--- title: Green Bonds Popular With Investors, According to REIT Executives description:

Regency Centers' Mark Peternell, Vice President, Sustainability and Mike Mas, Senior Vice President, Capital Markets attended the NAREIT’s 2015 Leader in the Light Working Forum in Reston, Va. where they joined Matt Bechard for a REIT.com video discussing sustainability.

image: https://connect.regencycenters.com/hs-fs/file-3689929396-jpg/blog-files/mark-peternell-mike-mas-at-nareit-conference.jpg --- - [Home](https://www.regencycenters.com/) - [Properties](https://connect.regencycenters.com/properties) - [In Development](https://connect.regencycenters.com/in-development) - [Regency](https://connect.regencycenters.com/regency) - [Contact](https://connect.regencycenters.com/contact) - [Investors](http://investors.regencycenters.com) - [Tenants](https://connect.regencycenters.com/tenants) - [Blog](https://connect.regencycenters.com/blog) - [Corporate Responsibility](https://www.regencycenters.com/corporate-responsibility) - [Leadership](https://www.regencycenters.com/leadership) - [Investors](http://investors.regencycenters.com) - [Tenants](https://www.regencycenters.com/tenants) - [Careers](https://www.regencycenters.com/regency/careers) [![Regency Centers](https://www.regencycenters.com/ResourcePackages/Regency/assets/dist/images/regency-centers.svg)](https://www.regencycenters.com/) [![Search](https://www.regencycenters.com/ResourcePackages/Regency/assets/dist/images/icon-search.svg) Properties](https://www.regencycenters.com/properties) ![Menu](https://www.regencycenters.com/ResourcePackages/Regency/assets/dist/images/icon-menu.svg) Menu - [Properties](https://www.regencycenters.com/properties) - [In Development](https://www.regencycenters.com/in-development) - [Regency](https://www.regencycenters.com/regency) - [Contact](https://www.regencycenters.com/contact) Search - [Inside Regency](https://connect.regencycenters.com/blog/topic/inside-regency) - [News Releases](https://connect.regencycenters.com/blog/topic/news-releases) - [Retailer News](https://connect.regencycenters.com/blog/topic/retailer-news) # Green Bonds Popular With Investors, According to REIT Executives [Stephanie Parisi](https://connect.regencycenters.com/blog/author/stephanie-parisi) [News Releases](https://connect.regencycenters.com/blog/topic/news-releases) February 16, 2015 - [Tweet](https://twitter.com/share) Regency Centers' Mark Peternell, Vice President, Sustainability and Mike Mas, Senior Vice President, Capital Markets attended the [NAREIT’s 2015 Leader in the Light Working Forum in Reston, Va](https://www.reit.com/nareit/events/leader-light-working-forum/2015-leader-light-working-forum). where they joined Matt Bechard for a [REIT.com](http://www.reit.com/nareit) video discussing sustainability. To view the interview, [please click here](https://www.reit.com/news/videos/green-bonds-popular-investors-according-reit-executives). [![Mark Peternell and Mike Mas at NAREIT conference video screenshot of green bonds popular with investors](https://connect.regencycenters.com/hs-fs/file-3689929396-jpg/blog-files/mark-peternell-mike-mas-at-nareit-conference.jpg?width=483&height=269&name=mark-peternell-mike-mas-at-nareit-conference.jpg)](https://connect.regencycenters.com/hs-fs/file-3689929396-jpg/blog-files/mark-peternell-mike-mas-at-nareit-conference.jpg) > Peternell, the company’s vice president of [sustainability](https://www.reit.com/search/site/%22sustainability%22), said going green can serve as a “competitive differentiator” for REITs. Regency Centers started $240 million worth of development and redevelopment projects in 2014. > > “We believe our commitment to [sustainability](https://www.reit.com/search/site/%22sustainability%22) and our experience delivering green projects and high-performance projects to the market can be a key contributing factor to the success of our development program,” Peternell said. “Whether that be through facilitating an entitlement or a successful joint-venture partnership with a shared interest in [sustainability](https://www.reit.com/search/site/%22sustainability%22), we continue to see that [sustainability](https://www.reit.com/search/site/%22sustainability%22) is a driver in the success of our development program.” > > Looking at Regency Centers’ larger approach to corporate social responsibility, Mas, the firm’s senior vice president of capital markets, said the company’s program is resonating with its shareholders. Early on, European equity investors were encouraging the company to focus on social responsibility, according to Mas. > > Now, Mas said, the debt markets are taking greater interest. Last summer, Regency Centers issued green bonds. Mas described the offering, which was “very well received,” as a “natural extension” of the firm’s [sustainability](https://www.reit.com/search/site/%22sustainability%22) program. > > “We wanted to make sure that we weren’t doing anything that would impair our more traditional fixed-income investors,” he said. “What we learned very quickly was that whether they had dedicated funds or not, everyone was very supportive of the effort.” > > Mas noted that meetings with green-dedicated investors regarding the bond offering produced an 80 percent success rate in terms of encouraging them to participate. > > “People believed in the story that Regency had to offer, they understood it and they supported it by eventually buying the bonds,” he said. > > The proceeds from the bond offering are funding green projects that are seeking or have achieved [LEED](https://www.reit.com/search/site/%22LEED%22) certification, according to Peternell. The company intends to publish an annual report demonstrating how the proceeds from the bonds are being used, representing an effort to assure investors that the funds are dedicated to earth-friendly projects. ##### Connect With Us [Join Our Mailing List](https://www.regencycenters.com/connect-with-us/)  > [Explore Our Markets](https://www.regencycenters.com/properties/our-markets)  > [Find a Space For Your Place](https://www.regencycenters.com/properties)  > ##### Related Stories [Feb 05 Regency Centers Announces Lone Tree Village Development in Colorado](https://connect.regencycenters.com/blog/regency-centers-announces-lone-tree-village-a-king-soopers-anchored-retail-destination-serving-the-ridgegate-community) [Sep 24 Regency Centers Unveils Ellis Village Center in Northern California](https://connect.regencycenters.com/blog/regency-centers-unveils-ellis-village-center-in-northern-california) [Jul 24 Regency Centers Completes $357M Portfolio Acquisition in Southern California](https://connect.regencycenters.com/blog/regency-centers-acquisition-southern-california) Subscribe [![Regency Centers](https://www.regencycenters.com/ResourcePackages/Regency/assets/dist/images/regency-centers.svg)](https://connect.regencycenters.com/) - [Careers](https://www.regencycenters.com/regency/careers) - [Investors](http://investors.regencycenters.com/) - [News](http://investors.regencycenters.com/news-releases) - [Fresh Look](https://www.regencycenters.com/regency/fresh-look) - [Tenants](https://www.regencycenters.com/tenants) - [Contact](https://www.regencycenters.com/contact) [Find a Property](https://www.regencycenters.com/properties) [Leasing Agent](https://www.regencycenters.com/contact) ![Reg Listed NYSE](https://connect.regencycenters.com/hubfs/blog2018/images/stock-ticker.svg) [Regency Centers Facebook](https://www.facebook.com/RegencyCenters) [Regency Centers Twitter](https://twitter.com/RegencyCenters) [Regency Centers Instagram](https://www.instagram.com/regencycenters/) [Regency Centers LinkedIn](https://www.linkedin.com/company/regency-centers/) MEMBER **S&P 500** Regency Centers is a preeminent national owner, operator, and developer of shopping centers located in suburban trade areas with compelling demographics. ©2026 Regency Centers [Terms of Service](https://www.regencycenters.com/terms-of-service) [Privacy Policy](https://www.regencycenters.com/privacy-policy) Cookie Settings ![Quantcast](https://pixel.quantserve.com/pixel/p-XHwFJLhjBpfmt.gif) ![](https://connect.regencycenters.com/hs-fs/hub/1624561/file-3689929396.jpg) ```json { "@context" : "https://schema.org", "@type" : "BlogPosting", "author" : { "@type" : "Person", "name" : "Stephanie Parisi", "url" : "https://connect.regencycenters.com/blog/author/stephanie-parisi" }, "dateModified" : "2025-01-03T17:44:43.604Z", "datePublished" : "2015-02-16T14:00:09.000Z", "headline" : "Green Bonds Popular With Investors, According to REIT Executives", "image" : [ "https://connect.regencycenters.com/hs-fs/file-3689929396-jpg/blog-files/mark-peternell-mike-mas-at-nareit-conference.jpg" ], "mainEntityOfPage" : { "@id" : "https://connect.regencycenters.com/blog/green-bonds-popular-investors-according-reit-executives/", "@type" : "WebPage" }, "publisher" : { "@type" : "Organization", "logo" : { "@type" : "ImageObject", "url" : "/hs/hsstatic/content_shared_assets/static-1.4081/img/vast.png" }, "name" : "Regency Centers" } } ```