ImpactAlpha, December 10 – The Zurich-based impact investor BlueOrchard has launched a Sustainable Development Goal (SDG) bond fund for European investors. Separately, it has taken a stake in SustainCERT, a social enterprise that helps corporations and investors certify their sustainability initiatives.
The bond fund, called the Emerging Markets SDG Impact Bond Fund, will invest in corporate, public and private bonds from institutions that “engage in impact activities which advance the UN Sustainable Development Goals.” The fund will focus on investments in emerging and frontier markets.
BlueOrchard secured a UCITS license for the fund in June, which serves to open the fund to retail and institutional investors across Europe. The fund is also listed in Singapore.
The firm also invested an undisclosed amount in SustainCERT, which has developed technology to track and measure the impacts of initiatives like supply-chain improvement or the launch of a new product. The tool benchmarks alignment with the Sustainable Development Goals. The enterprise was started by sustainability certification organization Gold Standard.
BlueOrchard launched in 2001 as a spinoff from a U.N. microfinance initiative, and has primarily focused its $5 billion in investments in the microfinance realm. The firm’s fund launch and investment in SustainCERT represent its expanding effort to “channel more funding towards the climate targets and the SDGs.”
