What drives green sukuk? A leader’s perspective

The growing level of interest towards climate change adaptation and mitigation calls for sovereign and corporate entities to integrate green sukuk into their green initiatives while concurrently meeting the demands of Islamic finance players. However, the current performance shown by the global green sukuk market does not meet the expectation, whereas the limited amount of studies providing clear evidence on the actual drivers impacting green sukuk issuance is an obstacle. Therefore, this study aimed to explore the drivers influencing green sukuk issuance and identify the mechanisms underlying each of these drivers in order to propose strategic actions geared for the policymakers to drive its presence. This was achieved through a qualitative case study conducted with the participation of green sukuk issuers in Malaysia. As a result, it was revealed that competitiveness, legitimation and ecological responsibility influenced the issuance of green sukuk. Hence, the findings may inspire the policymakers towards utilising the roles of green sukuk drivers and positioning a comprehensive attempt in boosting its presence. This can be potentially achieved by an increased amount of favourable legislative measures and applicable promotion and education strategies of the green agenda for a strengthened green sukuk market.