June, 28, 2019

Government Pension Investment Fund (GPIF) and European Investment Bank (EIB) have started a partnership that aims to strengthen capital market cooperation to promote ESG integration into fixed income investment.

EIB, the Bank of the European Union, issues Climate Awareness Bonds (CABs) for climate change mitigation and Sustainability Awareness Bonds (SABs) for other environmental and social objectives. CABs and SABs align with the Green Bond Principles and the Sustainability Bond Guidelines from the International Capital Market Association (ICMA), respectively.

＜Comment by Hiro Mizuno, Executive MD and CIO of GPIF＞
GPIF requires all asset managers to integrate ESG into their investment analysis and decision-making. We regard purchase of Green, Social and Sustainability Bonds as one of the direct methods of ESG integration in the fixed income investment. Europe is leading in the areas of sustainable finance. GPIF values EIB's expertise to improve the market, and looks forward to continuing the dialogue.

＜Comment by Werner Hoyer, President of EIB＞
Today EIB has laid the first stone of a partnership that aims to support clarity in sustainable finance, underlining the importance of consistent classification and comparable impact measurement for cross-border, long-term sustainable investment. The largest pension fund and the largest supranational issuer collaborate to take further steps into integration of ESG in fixed income. To promote this idea into the private sector- institutional investors in particular, GPIF is a vital partner, and our cooperation will send a strong signal to the industry.

＜Link to European Investment Bank's Press release＞
https://www.eib.org/en/press/news/eib-engages-for-more-clarity-within-g20-framework-on-sustainable-finance-in-cooperation-with-gpif

＜Link to ICMA's Principles and Guidelines for Green, Social and Sustainability Bonds＞
https://www.icmagroup.org/green-social-and-sustainability-bonds/

＜Link to EIB's 2018 CAB Framework and KPMG-Reasonable Assurance Report＞
https://www.eib.org/attachments/fi/eib-cab-framework-31-12-2018-signed_secured.pdf

＜Investment Scheme＞