Financing waste management and resource efficiency in the green bond market

The document examines the role of fixed-income instruments in funding waste management and circular economy initiatives. It highlights that while waste management is only the fourth largest category for green bond use of proceeds, there is significant latent potential and investor demand. The briefing details specific issuances from corporates and local governments in Europe, the US, and Asia, and discusses the barriers to scaling these markets, such as the lack of standardised definitions. It particularly emphasizes Japan's leadership in resource efficiency and the potential for green bonds to support its circular economy goals.

• Waste management is a critical but underutilised sector in the green bond market, ranking as the fourth largest category for use of proceeds globally. As of December 2019, USD 6.8bn had been allocated to waste management assets and projects, representing approximately 4% of total issuance volumes.
• Non-financial corporate issuers are the most active participants in the waste management green bond market, allocating USD 2.6bn (38% of the total). France is the dominant country in this segment, with the company Paprec alone contributing USD 1.8bn, or 71% of the total raised by waste management companies across six countries.
• Local governments, particularly in the United States, use green bonds to fund essential infrastructure. By December 2019, local governments had allocated approximately USD 1.1bn to waste management, which accounts for 2% of their total green bond issuance volume.
• Japan is a regional leader in resource efficiency and the circular economy, with a goal to recycle or reuse 60% of all plastic packaging by 2030. In the Japanese green bond market, waste management allocations represent about 5% of total issuance, totaling approximately USD 800m.
• The labelled loans market provides an alternative financing route, with an emerging trend toward KPI-linked models where loan margins are tied to sustainability targets. Examples include a SGD 65.4bn green loan for a waste-to-energy plant in Singapore and various ESG-linked facilities for European utilities.
• Significant barriers to scaling green finance for waste and circular economy projects include a lack of common standards and definitions, as well as high transaction costs for debut issuers. The EU Taxonomy on Sustainable Finance is cited as a potential model for establishing these necessary classifications.

APA

Tukiainen, K. (2020). Financing waste management and resource efficiency in the green bond market. Climate Bonds Initiative. https://www.climatebonds.net/files/documents/publications/Financing-waste-management-resource-efficiency-and-circular-economy-in-the-green-bond-market.pdf

Chicago

Tukiainen, Krista. Financing waste management and resource efficiency in the green bond market. Climate Bonds Initiative, 2020. https://www.climatebonds.net/files/documents/publications/Financing-waste-management-resource-efficiency-and-circular-economy-in-the-green-bond-market.pdf.

Wikipedia

{{cite report |last1=Tukiainen |first1=Krista |title=Financing waste management and resource efficiency in the green bond market |publisher=Climate Bonds Initiative |date=March 2020 |url=https://www.climatebonds.net/files/documents/publications/Financing-waste-management-resource-efficiency-and-circular-economy-in-the-green-bond-market.pdf |access-date=17 August 2026 |via=Climate Insights Directory}}

BibTeX

@techreport{tukiainen2020financing, author = {Tukiainen, Krista}, title = {{Financing waste management and resource efficiency in the green bond market}}, institution = {Climate Bonds Initiative}, year = {2020}, month = mar, url = {https://www.climatebonds.net/files/documents/publications/Financing-waste-management-resource-efficiency-and-circular-economy-in-the-green-bond-market.pdf}, urldate = {2026-08-17}, note = {Indexed by Climate Insights Directory} }