FCC Medio Ambiente publishes its second Green Bond Report
FCC Medio Ambiente has published the second Green Bond Report which provides information on the expected environmental impact of green projects financed by its sustainable bonds. These bonds, issued by FCC Servicios Medio Ambiente Holding S.A.U in November 2019, are used to finance projects that will reduce emissions, decrease waste disposal in landfills and promote circular economy actions, linked to the United Nations’ Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs).
The company developed in November 2019 a Green Bond Framework, which is aligned with the International Capital Market Association (ICMA) 2018 Green Bond Principles and has been validated by an independent external body (Green Bond Second Opinion) to ensure that this framework is in fact aligned with said Principles. Days after its publication, FCC Medio Ambiente issued its first green bond for a total of €1,100 million divided into two sections, one of €600 million maturing in 2023 and the other of €500 million maturing in 2027.
Out of the total €1.1 billion, €824.01 million was allocated in 2019 and €201.34 million has been allocated in 2020 to fund projects related to the following four categories:
- Prevention and control of pollution: urban sanitation, municipal waste treatment plants, Waste to Energy (WtE) recovery plants, cleaning and maintenance of urban sewage networks and treatment of industrial waste
- Biodiversity: ground cleaning and maintenance
- Energy efficiency: energy efficiency improvement projects in municipal energy networks
- Clean transport: vehicles powered by green energies
These investments have led to significant environmental benefits in the communities where FCC Medio Ambiente operates. In Spain and Portugal more than 27 million inhabitants have been served through the treatment of almost 6 million tonnes of waste and a total of 1,859,252 tonnes of CO2e of greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions have been avoided. On the other hand, in the UK, more than 475,000 tonnes of waste have been processed, generating 315 GWh of non-fossil energy and avoiding the equivalent of 838,000 tonnes of CO2 of GHG emissions.
Some examples of projects in which green bond funds have been invested are the energy efficiency contract for public lighting in Puerto del Rosario (Canary Islands, Spain), which, with an investment of €9.5 million, has achieved annual savings of 3,643,717 kWh (75.2% reduction) and 910.93 tonnes of CO2e per year are being avoided; or the Millerhill WtE Plant in Edinburgh and Midlothian (Scotland - UK), in which, with a total investment of €144.26 million, nearly 160,000 tonnes of waste have been treated in 2020, generating 100,438 MWh of non-fossil energy and avoiding the emission of 276,089 tonnes of CO2e.