Telco OEM Ericsson has issued its first-ever green bond.

The Swedish network vendor announced has placed a €500 million ($545m) bond with a maturity of four-and-a-half years.

The bond was issued under Ericsson's Euro Medium Term Note Program (EMTN).

“The successful placement of this green bond confirms the market confidence in Ericsson’s long-term competitiveness and in our strong sustainability ambitions," said Carl Mellander, Ericsson’s CFO.

"Issuing the bond is a direct consequence of our work to fully integrate sustainability into our finance operations, including last year’s launch of our Green Financing Framework. The proceeds raised will support R&D investments in enhanced energy performance in both existing and future solutions. This will strengthen operators’ competitiveness and enable further societal climate action through solutions made possible by mobile connectivity.”

Proceeds from the bond will be "exclusively allocated" to investments in energy efficiency and renewable energy.

Citi, Credit Agricole CIB, Danske Bank, Deutsche Bank, and SEB acted as joint bookrunners.