ESG Downgrade Sparks New Penalty in $200 Billion Bond Market

  • Poland’s PKN Orlen pays higher coupon after MSCI score cut
  • Sustainability-linked bonds tie interest to meeting ESG goals

An employee examines pipework at a PKN Orlen SA oil refinery in Plock, Poland. 

Photographer: Bartek Sadowski/Bloomberg
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The sustainable bond market has passed a milestone.

PKN Orlen SA, a petroleum refiner based in Poland, started paying creditors a higher coupon on two local-currency sustainability-linked bonds earlier this year after MSCI Inc. cut its environmental, social and governance rating, according to payment records reviewed by Bloomberg News.