Exploring the determinants of green bond issuance: Going beyond the long‐lasting debate on performance consequences

Abstract

Abstract In recent years, the need to create new financial tools to mobilize private capital and generate suitable resources to face both social and environmental challenges led to the development of new tools and ideas. In this context, green bonds have emerged as a new financial tool to better respond to sustainability themes. This study is the first attempt to explore in depth the determinants of green bond performance. We focused on three perspectives: the specific characteristics of projects financed through a green bond, the broader firm‐specific corporate sustainability‐oriented strategy of the firm, and a country‐level perspective analyzing the country‐specific determinants of green bond performance. To test the hypotheses a sample of 306 corporate green bonds issued by 85 companies and referring to 1,788 green projects between 2013 and 2016, were retrieved from the Bloomberg database. The results provide interesting theoretical and practical implications for green bond issuers as well as investors and governments interested in green bonds.