British water company Anglian Water has launched an ambitious green bond scheme worth £250m, aimed at cleaning up its carbon footprint and stimulating wider investment into clean initiatives.
The water company has a target of reducing carbon emissions at its operations by 30% over the next five years. Failure to meet the targets will see the company facing higher interest rates from its investors. The new bond scheme has been established to help meet this goal, as well as accelerate development of schemes that boost climate resilience in the UK.
“This framework further amplifies our commitment to the environment and the reduction of our carbon footprint,” says Anglian Water’s chief executive Peter Simpson. “Linking it directly to Anglian Water delivering these tough carbon targets demonstrates how determined we are as a responsible business to take the steps we need to invest in resilience for our region in the most sustainable way.”
“Funds raised will enable us to address the three-fold challenges of water scarcity, climate change and environmental protection in the face of a growing population, but it also represents the pinnacle in responsible financing,” he added.
This is the company’s second green bond, with the first (Sterling Green) issued in 2017 in an industry first – being the first public utility company to launch such a scheme. At the end of last year, financing received through green bonds allowed Anglian Water to channel £876m into 850 capital investment projects.
The company pledged to become net-zero in 2019 as part of a Public Interest Commitment, joining other UK water companies such as United Utilities and Yorkshire Water. To meet its clean targets, Anglian has been working to develop its renewable energy assets such as wind and solar – with a goal of sourcing 44% of its energy needs from renewable sources. As part of this push, a 11.6MW solar site was added to the company’s pipeline last year, with the 42,000 module array installed in Huntingdonshire, Cambridgeshire.
