IDEAS home Printed from https://ideas.repec.org/a/eee/bracre/v55y2023i1s0890838921000974.html
   My bibliography  Save this article

Explaining green bond issuance using survey evidence: Beyond the greenium

Author

Listed:
  • Sangiorgi, Ivan
  • Schopohl, Lisa

Abstract

The paper examines the drivers and challenges of issuing green bonds from the perspective of green bond issuers. Using survey evidence of global issuers representing 29% of total green bond issuances, the research shows that reputational benefits, the market signalling power of green bonds and a desire to curb climate change are the main motives for green bond issuance. In contrast, insufficient market evolvement, and a lack of awareness and suitable green projects represent the biggest barriers for entry to the green bond market. Most respondents consider green bond issuance costs to be higher than those of comparable plain vanilla bonds, but acceptable due to the benefits they derive from green bond issuances. Among these benefits, respondents report higher levels of demand for green bonds, higher levels of investor engagement, diversification of their investor base and a strengthened internal commitment to sustainability. Issuers' experiences vary regarding the pricing of green bonds – with 48% of respondents stating that their green bond funding costs are the same as for their plain vanilla bonds and 42% reporting lower green bond funding costs. Most issuers favour a standardisation of the definition of ‘green’ for determining which projects can be funded via green bonds.

Suggested Citation

  • Sangiorgi, Ivan & Schopohl, Lisa, 2023. "Explaining green bond issuance using survey evidence: Beyond the greenium," The British Accounting Review, Elsevier, vol. 55(1).
    • Handle: RePEc:eee:bracre:v:55:y:2023:i:1:s0890838921000974
    DOI: 10.1016/j.bar.2021.101071
    as

    Download full text from publisher

    File URL: http://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0890838921000974
    Download Restriction: Full text for ScienceDirect subscribers only
    File URL: https://libkey.io/10.1016/j.bar.2021.101071?utm_source=ideas
    LibKey link: if access is restricted and if your library uses this service, LibKey will redirect you to where you can use your library subscription to access this item
    ---><---

    As the access to this document is restricted, you may want to search for a different version of it.

    References listed on IDEAS

    as
    1. Ryan Baxter & Jean C. Bedard & Rani Hoitash & Ari Yezegel, 2013. "Enterprise Risk Management Program Quality: Determinants, Value Relevance, and the Financial Crisis," Contemporary Accounting Research, John Wiley & Sons, vol. 30(4), pages 1264-1295, December.
    2. Febi, Wulandari & Schäfer, Dorothea & Stephan, Andreas & Sun, Chen, 2018. "The impact of liquidity risk on the yield spread of green bonds," Finance Research Letters, Elsevier, vol. 27(C), pages 53-59.
    3. Malcolm Baker & Daniel Bergstresser & George Serafeim & Jeffrey Wurgler, 2018. "Financing the Response to Climate Change: The Pricing and Ownership of U.S. Green Bonds," NBER Working Papers 25194, National Bureau of Economic Research, Inc.
    4. Sangiorgi, Ivan & Schopohl, Lisa, 2021. "Why do institutional investors buy green bonds: Evidence from a survey of European asset managers," International Review of Financial Analysis, Elsevier, vol. 75(C).
    5. Zerbib, Olivier David, 2019. "The effect of pro-environmental preferences on bond prices: Evidence from green bonds," Journal of Banking & Finance, Elsevier, vol. 98(C), pages 39-60.
    6. Dirk Brounen & Abe de Jong & Kees Koedijk, 2004. "Corporate Finance in Europe: Confronting Theory with Practice," Financial Management, Financial Management Association, vol. 33(4), Winter.
    7. Fatica, Serena & Panzica, Roberto & Rancan, Michela, 2021. "The pricing of green bonds: Are financial institutions special?," Journal of Financial Stability, Elsevier, vol. 54(C).
    8. Tang, Dragon Yongjun & Zhang, Yupu, 2020. "Do shareholders benefit from green bonds?," Journal of Corporate Finance, Elsevier, vol. 61(C).
    9. Flammer, Caroline, 2021. "Corporate green bonds," Journal of Financial Economics, Elsevier, vol. 142(2), pages 499-516.
    10. Dichev, Ilia D. & Graham, John R. & Harvey, Campbell R. & Rajgopal, Shiva, 2013. "Earnings quality: Evidence from the field," Journal of Accounting and Economics, Elsevier, vol. 56(2), pages 1-33.
    11. Jenna J. Burke & Rani Hoitash & Udi Hoitash, 2019. "The Heterogeneity of Board-Level Sustainability Committees and Corporate Social Performance," Journal of Business Ethics, Springer, vol. 154(4), pages 1161-1186, February.
    12. JOSEPH A. McCAHERY & ZACHARIAS SAUTNER & LAURA T. STARKS, 2016. "Behind the Scenes: The Corporate Governance Preferences of Institutional Investors," Journal of Finance, American Finance Association, vol. 71(6), pages 2905-2932, December.
    13. Larcker, David F. & Watts, Edward M., 2020. "Where's the greenium?," Journal of Accounting and Economics, Elsevier, vol. 69(2).
    14. Maria Jua Bachelet & Leonardo Becchetti & Stefano Manfredonia, 2019. "The Green Bonds Premium Puzzle: The Role of Issuer Characteristics and Third-Party Verification," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 11(4), pages 1-22, February.
    15. Franck Bancel & Usha R. Mittoo, 2004. "Cross-Country Determinants of Capital Structure Choice: A Survey of European Firms," Financial Management, Financial Management Association, vol. 33(4), Winter.
    16. Graham, John R. & Harvey, Campbell R., 2001. "The theory and practice of corporate finance: evidence from the field," Journal of Financial Economics, Elsevier, vol. 60(2-3), pages 187-243, May.
    17. Klein, April, 1998. "Firm Performance and Board Committee Structure," Journal of Law and Economics, University of Chicago Press, vol. 41(1), pages 275-303, April.
    18. Akrum Helfaya & Tantawy Moussa, 2017. "Do Board's Corporate Social Responsibility Strategy and Orientation Influence Environmental Sustainability Disclosure? UK Evidence," Business Strategy and the Environment, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 26(8), pages 1061-1077, December.
    19. Geczy, Christopher & Jeffers, Jessica S. & Musto, David K. & Tucker, Anne M., 2021. "Contracts with (Social) benefits: The implementation of impact investing," Journal of Financial Economics, Elsevier, vol. 142(2), pages 697-718.
    20. Philipp Krueger & Zacharias Sautner & Laura T Starks, 2020. "The Importance of Climate Risks for Institutional Investors," Review of Financial Studies, Society for Financial Studies, vol. 33(3), pages 1067-1111.
    21. Gompers, Paul & Kaplan, Steven N. & Mukharlyamov, Vladimir, 2016. "What do private equity firms say they do?," Journal of Financial Economics, Elsevier, vol. 121(3), pages 449-476.
    22. Pauline Deschryver & Frederic de Mariz, 2020. "What Future for the Green Bond Market? How Can Policymakers, Companies, and Investors Unlock the Potential of the Green Bond Market?," JRFM, MDPI, vol. 13(3), pages 1-26, March.
    23. Bui, Binh & Houqe, Muhammad Nurul & Zaman, Mahbub, 2020. "Climate governance effects on carbon disclosure and performance," The British Accounting Review, Elsevier, vol. 52(2).
    24. Brounen, D. & de Jong, A. & Koedijk, C.G., 2004. "Corporate Finance In Europe Confronting Theory With Practice," ERIM Report Series Research in Management ERS-2004-002-F&A, Erasmus Research Institute of Management (ERIM), ERIM is the joint research institute of the Rotterdam School of Management, Erasmus University and the Erasmus School of Economics (ESE) at Erasmus University Rotterdam.
    25. Brown, Stephen & Dutordoir, Marie & Veld, Chris & Veld-Merkoulova, Yulia, 2019. "What is the role of institutional investors in corporate capital structure decisions? A survey analysis," Journal of Corporate Finance, Elsevier, vol. 58(C), pages 270-286.
    26. Flaherty, Michael & Gevorkyan, Arkady & Radpour, Siavash & Semmler, Willi, 2017. "Financing climate policies through climate bonds – A three stage model and empirics," Research in International Business and Finance, Elsevier, vol. 42(C), pages 468-479.
    27. Liao, Lin & Luo, Le & Tang, Qingliang, 2015. "Gender diversity, board independence, environmental committee and greenhouse gas disclosure," The British Accounting Review, Elsevier, vol. 47(4), pages 409-424.
    28. Monasterolo, Irene & Raberto, Marco, 2018. "The EIRIN Flow-of-funds Behavioural Model of Green Fiscal Policies and Green Sovereign Bonds," Ecological Economics, Elsevier, vol. 144(C), pages 228-243.
    29. Hummel, Katrin & Laun, Ute & Krauss, Annette, 2021. "Management of environmental and social risks and topics in the banking sector - An empirical investigation," The British Accounting Review, Elsevier, vol. 53(1).
    30. Patrick Velte & Martin Stawinoga, 2020. "Do chief sustainability officers and CSR committees influence CSR-related outcomes? A structured literature review based on empirical-quantitative research findings," Journal of Management Control: Zeitschrift für Planung und Unternehmenssteuerung, Springer, vol. 31(4), pages 333-377, December.
    31. Olivier David Zerbib, 2019. "The effect of pro-environmental preferences on bond prices: Evidence from green bonds," Post-Print halshs-02008641, HAL.
    Full references (including those not matched with items on IDEAS)

    Citations

    Citations are extracted by the CitEc Project, subscribe to its RSS feed for this item.
    as


    Cited by:

    1. Muhammad Alamgir & Ming-Chang Cheng, 2023. "Do Green Bonds Play a Role in Achieving Sustainability?," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 15(13), pages 1-27, June.

    Most related items

    These are the items that most often cite the same works as this one and are cited by the same works as this one.
    1. Sangiorgi, Ivan & Schopohl, Lisa, 2021. "Why do institutional investors buy green bonds: Evidence from a survey of European asset managers," International Review of Financial Analysis, Elsevier, vol. 75(C).
    2. Zenno, Yoshihiro & Aruga, Kentaka, 2023. "Investing the factors affecting green bond investments in China: Cases for Beijing and Shenzhen," MPRA Paper 116203, University Library of Munich, Germany.
    3. Li, Quan & Zhang, Kai & Wang, Li, 2022. "Where's the green bond premium? Evidence from China," Finance Research Letters, Elsevier, vol. 48(C).
    4. Akhtaruzzaman, Md & Banerjee, Ameet Kumar & Ghardallou, Wafa & Umar, Zaghum, 2022. "Is greenness an optimal hedge for sectoral stock indices?," Economic Modelling, Elsevier, vol. 117(C).
    5. Martijn Boermans, 2023. "Preferred habitat investors in the green bond market," Working Papers 773, DNB.
    6. Lin, Boqiang & Su, Tong, 2022. "Green bond vs conventional bond: Outline the rationale behind issuance choices in China," International Review of Financial Analysis, Elsevier, vol. 81(C).
    7. Huang, Chih-Yueh & Dekker, David & Christopoulos, Dimitrios, 2023. "Rethinking greenium: A quadratic function of yield spread," Finance Research Letters, Elsevier, vol. 54(C).
    8. Vilija Aleknevičien&# & Asta Bendoraityt&#, 2023. "Role of Green Finance in Greening the Economy: Conceptual Approach," Central European Business Review, Prague University of Economics and Business, vol. 2023(2), pages 105-130.
    9. Hinsche, Isabelle Cathérine, 2021. "A greenium for the next generation EU green bonds: Analysis of a potential green bond premium and its drivers," CFS Working Paper Series 663, Center for Financial Studies (CFS).
    10. Pham, Linh & Cepni, Oguzhan, 2022. "Extreme directional spillovers between investor attention and green bond markets," International Review of Economics & Finance, Elsevier, vol. 80(C), pages 186-210.
    11. Liu, Min, 2022. "The driving forces of green bond market volatility and the response of the market to the COVID-19 pandemic," Economic Analysis and Policy, Elsevier, vol. 75(C), pages 288-309.
    12. Koziol, Christian & Proelss, Juliane & Roßmann, Philipp & Schweizer, Denis, 2022. "The price of being green," Finance Research Letters, Elsevier, vol. 50(C).
    13. Reboredo, Juan C. & Ugolini, Andrea & Aiube, Fernando Antonio Lucena, 2020. "Network connectedness of green bonds and asset classes," Energy Economics, Elsevier, vol. 86(C).
    14. Aleksandar Petreski & Dorothea Schäfer & Andreas Stephan, 2022. "Green Bonds’ Reputation Effect and Its Impact on the Financing Costs of the Real Estate Sector," Discussion Papers of DIW Berlin 2019, DIW Berlin, German Institute for Economic Research.
    15. Lebelle, Martin & Lajili Jarjir, Souad & Sassi, Syrine, 2022. "The effect of issuance documentation disclosure and readability on liquidity: Evidence from green bonds," Global Finance Journal, Elsevier, vol. 51(C).
    16. Karel Janda & Binyi Zhang, 2021. "Attractiveness of Chinese Bonds Financing Climate and Environmental Projects," FFA Working Papers 4.007, Prague University of Economics and Business, revised 26 Apr 2022.
    17. Baldi, Francesco & Pandimiglio, Alessandro, 2022. "The role of ESG scoring and greenwashing risk in explaining the yields of green bonds: A conceptual framework and an econometric analysis," Global Finance Journal, Elsevier, vol. 52(C).
    18. Shashank Bansal & Satya Prakash Mani & Himanshu Gupta & Shipra Maurya, 2023. "Sustainable development of the green bond markets in India: Challenges and strategies," Sustainable Development, John Wiley & Sons, Ltd., vol. 31(1), pages 237-252, February.
    19. Román Ferrer & Rafael Benítez & Vicente J. Bolós, 2021. "Interdependence between Green Financial Instruments and Major Conventional Assets: A Wavelet-Based Network Analysis," Mathematics, MDPI, vol. 9(8), pages 1-20, April.
    20. Reboredo, Juan C. & Ugolini, Andrea & Ojea-Ferreiro, Javier, 2022. "Do green bonds de-risk investment in low-carbon stocks?," Economic Modelling, Elsevier, vol. 108(C).

    Corrections

    All material on this site has been provided by the respective publishers and authors. You can help correct errors and omissions. When requesting a correction, please mention this item's handle: RePEc:eee:bracre:v:55:y:2023:i:1:s0890838921000974. See general information about how to correct material in RePEc.

    If you have authored this item and are not yet registered with RePEc, we encourage you to do it here. This allows to link your profile to this item. It also allows you to accept potential citations to this item that we are uncertain about.

    If CitEc recognized a bibliographic reference but did not link an item in RePEc to it, you can help with this form .

    If you know of missing items citing this one, you can help us creating those links by adding the relevant references in the same way as above, for each refering item. If you are a registered author of this item, you may also want to check the "citations" tab in your RePEc Author Service profile, as there may be some citations waiting for confirmation.

    For technical questions regarding this item, or to correct its authors, title, abstract, bibliographic or download information, contact: Catherine Liu (email available below). General contact details of provider: https://www.journals.elsevier.com/the-british-accounting-review .

    Please note that corrections may take a couple of weeks to filter through the various RePEc services.

    IDEAS is a RePEc service. RePEc uses bibliographic data supplied by the respective publishers.