Investa announces second Climate Bonds Certified Green Property Bond
Cements best practice position in green commercial property
LONDON: 13/04/2017 10:30 GMT: Investa Commercial Property Fund (ICPF), managed by Investa Office Management (Investa) announced today a further Green Bond issuance certified by Climate Bonds Initiative.
The bonds are rated 'A-' by Standard & Poor’s (S&P); the proceeds will be used to retire existing debt facilities and will be fully allocated against a portfolio of low carbon buildings in ICPF's portfolio.
In late March this year, listed Australian REIT, Investa Office Fund, also managed by Investa closed its first AUS $150 million Climate Bonds Certified Green Bond issuance, the first green bond issued in the $A MTN market for an Australian REIT.
Issuance of both certified green bonds are consistent with the November 2016 commitment by Investa of a Net Zero Carbon Emissions target by 2040.
Jason Leong, ICPF Fund Manager:
"We’re very pleased with the strong level of interest received in the Fund’s first Green Bond issuance, which clearly demonstrates the underlying quality of the ICPF portfolio and confidence in Investa’s ongoing ability to deliver strong performance.”
“Diversifying our sources of debt with Green Bonds demonstrates our support for the growth of the green finance market, re-enforces our leadership position in corporate sustainability and reflects our long-term commitment to transitioning to a low carbon economy.”
Sean Kidney, CEO Climate Bonds Initiative:
“Investa is meeting the highest of international standards for green property bonds with this certified bond. They are demonstrating to the Australian commercial property market where the best practice bar now sits.”
“There is enormous potential in major Australian cities for investment in new green building stock and retrofits targeted at zero emissions objectives. Investa and other domestic issuers using the Low Carbon Building Criteria are helping generate the momentum needed to achieve this goal across the commercial and industrial property sectors.”
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For more information, please contact:
Andrew Whiley,
Head of Communications & Media,
Climate Bonds Initiative (London)
+44 (0) 7914 159 838
Notes for Journalists:
About Climate Bonds Initiative: The Climate Bonds Initiative is an investor-focused not-for-profit, promoting large-scale investment in the low-carbon and climate- resilient economy. For more information, please visit www.climatebonds.net.
About the Climate Bonds Standard: The Climate Bonds Standard is a general screening tool with sector-specific categories that assists investors and governments to easily prioritise climate and green bonds with confidence that the funds are being used to deliver climate change solutions. Certified bonds must meet the requirements of the Climate Bonds Standard with assets and projects funded in line with the relevant eligibility criteria.
About the Low Carbon Buildings Criteria: The Low Carbon Buildings Criteria (LCB) is a sector specific investor-screening tool that applies emissions performance criteria to assess whether bonds issued to fund commercial buildings, residential buildings, and upgrade/retrofits deliver a robust level of environmental performance to qualify for Climate Bonds Certification.
To qualify for Climate Bonds Certification, an individual property bond will have to satisfy emissions performance targets that depend on the issuance date and term of the bond. Certification using the emissions performance trajectories and baselines complements the certification pathway available to issuers through significant upgrades and retrofits.
Australian commercial property baselines: Baselines are available for major Australian cities where there are mandatory building performance disclosure schemes, including Adelaide, Brisbane, Canberra, Melbourne, Perth, and Sydney. More information is here.
Baselines are also available in the US, including Boston, Chicago, Minneapolis, New York City, Philadelphia, San Francisco and Washington D.C.
About Investa Office Management: Investa is a leading Australian real estate company managing more than A$10 billion of quality office real estate. As a specialist office manager of commercial office buildings Investa manages more than 40 assets in the key Australian CBD markets on behalf of ICPF, ASX-listed Investa Office Fund (IOF) and private mandates. Its end-to-end real estate platform incorporates funds, asset, property and facilities management, development, sustainability, capital transactions and research.
Investa strives to be the first choice in Australian office, by delivering consistent outperformance to its investors and exceeding the expectations of its tenants and staff, while remaining an industry leader in sustainable building management and responsible property investment.
More information is here.
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