Green bonds

Green Bonds are an investment vehicle that integrates the fiduciary element of Fixed Income products with climate awareness, giving mainstream investors access to environmental-related investment opportunities.

For issuers, it is a financial product that can be used to finance or refinance projects and activities that generate positive environmental outcomes. Some examples of positive environmental outcomes generated through green bonds include increased energy efficiency, reduced pollution, and sustainable management of living natural resources.

Since being the sole advisor for the first ever Green Bond issued by the World Bank, SEB helped to issue the first ever green bond by a municipality with Göteborgs Stad (2013), the world's first green corporate bond with Vasakronan (2013), and the first ever green bond issued by a government agency with Export-Import Bank of Korea (2014).

Today, the Green Bond market is worth more than USD 3.2trn and the sustainable finance market has expanded to include new products such as Social Bonds, Sustainability Bonds, Sustainability-Linked Bonds, Green loans, and Sustainability-linked loans.

Through its participation in both defining and launching ICMA's Green Bond Principles (2014), as well as being an executive Board member of the Green Bond Principles, Social Bond Principles, Sustainability Bond Guidelines and Sustainability-Linked Bond Principles, SEB has remained a core stakeholder in establishing the common ground for labelled bonds.

ICMA - The Green Bond Principles (pdf)