The Globe and Mail reports in its Monday, May 8, edition that sustainability-linked bonds are rapidly becoming unsustainable. The Globe's Jameson Berkow writes that investors are beginning to sour on a product once heralded as the first green financial instrument with teeth. Money managers clambered to buy sustainability-linked bonds (SLBs) because they promised to penalize issuers that fail to meet specific environmental, social and governance (ESG) goals by forcing them to then pay higher interest rates. SLBs have specific ESG targets set by the issuer, and if those targets are not reached, the issuer must start paying more in interest as a penalty. Investors liked how SLBs provided an easy way to meet their ESG quotas, while issuers liked how they were free to spend the proceeds as they saw fit. That substantial discretion granted to issuers when setting their targets have also made SLBs ripe for abuse. Critics are now pressuring securities regulators to intervene to help prevent SLBs from including misleading or even false environmental claims. Enbridge is alleged to has made misleading statements in a recent SLB. The ASC has confirmed receipt of the complaint.