Optus is the first telecommunications company to issue a sustainability linked bond in the Australian market. The investment from Australian Ethical will finance initiatives to reduce its scope 1 and scope 2 emissions by 25 per cent by 2025 and 42 per cent by 2030 (from a 2015 baseline).

In 2019, Optus aligned its decarbonisation objectives to the 1.5-degree scenario of net zero emissions. The problem? It’s capital intensive and time consuming for a legacy business to make changes to its operations and reduce emissions.

The investment from Australian Ethical will contribute to Optus expanding energy efficiency measures across its communications network, including towers infrastructure.

As the first telecommunications company in Australia to raise capital via a sustainability linked bond, our investment in Optus provides a blueprint for how emissions-intensive companies can tap the bond market to reduce their carbon footprints.

SDG contribution

What are SDGs?
 

	Industry, innovation, and infrastructure
	Climate action

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The Dexus Healthcare Property Fund is the first Australian healthcare property fund to have environmental sustainability as its focus¹.

The materials sector accounts for between 5 to 10 per cent per cent of Australia’s greenhouse gas emissions². Healthcare facilities are particularly more emissions-intensive than average dwellings as they run for extended hours and use medical equipment that requires more power. Despite this, there are no specific environmental regulations for healthcare facilities.

Our investment in the Dexus Healthcare Property Fund is the first portfolio in Australia where healthcare assets have an environmental development focus. Some of these facilities include Calvary Adelaide Hospital and GP Plus Health Care Adelaide and North Shore Health Hub in Sydney. From a health perspective, these health facilities will provide specialist medical consulting in cancer treatment, pathology and medical imaging.

Some of the sustainable design features include passive building design, energy efficiency measures, onsite and offsite renewable energy and electric vehicle charging outlets for low emissions transport.

SDG contribution

What are SDGs?
 

	Sustainable cities and communities
	Climate action

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1 Clean Energy Finance Corporation, 2020. Healthcare Fund sets new clean energy standards. Canberra: Clean Energy Finance Corporation. [Accessed 21 July 2022].

2 Clean Energy Finance Corporation, 2021. Australian buildings and infrastructure: Opportunities for cutting embodied carbon.

The International Bank for Reconstruction and Development, part of The World Bank, lends to sovereign borrowers (governments) to fund infrastructure in developing countries.

These countries will need an estimated $4 trillion per year in investments up to 2030 to build infrastructure to meet their development needs¹.

Rather than focusing on individual climate projects, this sustainability linked bond takes a holistic approach to integrate climate considerations through the entire economy, sector by sector.

For example, in Angola, The Bank funds the Girls Empowerment, and Learning for All Project. Although the project is focused on improving health outcomes and reducing early drop-out rates, climate-based funding is embedded throughout the project. This includes the training of 840 school managers on climate emergencies, climate change in school curriculum and building schools designed to increase energy efficiency.

SDG contribution

What are SDGs?
 

	Affordable and clean energy
	Climate action

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1 The World Bank, 2021. Bonds for Sustainable Development Focus on Climate. Washington: The World Bank, pp.1-25.