Green bonds are one of the main sustainable financial instruments adopted by our Group, and they are issued in order to finance sustainable development projects. The Enel Group has placed three green bonds on the European market with a total value of 3.5 billions euro, involving renewable installations, networks and infrastructure: for 1.25 billion in 2017, 1.25 billion in 2018 and 1 billion in 2019.
To ensure maximum transparency, again this year we have included a Green Bond Report in our Sustainability Report 2018 on green bonds in 2017 and 2018. For both of these years and for every type of project we have published one table with financial indicators and two with ESG (environmental, social, governance) indicators – one for carbon dioxide emissions avoided and the other for the remaining environmental benefits, including water, biodiversity and social impact. Finally, a summarising table shows the general criteria adopted in the development of projects financed through green bonds.
The precision and amount of detail in the report were given an enthusiastic welcome by the financial community. One of the most positive reactions was that of Marilyn P. Ceci, Head of Green Bonds for J.P. Morgan: “Enel’s 2018 Green Bond Report provides investors with comprehensive and substantive details on CO2 emission avoided as a direct result of renewable projects. The enhanced ESG data provide investors with valuable insights into water consumed per project, number of biodiversity protective measures and social actions including the number of beneficiaries. This report and Enel’s work with groups such as the UN Global Compact demonstrate their thought leadership in their approach to sustainable finance which goes well beyond business as usual."
The reaction from Bank of America-Merrill Lynch was similar. “We applaud Enel’s environmental leadership, and the work they have done to address reporting on capacity generated and carbon dioxide reduced for renewable energy projects,” said Suzanne Buchta, the Group’s Global Head of ESG Capital Markets.
Agnes Gourc, Head of Sustainable Capital Markets at BNP Paribas, praised the “high level of transparency and granularity" in the report on green bonds, saying that these elements are "a gold standard in the industry" and that they show that “Enel is an exemplary issuer in the green bonds market."
For Tanguy Claquin, Head of Sustainable Banking at Crédit Agricole Corporate and Investment Bank, the publication of the new Green Bond Report “reflects Enel's constant monitoring of the key impact indicators expected by the investors. It translates into a nice granularity of information associated with additional ESG indicators.”
As well as welcoming the report, the banks also appreciated the way the Group has integrated sustainability into its financial strategy. This was confirmed by Kyung-Ah Park, Head of Environmental Markets at Goldman Sachs, who said: “We welcome the leadership that Enel is taking in integrating sustainability into its core business and leveraging capital market solutions to finance its sustainability strategy."