Since 2013 the Group has conducted six Green Bond issues for a total of around €8.75 billion in order to support its development in renewable energies.
After two bond issues chiefly intended to finance the building of new wind and solar power 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 JPY26 billion issue in two tranches in January 2017. The Group further extended the scope of its Green Bond Framework in early 2020 by opening it up to international hydropower assets, energy efficiency projects and biodiversity conservation projects. In this context, the Group issued Green Bonds for an amount of €2.4 billion in September 2020, and new Green Bonds for an amount of €1.85 billion in November 2021 (1).
The commitments made by EDF in the context of these two bond issues follow the four Green Bond Principles (2) guiding (i) the use of proceeds, (ii) existing processes for evaluating and selecting Eligible Projects, (iii) the management of proceeds, and (iv) reporting A detailed description of these investments can be found in the EDF Green Bond Framework of January 2020 available on the Sustainable Finance 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 2021.
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 as per the Green Bond Framework (the “Eligible Projects”) are:
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 issue of the Green Bond (look-back clause). Similarly, the funds can be used to acquire a portfolio of renewable energy projects.
Each Eligible Project to be funded is assessed against the environmental and social eligibility criteria (3) (“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.
Only projects meeting the E&S criteria qualify 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.
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 the corresponding entities notify EDF’s Treasury Division, on an ongoing basis or at regular intervals, of 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.
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 US$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 in January 2017 under the fourth Green Bond issued for ¥26 billion were allocated by mid-2020. The funds raised as part of the fifth Green Bond issued in September 2020 (€2.4 billion) were allocated at the end of 2021.
As at 31 December 2021, the funds raised in November 2021 in the amount of €1.75 billion under the sixth Green Bond issued by EDF, increased by €100 million in the context of a tap-up in December 2021, which generated net proceeds of €1.8 billion, have been invested in a dedicated cash portfolio, as described above, pending its allocation to Eligible Projects.
(1) EDF issued a €1.75 billion Green Bond on 29 November 2021, which was tapped up by €100 million on 6 December 2021.
(2) The Green Bond Principles, updated in June 2018, are voluntary guidelines for issuance of Green Bonds. They recommend transparency and disclosure and promote integrity to support development of the Green Bond market. For more information, see http://icmagroup.com/News/news-in-brief/green-and-social-bond-principles-2021-edition-issued/.
(3) The E&S criteria for each project type are presented in the appendix to the EDF Green Bond Framework of September 2016 and January 2020.
