Vasakronan issues the world’s first green corporate bond

Thanks to ambitious sustainability efforts, Vasakronan is today ready to issue the world’s first green corporate bond.

Thanks to ambitious sustainability efforts, Vasakronan is today ready to issue the world’s first green corporate bond.

The capital market is being offered the opportunity to invest, via corporate bonds, in projects aimed at achieving both lower energy use and lower climate impact. The framework used in the selection of these green projects comes from Cicero, the Norwegian Center for International Climate and Environmental Research.  The bond, which amounts to SEK 1,3 billion, has been issued by SEB, which has developed the concept in cooperation with the World Bank. The bond also has the same terms and conditions as other bonds issued by Vasakronan.

The reason for issuing green bonds is to further diversify Vasakronan’s borrowings, which, over time, will result in lower borrowing costs.

”We’ve noticed an increased demand for green investments from the capital market and we want to respond to that. Vasakronan’s current energy use is already nearly 50 % lower than the industry average and since 2008, the company has had climate neutral operations. In addition to that, we are pursuing the very ambitious goal of obtaining environmental certification for our entire property portfolio,” says Christer Nerlich, CFO Vasakronan.

At present, Vasakronan invests SEK 4.8 billion in new construction and renovation projects, all of them with high environmental certification requirements. It is primarily investments in these projects that the green bonds will help finance. Christer Nerlich continues:

”We have already obtained business benefits from our sustainability efforts in the rental and transaction market and we’re pleased that this can now positively affect our financing options.”

For further information, please contact:

Fredrik Wirdenius
CEO Vasakronan
Ph no: +46 (0)70-553 80 62
E-mail: fredrik.wirdenius@vasakronan.se

Christer Nerlich
CFO Vasakronan
Ph no: +46 (0)70-968 15 40
E-mail: christer.nerlich@vasakronan.se