Welcome to the autumn edition of Horizons for 2026!

With the scorching summer temperatures finally behind us, we can thankfully turn to my favourite time of year: one of pumpkins, fireworks and, before we know it, candy canes!

The heatwaves may have slowed some of us down, but they certainly haven’t slowed the LMA’s sustainability work. This quarter has brought new joiners — a warm welcome to Lorena Epuras — new publications and launches and, perhaps most importantly, a renewed appreciation for the wonders of air conditioning!

Before we dive into our sustainability work, it would be remiss not to mention the formal celebration of the LMA’s 30th anniversary at the fabulous V&A, alongside the launch of the accompanying report, 2040: The Future of EMEA Loan Markets, which I was delighted to assist with. Of particular interest to me were the sustainability trends highlighted in the report, not least the finding that over 51% of loan market participants surveyed expect ESG factors to be embedded into credit decisions for most or all loans by 2040.

Turning to our sustainability publications, July saw the much-anticipated publication of the Practice Note for the Assessment of Pure Play Companies. This Practice Note provides practical guidance on identifying and assessing pure play companies, helping to bring greater consistency and clarity to this increasingly important area.

August saw the publication of the updated Draft Provisions for Sustainability-Linked Loans, including new language addressing “sleeping” SLL structures, together with the accompanying Term Sheet and Education Note, which explains the purpose of the contractual “guardrails” reflected in the Provisions.

And finally, September saw the publication of the Practice Note on the Application of the Sustainability-Linked Loan Principles to SMEs and accompanying Insights Report. Together, these showcase the challenges SMEs face in the market and provide practical guidance on applying the SLLP to SME borrowers to help overcome them.

Despite all this activity, there is still plenty to do as we head towards our flagship Sustainable Finance Conference. I would encourage you all to register and join us for what promises to be a thought-provoking day.

Looking beyond the conference, we also have two upcoming webinars as part of our Middle East Playbook Series: Green & Social Loans in Practice on 7 October and Sustainability-Linked Financing for Islamic Finance Markets on 14 October. I hope many of you will be able to join us for these live events as we continue to explore the evolving sustainable finance landscape across the region.

Beyond events, our workstreams continue to gather pace, including the formalisation of the Transition Loan Principles and supporting Guidance, an update to our GLP and SLP Guidance to provide greater clarity on the role of RCFs in use-of-proceeds financing and, of course, finding time to embrace all the festivities that this wonderful period of the year has to offer.

There’s plenty more to come, so enjoy this edition of Horizons and, as ever, we hope it gives you a useful snapshot of where the sustainability market is heading next.