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ARTICLE · 15 JULY 2021

Bonds With A Social, Environmental, Or Governance Focus

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Investing with a focus on a particular social, environmental, or governance ("ESG") impact is all the rage right now. Investing with an ESG focus can be made through investing in equities or bonds.

United StatesEnvironment
Blake Sharpton
Blake Sharpton
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Investing with a focus on a particular social, environmental, or governance ("ESG") impact is all the rage right now. Investing with an ESG focus can be made through investing in equities or bonds. This article will focus on the latter.

Whether you're an investor considering an ESG investment or a corporate CEO or a municipal entity manager considering a bond issue, what follows are a few basics to get you started.

For starters, bonds issued for social or environmental reasons come with a variety of labels and acronyms. Here are the most common:

  • Green bonds are bonds that focus on the "E" in ESG and are issued for a specific "green" project purpose. Green bond purposes include renewable energy production, energy efficiency, clean transportation, and waste management activities like recycling.

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