Last week, the iPhone maker issued a $1bn green bond to fund renewable energy generation. It builds on $1.5bn worth of bonds the Cupertino, California-based company sold a year ago to further its goal of running 100 percent of its operations on renewable energy.

While companies in recent years have issued tens of billions of dollars in green bonds for projects that cut global-warming emissions, the size of Apple’s first issuance fueled speculation that other companies would follow. Its latest one comes less than two weeks after President Donald Trump decided to pull the U.S. out of the Paris climate accord, an international pact to curb greenhouse-gas emissions signed by almost 200 countries.

“Leadership from the business community is essential to address the threat of climate change,” Lisa Jackson, Apple’s vice president of environment, policy and social initiatives, said in the statement. The company was among those that signed an open letter pledging to continue supporting efforts to meet the Paris agreement, and Apple Chief Executive Officer Tim Cook said that he sought to persuade the president not to withdraw.

Renewable Energy

Apple’s latest bonds, maturing in 2027, will yield 95 to 100 basis points more than Treasuries, according to a person with knowledge of the matter, who asked not to be named because the deal is private. They are expected to be rated Aa1, the person said.

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