Milestone achieved after € 65 million green deal cements EBRD's commitment to a sustainable future
The European Bank for Reconstruction and Development (EBRD) has recently announced a new milestone in its green bond investments surpassing €1 billion.
The achievement resulted from a €65 million green covered bond from PKO Bank Hipoteczny (PKO BH), certified by Climate Bonds Standards in June 2022 against the Climate Bonds’ Low Carbon Building Criteria. Proceeds of this particular bond will refinance mortgages relating to buildings in Poland.
Sustainalytics, a leading provider of ESG and corporate governance research and ratings to investors, conducted the verification process for PKO's green bond.
EBRD is present in 38 countries and operates in different sectors including financial services, agri-business; infrastructure; manufacturing and services; transport; property and tourism; telecommunications; media and technology; amongst others. It invested a total of €524 million in 17 green bonds in 2021 alone – representing more than half of its total investment in green bonds to date. The Bank’s approach to green investment is guided by its latest Green Economy Transition approach launched in 2020. As part of this approach it aims to become a majority green bank by ensuring that more than 50% of its annual investments are green by 2025. The EBRD also intends to ensure that all its activities align with the objectives of the Paris Agreement by the end of 2022.
Sean Kidney, CEO, Climate Bonds Initiative
"Reaching the Euro 1 billion mark in green bond investment is a fantastic achievement for EBRD! It also paves the way for other development banks to follow and continue growing their investments in the sustainable finance market. We need many more cases such as this one by the EBRD if we are going to reach our goal of mobilising USD 5 trillion by 2025."
Green Finance Market in Poland
Climate Bonds Interactive Data Platform indicates a total of 6.5bn in Green Bonds in Poland as of end 2021.
The PKO Bank Hipoteczny (PKO BH) issuance was the first to receive Climate Bonds Standard's Certification in Poland. PKO Bank is also the third green bond issuer in the country following on the heels of a green Sovereign issuance and green bond issued by another Polish bank.
We are looking forward to seeing more green and sustainable deals in the region.
‘Til next time,
Climate Bonds
