In 2025, Brazilian transport infrastructure company EcoRioMinas issued one of Brazil's first "green transition" bonds. The transaction was labelled as a "milestone" in the evolution of sustainable debt in the country.

The BRL $540 million ($105 million) bond finances projects aimed at reducing the environmental footprint of highway operations, including renewable energy expansion, LED-lighting deployment and paving material reuse. It also aims to finance reforestation and restoration projects which support both biodiversity conservation and carbon sequestration.

It said the bond provides a "scalable and credible model" for other high-emission and resource-intensive companies seeking to align financing with long-term decarbonisation objectives.

Judges of the Environmental Finance Sustainable Debt Awards praised the bond's "clear and concise use of proceeds with unique eligible categories" and "targeted financing of a hard-to-abate sector".

Structured by BTG Pactual, among other banks, BTG Pactual also helped EcoRioMinas to design and publish its green transition framework in late 2024, aligned with the Green Bond Principles, the Green Loan Principles and the Climate Transition Finance Handbook.

BTG Pactual defines "green transition" bonds as instruments which finance activities aligned with a company’s transition strategy, supporting measurable progress toward decarbonisation in carbon-intensive sectors where low-carbon alternatives are not yet fully viable.