Wall Street has bought into the concept of green bonds in a big way. But now, investors are asking, what are they, exactly? Last year, a consortium of firms produced voluntary guidelines, called “The Green Bond Principles.” These principles defined green bonds as investments that pay for renewable energy, clean transportation, and energy efficiency projects. Those broad terms are, of course, subject to interpretation. Now, investment institutions such as BlackRock and Pacific Investment Management have asked for more detailed guidelines. This month, the Principles are due for an update to provide more specifics and a more rigorous structure.

The issue of definition is becoming more important as investments into green bonds are growing rapidly. Sales have more than tripled from a year ago in each of the past two years. Sales in 2014 alone were $36.6 billion. This number brings the overall total of green bond investments outstanding to $53.6 billion, according to the Climate Bonds Initiative. Big asset managers such as Vanguard Group and TIAA-CREF have bought green bonds, and Calvert Investments has raised $33 million dollars for a mutual fund focused on the instruments.

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