Positive impact notes

Positive impact notes belong to the category of Positive Impact Finance.
In September 2015, the United Nations General Assembly formally established 17 Sustainable Development Goals (the SDGs) to be achieved by 2030, providing a common framework for public and private actors to set their agendas and define their policies and strategies over the next 15 years.

In October 2015, members of the UN Environment Finance Initiative released the Positive Impact Manifesto, which calls for a new financing paradigm by developing a set of principles for positive impact finance to guide financiers and investors in their efforts to increase their positive impact on the economy, society, and the environment.

Positive impact finance is about making a positive contribution to one or more of the three pillars of sustainable development (economic, environmental and social), once any potential negative impacts have been properly identified and mitigated.

The Principles are intended to be applicable to all categories of financial instruments and the business activities that underpin them, including:
-    Loans (corporate, retail, municipal, sovereign, interbank, project-related);
-    Bonds;
-    Equity;
-    Mezzanine;
-    Notes and credit linked notes.

Positive Impact Notes

Societe Generale has created Positive Impact Notes to finance sustainable projects. When a client invests in a Positive Impact Note, Societe Generale undertakes to hold in its books loans dedicated to Positive Impact Finance projects equivalent to 100% of the value invested in the note.
Vigeo Eiris has been mandated by Societe Generale CIB to conduct an independent assessment of the sustainability credentials and contribution to sustainability of Positive Impact Finance projects. The projects are evaluated according to Vigeo Eiris' environmental, social and governance (ESG) criteria.
Through these products, clients can use their savings to finance sustainable products.

Example of projects

Wind farms

Metros