held senior organisational positions including senior portfolio managers, directors and investor relations managers. Collectively the issuing organisations represented USD 25.47 billion of the total cumulative global green bond issuance of USD $65.9 billion or 38.6% as at June 2015. Each interview lasted between 40-60 minutes and, with the permission of each interviewee, all but two were recorded and fully transcribed. Two interviews were not recorded, but notes were taken. One interview was conducted by providing interview questions via email for response. Care was taken to limit the subjectivity of the researcher by ensuring that transcripts accurately captured the interviewee’s perceptions by having interviewees review their transcripts. Ethical considerations of confidentiality were met by de-identifying all data collected. The interviews established the existing process for investing into, or the issuing of, typical bonds and sought comparisons to green bonds. Open-ended questions followed, encouraging the interviewee to reflect on their experience in the green bond market and to provide personal and organisational perceptions of green bonds. (See Appendix 3.) A majority of the interviewees viewed climate change as a high personal and professional priority. For some of the interviews, data gathered was supplemented with green bond term sheets and press releases as well as organisational strategy documents and slide decks as provided by the interviewees. Analytic Processes and Tools Four main themes emerged out of the literature regarding green bond markets: how the green bond field was viewed, including liquidity and the role of institutional investors; definitional work around green bonds; how accreditation was used by market participants; and the credibility of green bonds. Interview questions were organised to interrogate those themes. Response data was coded using NVIVO, with the researcher identifying themes in relation to the research questions, allowing other significant themes to also emerge, which became categories. Under these categories, of responses were coded.
held senior organisational positions including senior portfolio managers, directors and investor relations managers. Collectively the issuing organisations represented USD 25.47 billion of the total cumulative global green bond issuance of USD $65.9 billion or 38.6% as at June 2015. Each interview lasted between 40-60 minutes and, with the permission of each interviewee, all but two were recorded and fully transcribed. Two interviews were not recorded, but notes were taken. One interview was conducted by providing interview questions via email for response. Care was taken to limit the subjectivity of the researcher by ensuring that transcripts accurately captured the interviewee’s perceptions by having interviewees review their transcripts. Ethical considerations of confidentiality were met by de-identifying all data collected. The interviews established the existing process for investing into, or the issuing of, typical bonds and sought comparisons to green bonds. Open-ended questions followed, encouraging the interviewee to reflect on their experience in the green bond market and to provide personal and organisational perceptions of green bonds. (See Appendix 3.) A majority of the interviewees viewed climate change as a high personal and professional priority. For some of the interviews, data gathered was supplemented with green bond term sheets and press releases as well as organisational strategy documents and slide decks as provided by the interviewees. Analytic Processes and Tools Four main themes emerged out of the literature regarding green bond markets: how the green bond field was viewed, including liquidity and the role of institutional investors; definitional work around green bonds; how accreditation was used by market participants; and the credibility of green bonds. Interview questions were organised to interrogate those themes. Response data was coded using NVIVO, with the researcher identifying themes in relation to the research questions, allowing other significant themes to also emerge, which became categories. Under these categories, of responses were coded.