Universal Registration Document 2020

6.7 Information relating to the allocation of funds raised through Green Bonds issued by EDF

Since 2013 the Group has conducted five Green Bond issues for a total of around €6.9 billion in order to support its development in renewable energies.

After two bond issues chiefly meant to finance the building of new wind and solar projects by its subsidiary EDF Renewables (€1.4 billion in November 2013 and $1.25 billion in October 2015), the Group expanded its Green Bond Framework to finance investments in the renovation and modernisation of its hydropower assets in mainland France. The new Framework was first applied to a €1.75 billion issue in October 2016 and then to a JPY 26 billion issue in two tranches in January 2017. TheGroup further extended the scope of its Green Bond Framework at the beginning of 2020 by opening it up to international hydropower assets, energy efficiency projects and biodiversity conservation projects. In this context, the Group issued a new green bond for an amount of €2.4 billion in September 2020.

The commitments made by EDF in the context of these bond issues follow the fourGreen Bond Principles⁽¹⁾ guiding (i) the use of proceeds, (ii) existing processes for evaluating and selecting eligible projects, (iii) the management of proceeds, and (iv) reporting procedures. A detailed description of these investments can be found in the EDF Green Bond Framework of January 2020 available on the Green Bonds page of the Company’s website.

This section provides a summary of these commitments and how EDF has fulfilled them as at the end of 2020.

Use of proceeds

EDF has committed itself to allocate the proceeds from its Green Bonds programme to finance new investments in renewable energy projects. Projects eligible for Green Bond financing (“Eligible Projects”) are:

• the construction or acquisition of a portfolio of renewable energy power generation projects including wind, solar, hydro, storage, biomass and geothermal projects;
• investments in existing hydroelectric facilities, including renovation and heavy maintenance; modernisation and automation; and development of existing facilities (including power increases);
• energy efficiency projects, including projects to reduce energy consumption, modernise lighting, heating and cooling network projects and projects involving the creation of charging stations for electric vehicles;
• biodiversity preservation projects, such as actions to mitigate the impact of EDF’s activities on biodiversity, site restoration or re-naturalisation and research and development.

The Green Bond Framework provides that the funds may finance projects which would not have benefited from financing through a green bond within 3 years before the issuance year of the green bond (look-back clause). Similarly, the funds can be used to acquire a portfolio of renewable energy projects

Assessment and selection of financed eligible projects

Each Eligible Project to be funded is assessed against the environmental and social eligibility criteria (“E&S criteria”) specified in Appendix 1 of the Green Bond Framework. This assessment is based on five elements, including (1) compliance with ethical, transparent and sustainable human resources criteria; (2) monitoring of the project’s environmental impact; (3) promotion of occupational health and safety; (4) responsible supplier relations; and (5) a commitment to organise a consultation process for each new project.⁽²⁾

Only projects that meet these criteria are eligible for Green Bond financing.

Compliance with these criteria is certified by Deloitte (auditor) in accordance with the requirements of the Green Bond Framework. On this basis, the Finance Departments of the Group entities in question designate the Eligible Projects that are financed.

Management of proceeds

Proceeds raised are managed according to a strict ring-fencing principle in order to ensure that their use is exclusively and effectively reserved for financing Eligible Projects.

Once received by EDF’s Finance and Investment Department, proceeds from each bond issue are invested and tracked in a dedicated sub-portfolio of treasury assets until allocated to Eligible Projects. Proceeds are invested in priority in treasury assets identified as Socially Responsible Investments (SRI).

The Finance Divisions of each entity notify EDF Treasury Division, on an ongoing basis or at regular intervals, the proceeds needed to cover investments related to the selected projects. Based on this information, the Treasury Division adjusts the amounts available in the dedicated treasury asset sub-portfolios.

Reporting

Effective use of proceeds

All the proceeds raised in November 2013 under the first Green Bond issued by EDF for €1.4 billion were allocated by June 2015. All the proceeds raised in October 2015 under the second Green Bond issued for $1.25 billion were allocated by the end of 2017. The funds raised as part of the third Green Bond issued in October 2016 (€1.75 billion) were allocated at the end of 2019. All the proceeds raised inJanuary 2017 under the fourth Green Bond issued for ¥26 billion were allocated in mid-2020.

As at 31 December 2020, €2,384 million of the €2.4 billion raised inSeptember 2020 under the fifth Green Bond issued by EDF, which generated net proceeds of €2,559 million due to an issue price that was 7% higher than the nominal value, had been allocated to Eligible Projects. The balance of proceeds raised under this bond issue was invested in a dedicated treasury asset portfolio, as indicated above, where it will remain until allocated to Eligible Projects.