Royal Bank of Canada (RBC) announced today its inaugural EUR500 million 5-year Green Bond offering. The money raised will fund a portfolio of new and existing assets primarily in the categories of renewable energy and green buildings. Other eligible categories for the allocation of Green Bond proceeds include: clean transportation, sustainable water and wastewater management, environmentally sustainable management of living natural resources and land use, energy efficiency, and pollution prevention and control.
RBC’s Green Bond Framework is in line with the ICMA Green Bond Principles and has been reviewed by Sustainalytics, a leading independent global provider of environmental, social and governance research and ratings and an expert in the green bond market.
While RBC is a leading underwriter of Green Bonds with best-in-class execution capabilities across multiple currencies and geographies – this will be the first issuance of a Green Bond by RBC. According to David Power , Vice-President, Corporate Treasury, RBC, “The issuance of Green Bonds will further diversify our funding sources and satisfy the needs of investors that have green mandates.”
RBC has a history of environmental leadership, dating back to 1991 when we launched our first corporate environmental policy. In 2017, we published our Climate Change Position & Disclosure Statement outlining the steps we are taking to manage climate risks and opportunities, as well as our ongoing commitment to climate-related disclosures. Our enterprise wide approach to climate change focuses on accelerating clean economic growth and supporting our clients in the low-carbon transition with our products, services and advice.
“RBC is a purpose-driven organization, and how we act is just as important as what we achieve,” said Valerie Chort , Vice-President, Corporate Citizenship, RBC. “Our participation in the green bond market helps RBC deliver on our coordinated, enterprise-wide approach to accelerate clean economic growth and transition to environmental sustainability. We are proud to be delivering environmentally and socially responsible options to our clients.”
“We are proud to finance environmentally responsible businesses and projects that promote the transition to a more efficient and sustainable lower-carbon economy,” said Patti Shugart, Managing Director and Global Head, Corporate Banking and Global Credit, RBC Capital Markets.
About Green Bonds
Since their introduction in 2007, Green Bonds have become mainstream in the financial community with the annual issuance of Green Bonds reaching $167 billion in 2018, according to the Climate Bonds Initiative.
About RBC
Royal Bank of Canada is a global financial institution with a purpose-driven, principles-led approach to delivering leading performance. Our success comes from the 84,000+ employees who bring our vision, values and strategy to life so we can help our clients thrive and communities prosper. As Canada’s biggest bank, and one of the largest in the world based on market capitalization, we have a diversified business model with a focus on innovation and providing exceptional experiences to our 16 million clients in Canada, the U.S. and 33 other countries. Learn more at rbc.com.
We are proud to support a broad range of community initiatives through donations, community investments and employee volunteer activities. See how at rbc.com/community-sustainability.
Source: Yahoo Finance