project Guardian’s fixed income workstream, led by the Monetary Authority of Singapore, which focuses on demonstrating the benefits of tokenizing bonds and other fixed income securities.
