Latest news with #GreenBondPrinciples
Business News Wales
3 hours ago
- Business
- Business News Wales
£100m Green Bond Programme Launched to Fund Biochar Innovation
ReGenEarth, initially borne out of Stephen Lansdown's former PE vehicle Earth Capital, a business that creates and manages ventures dedicated to sustainable renewable energy and circular economy processes, is launching a £100 million Green Bond Programme in conjunction with circular economy energy specialists RER. The bond programme will fund the deployment of technologies that integrate innovative biochar generation solutions into existing anaerobic digestion (AD) and biomass plants, each of which will include sophisticated feedstock and provenance tracking to ensure maximal pricing in the voluntary carbon credit markets. An Investor Day to formally launch the bond will be held at the Institute of Engineering & Technology in London from 6pm on Tuesday June 10. The event will feature partners BeZero and Onnu, and research partner Brunel University's Chemical Engineering Department. In addition to unveiling the Green Bond, the event will discuss carbon credits, carbon capture and Brunel's SeaCure CO2 capture project. Biochar, a form of organic carbon, is produced by heating organic matter in a low oxygen environment through a process called pyrolysis. By converting organic waste into renewable energy and valuable products such as biochar, ReGenEarth promotes resource efficiency and environmental sustainability, contributing to a greener economy, while reducing waste and sequestering carbon in the UK. The Bonds will be issued by RER Capital PLC, a special purpose financing vehicle (SPV) that was established specifically to finance businesses operating in the circular economy and CleanTech sectors. RER Capital PLC will channel capital into enterprises that prioritise resource efficiency, waste reduction, and sustainable innovation. The programme will be aligned with the ICMA Green Bond Principles. The proceeds of the Bonds will be secured against hard assets, including the existing AD sites and will be lent to a wholly-owned subsidiary of ReGenEarth, on the issuance date of the deal. The three-year Bond will pay a coupon of 12.5% and is due in 2030. Biochar closely resembles charcoal but also has additional, valuable properties. By locking carbon in the soil for centuries, it has proven value for soil regeneration, water retention and carbon sequestration, mitigating climate change by reducing greenhouse gas emissions. Its porous structure also retains nutrients very well, making fertilisers more effective. It also enhances the water retention of capacity of soil, supporting crop resilience. Biochar also fosters beneficial soil microbes, boosting ecosystem health and crop yields, essential for feeding a growing global population. ReGenEarth is working with a number of pioneers in the biochar space, including Onnu, its trusted partner in the development of biochar solutions from its engineering stable. Together with Onnu, ReGenEarth is pioneering innovative solutions that harness the power of biomass to create cleaner, more sustainable energy. Mickey Rooney, CEO of ReGenEarth, said: 'We're turning waste into climate wealth, pyrolysis has never been this cool. With 12.5% returns, locking carbon away for centuries, offering fertile ground for crop, climate and cash generation. The question you would have to ask yourself is why would you not want to be part of it?'
Qatar Tribune
26-05-2025
- Business
- Qatar Tribune
Finance ministry wins Mideast 'Deal of the Year' award for $2.5 bn green bond issuance
DOHA: The Ministry of Finance has won the "Deal of the Year" award at the Global Banking & Markets: Middle East Awards 2025 in Dubai, the UAE. The award recognizes the ministry's outstanding issuance of $2.5 billion in green bonds in May 2024. The ministry issued the bonds in two tranches with maturities of five and 10 years. The offering saw significant interest from local, regional, and international investors, with total subscriptions exceeding $14 billion. This issuance marks a significant milestone in Qatar's green finance journey. It is the first sovereign green bond issuance of its kind in the Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC) countries and the largest green bond offering in the Middle East. Furthermore, the pricing of the offering achieved some of the lowest debt cost margins in the Central and Eastern Europe, Middle East, and Africa (CEEMA) region for the aforementioned maturities at the time of issuance. This achievement reflects investor confidence in Qatar's economy and the robustness of its public finances. It also underscores trust in Qatar's sovereign green finance framework, which aligns with international best practices and standards for green and sustainable finance. The framework is guided by the pillars of Qatar National Vision 2030 and complies with the Green Bond Principles issued by the International Capital Market Association (ICMA) and the Green Loan Principles from the Loan Market Association (LMA). Over 400 entities were nominated for this year's Global Banking and Markets Middle East Awards, with accolades going to the most innovative and distinguished deals in the Middle East region.
Kuwait Times
16-05-2025
- Business
- Kuwait Times
NBK publishes first green bond allocation and impact report
KUWAIT: In line with its leading and responsible role in the banking industry, National Bank of Kuwait continues to advance confidently towards building a sustainable future by implementing its environmental, social and institutional governance strategy and launching initiatives as per international standards and practices. In light of this, NBK published its first allocation and impact report for its debut $500 green bond issued in June 2024, which is the first issuance of its kind in Kuwait. The report provides relevant information that details the proceeds' allocation from the green bond as of 31 March 2025and the estimated environmental impact during the reporting period. NBK's green bond was issued in alignment with its Sustainable Financing Framework (or 'Framework'), which received a Second-Party Opinion (SPO) from S&P Global Ratings, an independent provider of sustainability ratings, confirming its alignment with the Green Bond Principles (GBP), Social Bond Principles (SBP) and Sustainability Bond Guidelines (SBG) published by the International Capital Market Association (ICMA), in addition to the green and social loans principles by the Loan Market Association (LMA). The report highlights the value of NBK's eligible green assets portfolio, which reached $625 million as of 31 March 2025, exceeding the value of its $500 million debut green bonds. The Bank's eligible green assets portfolio is distributed among three categories: 76 percent for green buildings, 17 percent for renewable energy, and 7 percent for clean transportation. Moreover, NBK's first green bond strongly supported the United Nations Sustainable Development Goals (UN SDGs), particularly goal 7 on guaranteeing that clean and affordable energy is accessible to all, and goal 11 on making cities inclusive, safe, resilient, and sustainable. The Bank's first green issuance also promotes its ESG strategy and affirms its support to projects that protect the environment and reduce climate change impact. Green Buildings According to the report, NBK owns a portfolio for financing green buildings, which reflects its essential role in accelerating the transition to a low-carbon economy by reducing emissions, improving energy efficiency and promoting urban development. The buildings and construction sector contributes significantly to global climate change, accounting for about 21% of global greenhouse gas emissions. It also indicated that NBK's green building portfolio achieved sustainability certifications such as Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design (LEED) Gold Certification by the US Green Building Council or an Excellent rating by the Building Research Establishment Environmental Assessment Methodology (BREEAM), which is a British rating system developed by the Building Research Establishment (BRE). The report also mentions that through its green building strategic financing, not only does NBK support climate adaptability and asset value in this field in the long term, but also directly contributes to achieving local, regional and international climate goals. Renewable energy At COP29, held in Baku, Azerbaijan, global leaders reaffirmed their commitment to accelerating the energy transition by pledging to triple renewable energy capability by 2030. This ambitious target underscores the urgency of addressing climate change. In line with the global shift towards accelerating the global transition to a low-carbon economy and reducing reliance on fossil fuels; the report sheds the light on NBK's key role in financing utility-scale solar PV, concentrated solar power (CSP) plants, as well as offshore and onshore wind farms, highlighting the Bank's commitment to supporting clean energy infrastructure, reducing emissions, achieving technological gains, and enhancing long-term energy security. Sustainable transportation The report highlights the pivotal role of financial institutions in decarbonizing the mobility sector and accelerating the shift toward electrification, both of which are key pillars in building a low-carbon economy by channeling capital towards sustainable mobility solutions. With this established, the report highlights NBK's strategic efforts in promoting this transformation by financing infrastructure and technologies that enable electrification, including electric vehicles, railway expansion, and other sustainable transformation solutions. NBK aims to update its green bond report on an annual basis to highlight any changes that occur to its eligible green asset portfolio. It should be noted that NBK has come a long way in the ESG field, as it launched its dynamic ESG strategy at the Group-level and made sustainability at the forefront of its priorities in all its operations and culture. NBK's ESG strategy aims to support economic development and stand out as a role model in the field through its four foundational pillars that include Governance for Resilience, Responsible Banking, Capitalizing on Capabilities, and Investing in Communities. NBK's role in propelling sustainable change within the finance sector is one it significantly acknowledges. NBK is focused on supporting its clients in the transition to a low carbon economy and a more sustainable and inclusive future across various business streams. Key Highlights: - The net value of NBK's eligible green bond asset portfolio reached USD 625 million as of 31 March 2025, exceeding the value of its USD 500 million debut green bond. - 80% of eligible green assets are funded by the green bond. - NBK supported 18 green projects across Europe, North America, Asia-Pacific, and the Middle East. - NBK's eligible green bond asset portfolio is distributed across three categories: 76% for Green Buildings, 17% for Renewable Energy, and 7% for Clean Transportation. - The annual financed emissions avoided of NBK's eligible green asset portfolio are estimated at 85,026.40 tons CO2 equivalent. - Total renewable energy generated of NBK's renewable energy portfolio reached approximately 3,808,759 MWh.
Yahoo
06-05-2025
- Business
- Yahoo
Boliden updates Green Finance Framework
STOCKHOLM, May 6, 2025 /PRNewswire/ -- Since the launch of Boliden's inaugural Green Finance Framework in May 2022, Boliden has raised its climate ambition throughout the value chain. For example, by being one of the first mining and metals companies in the world, to have its climate targets validated and approved by the Science Based Targets initiative (SBTi). The roadmap to 2030 which primarily focuses on initiatives related to electrification, transition to renewables, process improvements and an enhanced energy mix has been incorporated into the long-term financial plan. In addition, dedicated efforts have been made to expand the Green Transition Metals portfolio of low-carbon products where the climate impact is significantly lower than global averages. With this updated Framework Boliden aims to raise funds from investors to support green investment projects that enable Boliden to achieve its vision to become the most climate friendly and respected metal provider in the world. Key updates in this Framework version include: The International Capital Market Association's (ICMA) Green Bond Principles (GBP) categories now serve as the starting point for mapping eligible Green Projects. Furthermore, eligible Green Projects are grouped and mapped to the single most core ICMA GBP category (instead of several). That is: 'Energy efficiency' is deemed core as it reflects the main activities to achieve Boliden's climate targets by 2030 - main area going forward is expected to be refinancing of the expansion investment in the zinc smelter Odda where production of Low Carbon Zinc is set to increase. Former category for 'Pollution prevention & control' has been broadened and clarified and thus include two-categories; i) pollution prevention; ii) waste management. A new category for renewable energy production has been added. Swedbank acted as the Sustainability Coordinator on the Framework update and S&P Global were engaged to provide an independent second-party opinion. S&P Global has assessed the updated Framework and reconfirms 'Medium Green' shading. For further information, please contact: Klas Nilsson Director Group Communications +46 70 453 65 88 This information was brought to you by Cision The following files are available for download: Press release Cision View original content: SOURCE Boliden
Yahoo
09-04-2025
- Business
- Yahoo
Institutional Shareholder Services subsidiary launches sustainability bond ratings
This story was originally published on ESG Dive. To receive daily news and insights, subscribe to our free daily ESG Dive newsletter. The sustainable investing arm of an Institutional Shareholder Services subsidiary will begin assessing the sustainability impact and risks associated with green, social or sustainability bonds at the time when they are issued, according to an April 3 release. The Sustainability Bond Ratings will be issued by ISS ESG, a subsidiary of ISS Stoxx, another subsidiary of the global corporate governance and proxy advisory service. The ratings will cover green, social, sustainability or sustainability-linked bonds issued by corporate and sovereign entities, the press release said. ISS Stoxx's head of ESG, Till Jung, said in the release that the ratings will address investors' 'key need for comparative insights on the material sustainability risks and opportunities of a labeled bond at issuance level.' The cumulative global market for green, social, sustainability and sustainability-linked bonds reached $4.4 trillion in 2023, according to market data from international nonprofit the Climate Bonds Initiative. ISS's sustainable bond ratings will allow investors to manage issues like risk management-related reviews, fulfilling reporting obligations, identifying relevant bonds and researching the impact of where bond proceeds go, according to the April 3 release. 'The volume and complexity of labeled bond issuances has increased significantly in recent years, against a backdrop of disparate regulatory and market reporting standards,' Jung said. He added that the differentiated nature of the company's offering 'is significant as it is not just building an assessment based purely on general elements from the issuer's activities and performance.' Use cases for the ratings include verifying the external framework of bonds funds; portfolio or fund alignment to the European Union's taxonomy; identifying bonds with the 'highest relevance' to their issuers' stated sustainability strategies; and analyzing and verifying where proceeds wind up and if impact targets are met. Through consultations with market participants and focus groups, along with a review of the reporting landscape, the company identified these use cases as 'crucial to investors,' according to the release. The ratings will assess alignment with standards for labeled debt, including the International Capital Market Association's Green Bond Principles, as well as the bonds' alignment with the United Nations Sustainable Development Goals. A 12-point grading scale will be used — also taking into account supplemental data like EU taxonomy alignment and estimated GHG emissions — with a 'D-' representing the lowest score and 'A+' at the top end of the scale. The ratings comprise three categories that are applied across types of issued bonds: how they align with international standards, an environmental and social impact assessment and the issuer's sustainability strategy. From there, those dimensions have further topics as subdivisions, and as you get more granular, each topic has a set of indicators. Of approximately 400 indicators in total, each bond will be evaluated on approximately 150 indicators based on the rating structure of the issuance type, the company said in the release. Of the $4.4 trillion the Climate Bonds Initiative tallied in the market at the end of 2023, $2.8 trillion comes from green bonds, social bonds make up $821 billion, sustainability bonds account for $768 billion and sustainability-linked bonds made up $48.6 billion of the market, according to its 2023 market report. Recommended Reading One of UK's largest pension funds picks Amundi, Invesco to manage bulk of its portfolio
