TransLink looks at green bonds to raise capital project funding

Metro Vancouver’s transit authority is exploring the possibility of issuing green bonds, which would allow investors to put their money into environmentally friendly projects, such as rapid transit and electricbuses.

TransLink chief financial officer Rob Malli is in New York this week at the Canadian Fixed Income Conference, where he will participate in a panel on green bonds today.

Malli said the experience will allow him to speak with investors about TransLink and its environmental commitments, and learn from other bond-issuers.

“We are preparing and doing all of our homework, and education, and awareness as we get ready to issue green bonds, so that we’re doing it in the most productive and informed way,” Malli said.

TransLink hopes to issue a green bond by the end of this year. Malli said green bonds are very similar to a conventional bond, which TransLink has issued for financing capital projects since 2010, but they ’re certified so they can be included in green investment portfolios.

“The difference is that with green bonds, we specify the projects, specifically, that are going to be funded through this and they exclusively apply to projects and activities with environmental benefits,” Malli said. “So basically, the investor has the additional transparency, and knowledge and confidence as to where specifically the funds are going.”

TransLink would be the first transit authority in Canada to issue a green bond. This comes on the heels of the City of Vancouver’s first green bond, which was issued last month and offered $85 million to fund “environmentally sustainable initiatives and projects.”