This week, the Commonwealth of Massachusetts is issuing $100 million of “green” bonds as part of a $1.15 billion bond sale. Massachusetts’ reputation as a national leader on energy and the environment and its status in the innovation economy might lead people to see this as a bleeding-edge, high-risk aspirational statement rather than a straight-forward investment opportunity.<\/p>\n
That view would be wrong, and completely miss the point. The issuance actually demonstrates that environmentally-friendly projects are a fundamental part of the core work done by government in building and maintaining its infrastructure and economy<\/strong>. Consider the range of projects that these bonds will support, as described in the offering:<\/p>\n Some of these projects do have aspirational elements – for example, the Accelerated Energy Project has a goal of greening 700 sites in 700 days in a portfolio of 4,000 state buildings. But those energy efficiency projects – and all the projects – are practical, achievable and use proven technologies and techniques. The message is that a sustainable investment can be a very mainstream investment<\/strong>.<\/p>\n The additional positive message of this offering is that there is a demand for sustainable investment opportunities<\/strong>. It was not created to meet a mandate; it was created because of perceived opportunity.<\/p>\n In putting together this package, Colin MacNaught, the Assistant Treasurer for Debt for the Commonwealth of Massachusetts, realized that he had a critical mass of projects that would appeal to investors with a mandate or an interest in supporting environmentally-friendly projects. Creating green bonds differentiates them from other offerings to attract new and additional investors.<\/p>\n Trading in these green bonds began June 5th, with an issuance date of June 11th.\u00a0 The bonds have a 20-year<\/strong> maturity.<\/p>\n <\/p>\n Reference:<\/span><\/p>\n\n
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\n \nPrincipal<\/td>\n CUSIP<\/td>\n Maturity<\/td>\n Coupon<\/td>\n InitialPrice<\/td>\n InitialYield<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<\/thead>\n \n $20,000,000<\/td>\n 57582PN48<\/td>\n 8\/1\/2033<\/td>\n 3.75%<\/td>\n 98.604<\/td>\n 3.85%<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n \n $15,000,000<\/td>\n 57582PN55<\/td>\n 8\/1\/2033<\/td>\n 4.00%<\/td>\n 102.3<\/td>\n 3.67%<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n \n $65,000,000<\/td>\n 57582PN63<\/td>\n 8\/1\/2033<\/td>\n 5.00%<\/td>\n 112.804<\/td>\n 3.2%<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<\/tbody>\n<\/table>\n