In a press release distributed on March 9, 2017 the World Bank announced it has issued bonds linked to the United Nations Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs).
The bonds were arranged by BNP Paribas – through its “SDGs Everyone” initiative – and sold to institutional investors in France and Italy. The proceeds of Euro 136 million will be used to finance World Bank projects that support its goals “of eliminating extreme poverty and boosting shared prosperity” and are aligned with the SDGs.
According to the press release, “(t)he return on investment in the bonds is directly linked to the stock performance of companies included in the Solactive Sustainable Development Goals World Index. The index includes 50 companies that, based on methodology developed by Vigeo Eiris’ Equitics, dedicate at least one fifth of their activities to sustainable products, or are recognized leaders in their industries on socially and environmentally sustainable issues. Solactive applies volatility and diversification filters to reach the final index composition.”
You may read the press release on the World Bank internet site.