Robeco has launched an active global green bond fund, which it says takes into account the EU’s Green Bond Standard.
The RobecoSam Global Green Bonds fund aims to create positive environmental impact, and applies a proprietary green bond framework to select eligible bonds.
This includes an assessment at both project and issuer level and engagement.
The allocation of the investment proceeds is in line with the EU taxonomy and its environmental objectives, the firm said.
“This includes an analysis of the impact of the proceeds, to see if they contribute to one of the environmental objectives as defined by the EU.
“Impact reporting as well as the issuer’s environmental strategy and conduct are also examined as part of the [selection] process,” a Robeco spokesperson explained to Expert Investor.
The EU Green Bond Standard has not hit the market yet, but could come as early as 2021.
Going green
The fund is a sub-fund of the Robeco Capital Growth Funds strategy and invests in global green bonds with a minimal rating of BBB- issued by governments, government-related agencies and corporates.
The framework also takes into account the Icma Green Bond Principles and the Climate Bonds Standard.
Issuers are required to respect international norms, such as international labour rights, human rights and the UN Global Compact Principles, the spokesperson added.
“Across Robeco’s existing funds, green bonds total approximately €1.7bn of assets under management,” the spokesperson said.
The fund’s benchmark is the Bloomberg Barclays MSCI Global Green Bond Index.
