The Securities and Exchange Board of India (‘SEBI’) has, by way of circular dated May 30, 2017, set out certain requirements to be considered, along with the requirements set out in the SEBI (Issue and Listing of Debt Securities) Regulations, 2008, for the issuance of and disclosures pertaining to ‘Green Debt Securities’.
A debt security will be considered as a ‘Green Debt Security’, if the funds raised through its issuance are to be utilized for the following project(s)/ asset(s): (a) renewable and sustainable energy; (b) clean transportation; (c) sustainable water management; (d) climate change adaptation; (e) energy efficiency; (f) sustainable waste management; (g) sustainable land use; and (h) biodiversity conservation.
The issuer of green debt securities is required to make certain disclosures in its offer / disclosure documents including inter alia: (a) a statement on the environmental objectives of the issuance; (b) details of the system / procedures to be employed for tracking the deployment of proceeds of the issue; and (c) details of the project and/or assets where the issuer proposes to utilize the proceeds of the green debt securities.