The building materials giant says the move puts climate action, water preservation and safety at the heart of its strategy.
The company recently completed two new sustainability-linked financing transactions worth above CHF3bn (€2.84bn). To scale up its impact, Holcim joined the UNGC CFO Taskforce alongside 60 companies representing a combined US$1.7 trillion in market capitalisation. The UNGC COF Taskforce aligns members’ finance strategies with the United Nations Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs).
Holcim CFO Géraldine Picaud commented: “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 €850m sustainability-linked bond issued in November 2020, Holcim says it has just completed two further transactions. In August 2021, it refinanced a €3bn syndicated credit line linking it to climate and safety, two of its core sustainability indicators, in line with the UN SDGs 8 (“Decent Work & 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.
In September 2021, Holcim placed a new ten-year US$100m sustainability-linked bond, based on its 2030 CO2 reduction target. Confirming the company’s leadership in sustainable finance, this issue represents the first private placement of a USD 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 says its Sustainability-Linked Financing Framework is aligned with the company’s sustainability strategy. It started with CO2 reduction, in line with the company’s 2030 climate targets and updated with the full 2050 Net-Zero pathway endorsed by the Science Based Targets initiative (SBTi). Following Holcim’s nature-positive strategy launch, it also added “specific freshwater withdrawal” in its cement operations, aligned with SDG 6 (“Clean Water and Sanitation”). ISS ESG agency views the new water KPI as relevant and material to Holcim and will accordingly issue an updated second-party opinion in the course of the month.
