Acciona Energía add local impact to new Green Financing Framework

ACCIONA and ACCIONA Energía have developed a new sustainable impact financing framework applicable to both debt issues and bank loans, including quantitative environmental and social objectives. These targets go beyond those included in the sustainable financing models currently available on the market. The new formula incorporates additional initiatives and indicators of “positive impact” on the local communities where ACCIONA companies operate.

In the current context, markets are demanding greater transparency for sustainable financing instruments. For this reason, ACCIONA’s new framework introduces a clearer and more demanding set of rules that reinforce its credibility.

The eligibility criteria for assets to be financed are based on 14 activities defined under the European green taxonomy, a classification system established by the European Union (EU) that determines whether an economic activity can be considered “sustainable”. The allocation of assets to the various lines of financing will be reviewed quarterly by ACCIONA’s Sustainable Finance Committee.

The corporate indicators applicable to ACCIONA and ACCIONA Energía are specified as the 60% reduction of Scope 1 and Scope 2 CO2 emissions in the 2017-2030 period, as well as the upholding of an annual investment aligned by more than 90% with the EU taxonomy in the case of ACCIONA and by more than 95% in the case of ACCIONA Energía.

In addition, and as an innovative component, quantitative criteria of local impact are added, which will include, among others:

• Hours of training and certification for women, vulnerable groups and underrepresented minorities.
• Households in rural areas that are provided with affordable, clean and high-quality electricity services.
• Reforestation for positive environmental impact.
• Decarbonization plans for small and medium-sized enterprises.
• Procurement from local suppliers of low-carbon or zero-emission steel, cement, concrete and machinery.
• Decarbonization plans for local farms near wind farms.

The framework is based on leading sustainable funding practices, such as the Green Bond Principles (GBP) of the International Capital Markets Association (ICMA) and the Green Lending Principles (GLP) administered by the Loan Market Association (LMA), and is aligned with the draft European Union Green Bond Standard (EU-GBS). DNV, an independent certification body, has assessed this new framework and issued its favorable independent opinion on the compliance of the new framework with these standards.

ACCIONA and ACCIONA Energía, through their Sustainable Finance Report, will annually inform about the issuance of green financing instruments and instruments linked to sustainability, as well as the allocation of taxonomy-aligned assets to these instruments, their related impacts and their compliance with the local impact indicators established by the group.

ACCIONA and ACCIONA Energía published the 2022 Sustainable Finance Report with a new format and content to increase investors’ understanding of the impact of their financing activities through a transparent, verified and detailed report.

By the end of 2022, both companies had managed to channel €4.05 billion of their corporate debt through sustainable financing instruments, which represents 60% of their total corporate debt of €6.79 billion.