In 2017, Investa Commercial Property Fund (ICPF) was the first Australian property fund to issue a Climate Bonds Initiative (CBI) certified green bond. Since then, ICPF has continued its issuance of green debt, aligning its portfolio to CBI global certification criteria, which requires buildings to perform in the top 15% for carbon intensity in their cities. ICPF has now issued over $1.4 billion in green debt, representing 86% of its total funding.
ICPF’s stablemate, Investa Gateway Offices (IGO), has a $1.2 billion debt book that is entirely CBI certified.
Investa development assets are aligned with the Green Bond Principles. For example, green debt funding is in place for the Parkline Place commercial office development ($700 million) and the Indi Sydney City build-to-rent (BTR) development ($130 million).
As leaders in sustainable investment, Investa is targeting 100% green finance across its core managed funds by 2025, tying its buildings’ operational performance to low-carbon outcomes. This target reflects the strong environmental performance of Investa-managed assets and aligns with Investa’s Science Based Targets initiative (SBTi) net-zero Scope 1 and 2 emissions targets by 2025.
Describe why you decided to undertake this approach.
Investa first embarked on attracting green debt when there weren’t many eligible facilities that could meet the Green Bond Principles criteria. This requires the bond to: “…support issuers in financing environmentally sound and sustainable projects that foster a net-zero emissions economy and protect the environment.”
Investa’s decision to integrate the issuance of green debt across funds and developments recognised our high-performing green building portfolio and was initially undertaken as we mapped our net-zero pathway and SBTi carbon reduction targets. Alignment with the Climate Bonds Standard gave Investa third-party certification to demonstrate our green credentials and a strong framework against which to operate and develop our targets.
