Sustainable Bonds

Sustainable bonds 

We believe that good business and good trade can contribute to a better Canada and a better world – but it will take more than good intentions or “business as usual” to drive progress on many of the deep-rooted social and environmental challenges we face as a society.  

EDC has been issuing green bonds since 2014 and was the first Canadian financial institution to do so. These bonds support climate-related transactions, and at the peak, EDC had outstanding bonds that prevented millions of tonnes of CO2 emissions as detailed in the impact reports below.

Green bonds to sustainable bonds

Now, we are evolving our Green Bond Framework to reflect the broader nature of responsible, sustainable business and our own business model and future aspirations. 

Our new Sustainable Bond Framework adds capability to issue social, sustainable and transition bonds, in addition to green bonds.

Our Sustainable Bond Framework includes:

• Green bonds to support initiatives related to renewable energy, energy efficiency, pollution and waste management, natural resources, clean transport and green buildings, among others.
• Social bonds to support affordable infrastructure, access to health and nutrition, and businesses owned and/or led by equity seeking groups such as women, Indigenous, BIPOC and LGBTQ2S+ people. 
• Sustainable bonds that will finance green and social projects.
• Transition bonds that have the potential to significantly contribute to addressing climate change by providing loans related to activities that significantly reduce greenhouse gas emissions.

This is the first Sustainable Bond Framework in North America to include and define transition bonds, which are targeted specifically at facilitating the transition from a carbon intensive to a low carbon economy. Transition financing is a key pillar of EDC’s commitment to achieve net zero by 2050, helping Canadian businesses access the financing they need to innovate, achieve long-term business growth, and become more competitive on the global stage. 

In line with best practices, EDC worked closely with advisory partners BMO Capital Markets and RBC Capital Markets to develop the Framework, and obtained a second party opinion from Sustainalytics.

^{Legal Disclaimer: Contents are provided for general informational purposes only and do not constitute an offering of securities in the United States or elsewhere. Our securities may not be offered for sale in the United States absent registration or an exemption from registration. Any public offering of our securities in the United States will be made by means of a prospectus that may be obtained from us and that will contain detailed information about us and our management as well as our financial statements.}