Title: The environmental performance of firms that have issued green bonds

Authors: Carol Marie Boyer; Catherine Boulatoff

Addresses: Department of Business Administration, Long Island University, Post Campus, New York, USA ' Department of Economics University Teaching Fellow, Dalhousie University, Canada

Abstract: This study investigates whether firms that issue green bonds show an improvement in their environmental performance after issuance. Investors looking to make investments in these companies may want to know if true environmental change actually occurs. This idea is tested using Carbon Disclosure Project data to measure advances or declines in environmental performance after a firm issues a green bond. Several areas are examined including emissions, energy intensity, renewable energy use and production, environmental policies, water use and waste sent to landfills. The results indicate that when a company issues a green bond, there is progress in overall environmental performance.

Keywords: green bonds; fixed income; environmental; Carbon Disclosure Project; CDP.

DOI: 10.1504/IER.2023.132556

Interdisciplinary Environmental Review, 2023 Vol.23 No.1, pp.52 - 63

Received: 21 Jun 2022
Accepted: 19 Oct 2022
Published online: 28 Jul 2023 *

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