Sara Neff, SVP for sustainability at Kilroy Realty Corp. (NYSE: KRC), participated in a video interview filmed in conjunction with Nareit’s REITworks: 2020 Virtual Conference.
Neff said sustainability is “integrated into everything we do at Kilroy,” making green bonds a natural fit for the company. In addition, green bonds have allowed Kilroy to diversify its investor base, she noted.
Interest in green bonds has continued unabated throughout the COVID-19 crisis, Neff said. “The climate crisis isn’t going away just because we’re in COVID-19.”
When developing a green bond framework, Neff recommended that companies make that framework broad. Companies should also have a clear idea of where the proceeds will be used, she said, while recommending that they allocate all the proceeds in the first year in order to reduce reporting requirements.
Meanwhile, Neff urged companies to include both their sustainability and finance experts on the green bond investor roadshow.