Japanese financial services group Mizuho has issued a green bond. The €800 million in funds raised will be deployed through subsidiary Mizuho Bank and used for investment in environmental projects, especially renewable energy.
The €800 million green bond is part of an overall commitment of 12 trillion yen for environmental finance that Mizuho has set for FY2019 to FY2030.
It represents the largest denomination euro-bond issued by a Japanese institution, Mizuho’s sustainable finance framework has been certified by Sustainalytics.
Mizuho’s commitment to sustainable finance suggests a growing interest in the importance of green finance around the world.
The green bond (€800 million) issued will fulfil part of Mizuho’s overall commitment to sustainable finance. It says the commitment is in response to the needs of investors who have a high level of interest in the environmental field. It was issued on 5th September 2022 and matures on 5th September 2027, with a coupon of 3.49%. It is also the largest euro-denominated bond issued by Japanese financial institutions to date.
In a statement, Mizuho said: “We have issued and managed green bonds based on a green bond framework we have formulated in line with the International Capital Market Association’s Green Bond Principles 2018 and the Japan Ministry of the Environment’s Green Bond Guidelines 2020. The framework has been reviewed with a second-party opinion from Sustainalytics, a third-party certification organisation.”
Mizuho’s net zero targets
In May 2022, in response to its Environmental Policy, the company released its Approach to Achieving Net Zero by 2050, which demonstrates its aims and actions towards realizing a low-carbon society by 2050, as well as its Net Zero Transition Plan, which indicates the direction of travel.
Based on the Environmental Policy, and starting from engagement and dialogue with clients, the financial institution says it is also supporting clients’ transition to a low-carbon society and their climate change responses.
Mizuho has set a target of becoming carbon neutral for Scope 1 and 2 global greenhouse gas emissions from seven of its group companies by FY2030. July 2022 saw the announcement that the company has shifted to using renewable energy at seven large–scale properties owned or leased by the bank in Japan. This will enable Mizuho Bank to achieve 100% renewable energy use at the bank’s main data centres.
Mizuho is leading Japanese engagement with global economic transition
Mizuho was the first Japanese financial institution to join the Partnership for Carbon Accounting Financials (PCAF), in July 2021, committing to measure and disclose the impact of its loans and investments.
Mizuho joined PCAF as a first step in measuring its emissions and setting medium- to long-term targets for Scope 3 emissions from financing and investment by the end of fiscal 2022.
It was the first financial institution in Japan to carry out measurement and disclosure of GHG emissions from project financing for power generation projects, based on PCAF’s Global GHG Accounting and Reporting Standard for the Financial Industry, which was released in November 2020.
