Historically, the Bank’s generic debt products have attracted a wide range of socially responsible investors (SRI). This is driven by EIB’s strong environmental, social and governance (ESG) credentials, while investors have also appreciated EIB’s financial strength and top-quality credit standing.
Building on its financial merits, the EIB borrows at attractive rates, allowing for project promoters to benefit from favourable borrowing conditions.
The EIB and Green and Sustainable Bonds
The Bank plays a leading role in the Green Bond market. The EIB issued the world’s first Green Bond in 2007, called Climate Awareness Bonds (CABs). In 2018 the EIB issued Sustainability Awareness Bonds (SABs), focussing on EU environmental and social objectives beyond climate. Since then, the Bank has expanded CAB issuance across a number of currencies, providing benchmark size transactions in the core currencies EUR, USD and GBP.
Aside from bond issuances, the Bank contributes actively to the market’s development by:
- publishing comprehensive best-in-market reporting on its CAB and SAB issues
- having its Green Bond activities audited externally
- spurring coordination and dialogue within the Green Bond Principles to promote transparency and accountability.
- contributing to the TEG’s work with advice on the EU Taxonomy and the EU Green Bond standard
- advisory work for its clients relating to the EU Taxonomy
Read more about the EIB’s Climate Awareness Bonds and Sustainability Awareness Bonds
ESG ratings
Environmental, social and governance (ESG) ratings can be a powerful tool for linking financial with non-financial indicators, thus helping investors to better inform their investment decisions. The EIB regularly engages with ESG rating agencies on its sustainability performance, initiatives and objectives.
Leading non-financial rating agencies have reported EIB performance on environmental, social and governance issues to be among the best of its peer group.