Trees in an area that appears to have been logged near Round Lake in Pigeon River Country state forest in Vanderbilt, Michigan, on April 20, 2022. Photographer: Erin Kirkland/Bloomberg.
The bonds were supposed to change the world. But now U.S. companies and banks are increasingly uninterested in selling them.
Bonds that fund companies' environmental projects, or give corporations an incentive to improve their governance or achieve social goals like boosting gender equality, have seen sales drop this year. U.S.–based companies sold just $18.2 billion of the debt, known as environmental, social, and governance (ESG) bonds, through August 16—the least since 2019's $12.5 billion, data compiled by Bloomberg shows. The decline comes as sales of other investment-grade corporate debt has jumped.
Complete your profile to continue reading and get FREE access to Treasury & Risk, part of your ALM digital membership.
Your access to unlimited Treasury & Risk content isn’t changing.
Once you are an ALM digital member, you’ll receive:
- Thought leadership on regulatory changes, economic trends, corporate success stories, and tactical solutions for treasurers, CFOs, risk managers, controllers, and other finance professionals
- Informative weekly newsletter featuring news, analysis, real-world case studies, and other critical content
- Educational webcasts, white papers, and ebooks from industry thought leaders
- Critical coverage of the employee benefits and financial advisory markets on our other ALM sites, PropertyCasualty360 and ThinkAdvisor
Already have an account? Sign In Now
*May exclude premium content© 2025 ALM Global, LLC, All Rights Reserved. Request academic re-use from www.copyright.com. All other uses, submit a request to [email protected]. For more information visit Asset & Logo Licensing.
