Investors' hunger for green bonds has pushed the Australian market for investments that achieve social or environmental goals, as well as financial returns, to $6 billion – a fourfold increase in under three years.
The market value of all impact investment products, which include loans to small businesses in disadvantaged areas, social impact bonds from state governments targeting social problems and ethically labelled fixed income issued by banks or governments, known as green bonds, was worth $1.2 billion in June 2015.