Hood River, Oregon, May 29, 2024 – Climate Bonds Initiative today recognized Kestrel as the winner for Largest External Review Provider in Number of Deals in the 9th Climate Bonds Awards. Award announcements were made in a video, which will also be shown at the Climate Bonds Initiative Global Conference in London on October 24, 2024.
Kestrel became a Climate Bonds Initiative Approved Verifier in late 2017. Today, Kestrel is the market leader for external reviews on green, social and sustainability bonds in US Public Finance, helping to lead the transition to a low-carbon economy. Our firm also provides external reviews on corporate bonds, loans, and other types of debt, and verification of assets and entities for being transition-aligned.
“We have worked hard to help grow the market for green, social and sustainability bonds in the US. Many of our engagements finance best practices for climate change mitigation, resilience and adaptation. We also have a strong practice in verifying social bonds, which are critical to advancing the Just Transition. This means greening the economy in a way that is as fair and inclusive as possible, creating decent work opportunities and leaving no one behind,” said Monica Reid, CEO of Kestrel. “We appreciate that CBI has recognized the achievements and innovation delivered by the Kestrel Team.”
About Kestrel
Kestrel provides Sustainability Intelligence™ for municipal markets, helping to set the market standard for sustainable finance. Kestrel is a leading provider of external reviews for green, social and sustainability bond transactions and a Climate Bonds Initiative Approved Verifier. The company is qualified to evaluate corporate and municipal bonds, as well as the issuers, in all asset classes worldwide for conformance with international green and social bond standards. Kestrel also provides Sustainability Analysis and Scores of bonds in the US municipal market.
Bank of America gained attention for its role in the first green bond transaction from the City of Boston. As part of the overall $272 million Boston general obligation transaction, the green bonds were issued to finance energy efficiency and climate resiliency projects.
Equitable School Revolving Fund (ESRF) was recognized for their 2020 bond used to finance or reimburse ESRF for the cost of financing charter school loans to qualifying public charter schools.
The Board of Education of the City of Newark, New Jersey, was recognized for their 2021 bonds financing comprehensive energy conservation measures at district schools. Kestrel provided the external review and is delighted to see Newark recognized for implementing energy and water efficiency measures to further advance the pursuit of equitable education and a just transition to a decarbonized economy.
The Board of Education of the City of Newark, New Jersey, was recognized for their 2021 bonds financing comprehensive energy conservation measures at district schools. Kestrel provided the external review and is delighted to see Newark recognized for implementing energy and water efficiency measures to further advance the pursuit of equitable education and a just transition to a decarbonized economy.
California State Teachers’ Retirement System (CalSTRS) received the award for its 2019 issuance to finance the expansion of its headquarters. We were proud to provide the external review that allowed them to achieve Climate Bonds Certification.
Connecticut Green Bank was recognized with two honors highlighting the innovation and success of their April 2019, $38.6 million in green asset-backed securities—the first-ever solar asset-backed security transaction by a green bank.
Connecticut Green Bank was among the recipients of Bond Buyer’s annual Deal of the Year awards as the winner in the Innovative Financing category for their 2020 Green Liberty Bond.