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Kommuninvest publishes 2019 assurance report on its green bonds framework
Kommuninvest, the Swedish local government debt office, today published its fourth assurance report regarding its green bonds framework. The report, performed by Kommuninvest’s external auditor KPMG, provides assurance on the management of proceeds obtained from the issuance of green bonds.
Kommuninvest issued its inaugural green bond in March 2016, for USD 600 million, and has since issued six additional green bonds. With a total of SEK 28.9 billion (USD 3.1 billion) in issued bonds, of which SEK 23.9 billion (USD 2.5 billion) are outstanding, Kommuninvest is Sweden's largest issuer of green bonds.
Kommuninvestgreen bonds finance lending to Swedish municipal investment projects in renewable energy, energy efficiency, green buildings, public transport and water management. As of June 2019, Kommuninvest had committed SEK 52.3 billion (USD 5.5 billion) in Green Loans to 284 investment projects in 124 Swedish municipalities and regions.
Kommuninvest’s green bond framework is aligned with the Green Bond Principles (GBP), of which Kommuninvest is a member. The GBP recommends issuers to use an external review to confirm the alignment of their green bonds with the key features of the GBP, to provide investors and other interested parties with independent assurance.
Kommuninvest engages such external input in two ways. Firstly, the green bonds framework has a second party from Cicero, the Oslo-based climate and environmental research institute. Secondly, Kommuninvest engages its external auditor to provide assurance on the management of proceeds obtained from the issuance of green bonds.
Both the second opinion and the assurance report are attached to this release and are available for download at Kommuninvests website.