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Community Municipal Investments (CMIs)

Community Municipal Investments (CMIs), which were first launched as Local Climate Bonds, enable councils to borrow directly from residents and institutional investors to fund local infrastructure and community projects.

By unlocking a share of the UK’s £2.4 trillion in household savings, CMIs can provide lower-cost finance for councils while giving citizens the opportunity to invest in projects that deliver visible local benefits.

CMIs have already raised more than £30 million for renewable energy, nature restoration, electric vehicle charging, school retrofit and community climate projects. With 82% of UK greenhouse gas emissions falling within the scope of local authority influence, they offer an important tool for funding local environmental and social priorities.

CMIs are aligned with the Green and Social Loan Principles and are helping to modernise how councils access capital for long-term investment.

councils using CMI

CMI offers

£30 million

in investment commitments

£2.9 billion

annual market potential

Bringing the benefits of NS&I to Local Government

This technical paper provides a comprehensive assessment of CMI as a borrowing tool for UK local authorities.

Through analysis of council borrowing patterns and historic Public Works Loan Board rates, it finds that CMIs could offer a lower-cost, complementary source of finance for a significant proportion of planned borrowing needs, with the potential to support up to £2.9 billion of annual council borrowing demand as the market matures.

Developed by the Green Finance Institute and the University of Leeds, the paper sets out the evidence, market opportunity and practical recommendations for scaling the CMI market across local government.

GFI-CMI-Technical-Paper_Full-Paper_202662-1_page-0001-1-1200x1696

Read Community Municipal Investments - Brining the Benefits of NS&I to Local Government

Community Municipal Investment (CMI) campaign

Working in partnership with Abundance Investment, the GFI has championed CMIs through its UK-wide campaign and has acted as the principal market convenor for democratic local climate finance. Through relationships with local authorities, investors, central government, regulators and civil society organisations, the GFI occupies a unique neutral position capable of driving systemic adoption of the model.

In November 2023, the campaign launched the Local Climate Bond (LCB)Toolkit, as they were known at the time, which is driving pipeline development by guiding Local Authority members and officers through the optimal CMI issuance process.

Almost 3,000 investors have participated in CMIs so far, receiving a return on their capital for supporting climate action, while the local authority can engage their local community on their net-zero transition.

View our LCB Toolkit below:

View LCB Toolkit Online

Committed Councils

Issuances

Click the coloured areas on the map to view councils who are currently open to investments

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Testimonials

"The delivery of the bond has been a real success for us and has enabled the Council to not only achieve an engaging way of utilising a cheaper form of borrowing for our net zero ambitions, but we’ve also leveraged in further donations to our successful wildflower verges projects to enhance biodiversity in the local area."

Ross Mackinnon

West Berkshire Council’s Executive Member, Finance and Economic Development

"This gives people a fantastic opportunity to make a positive contribution towards a carbon neutral future while providing them with a financial return and deeper engagement with one of Britain’s most environmentally-focused local governments."

Russ Bowden

Leader, Warrington Borough Council

"Tackling the climate emergency and creating a cleaner, greener, healthier borough is a leading priority for the Council, but it’s always been clear that we can only achieve that with the support of local people. We now look forward to using this £1 million to fund a range of exciting initiatives that will make a real, tangible difference to people across our borough."

Rowena Champion

Islington Council’s Executive Member, Environment and Transport

"Working with Cotswold residents, we aim to make the Cotswolds cleaner, greener and healthier. This is the first investment of this type to be issued by the Council and the first in the county of Gloucestershire. Residents can put their money to work to make a real difference towards delivering the Council’s 2030 vision to cut emissions and create safer, cleaner streets across the District."

Joe Harris

Leader, Cotswold District Council

“Our partnership with the Green Finance Institute has been pivotal in developing the Local Climate Bond market. Its leadership, expertise, and ability to convene stakeholders have transformed LCBs into a credible, scalable solution for local climate action, now attracting institutional investment. Without GFI’s convening power, the LCB market would not be where it is today. We're proud to work together to grow this impactful model for place-based, citizen-led climate finance.”

Karl Harder

Co-founder & Managing Director, Abundance Investments

Resources

Local Climate Bond – Toolkit

Local Climate Bond - Toolkit

Turning words into action

How Community Municipal Investments can create a new sphere of civic engagement that will galvanise local action in the fight against the climate emergency

Local Authorities and the Sixth Carbon Budget

An independent report for the Climate Change Committee.

The road to Net-Zero finance

A report prepared by the Advisory Group on Finance for the UK’s Climate Change Committee

Net Zero Strategy: Build Back Greener

Accelerating Green Finance

Financing Wales’ Housing Decarbonisation

The Green Finance Institute is not in any way affiliated with any finance providers listed on this webpage, and makes no statement as to the suitability or sustainability of any financial providers or any specific financial products. Finance providers listed on this webpage are listed solely to reflect the fact they are offering services related to the issuance of Local Climate Bonds. The Green Finance Institute does not recommend any particular financial providers or financial product. Other finance providers are available.

* this figure excludes investment commitments