The authors are both from the World Bank Treasury. The World Bank Treasury manages the funding programmes for the International Bank for Reconstruction and Development (IBRD) and for the International Development Association (IDA).
Heike Reichelt is Head of Investor Relations and New Products. Her team’s responsibilities include managing relationships with bond investors and rating agencies and developing new products for investors. Heike was recognized for her role in building sustainable capital markets as the 2017 recipient of the prestigious Joan Bavaria Award.
Colleen Keenan is a Senior Financial Officer. She is responsible for outreach on the World Bank’s bond issuance programmes for IBRD and IDA to the sustainable and impact investing community and works with market stakeholders to promote sustainable debt capital markets.
The opinions expressed here are the authors’ and do not necessarily reflect those of the World Bank or its stakeholders.The authors would like to thank Alexandra Klopfer for her comments.
It will take an estimated US$6 trillion annually from now until 2030 to meet the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs).¹ Green bonds, and more generally, bonds that focus on investing for purpose are making an important contribution towards meeting the goals – not just by raising funding for investment towards the SDGs, but by changing the way issuers and investors behave. This is why we must look beyond green bonds towards building sustainable capital markets.