Holcim commit to 40% sustainable financing by 2024
Company joins UNGC CFO Taskforce; aligns finance strategies with UN Sustainable Development Goals
HOLCIM have made a commitment to reach at least 40% sustainable financing by 2024, putting climate action, water preservation, and safety at the heart of their strategy. The company recently accelerated this commitment with the completion of two new sustainability-linked financing transactions worth more than CHF3 billion.
To scale up their impact, Holcim have also joined the United Nations Global Compact CFO Taskforce alongside 60 companies representing a combined US$1.7 trillion in market capitalization. The UNGC COF Taskforce aligns members’ finance strategies with the United Nations Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs).
Holcim chief financial officer Géraldine Picaud (pictured) said: ‘Sustainability is at the core of what we do. That's why we set ourselves some of the most ambitious goals in our industry. Walking the talk, we are putting climate, water, and safety at the heart of our financing strategy. To make a bigger impact, I am delighted to be a member of the UNGC CFO Taskforce to move this agenda forward with my peers.’
Building on the company’s €850 million sustainability-linked bond issued in November 2020, Holcim have recently completed two further transactions. In August 2021, they refinanced a €3 billion syndicated credit line linking it to climate and safety, two of their core sustainability indicators, in line with UN SDG 8 (Decent Work and Economic Growth) and 13 (Climate Action). The cost of the credit facility will depend on the company’s achievement of its annual targets in these areas.
And in September 2021, Holcim placed a new 10-year US$100 million sustainability-linked bond, based on their 2030 CO2-reduction target. Confirming the company’s leadership in sustainable finance, this issue represents the first private placement of a US dollar medium-term note linked to climate action. The investor will be entitled to a higher coupon should the company not meet its climate objective.
Holcim’s Sustainability-Linked Financing Framework is aligned with the company’s sustainability strategy, which started with CO2 reduction, in line with the company’s 2030 climate targets, and was updated with the full 2050 Net-Zero pathway endorsed by the Science Based Targets initiative (SBTi). Following their recent launch of their nature-positive strategy, Holcim have also added ‘specific freshwater withdrawal’ in their cement operations, aligned with SDG 6 (Clean Water and Sanitation).
