Heidelberg Materials has placed its first Green Bond as part of its recently published Green Finance Framework. The issue volume amounts to €700 million with a term until 2034.
Heidelberg Materials is the first European manufacturer in the heavy building materials industry to issue a green bond. The range of projects financed by this bond spans from the modernisation of plants, for example to increase use of alternative fuels, to the expansion of carbon capture technologies. The Green Bond complements Heidelberg Materials’ sustainable financing portfolio and further increases the share of sustainable financial instruments. By 2025, the company aims to increase this share to over 70%.
The 2.5 times oversubscription of the bond demonstrates the confidence of the capital market in the group’s sustainability strategy. The 10-year Eurobond has a fixed interest rate of 3.95% per annum. Joint bookrunners for the issue are BofA Securities, Citigroup (B&D), Commerzbank, ING, SEB, and Standard Chartered Bank.
“In addition to our two sustainability-linked bonds, we are now the first European manufacturer in the heavy building materials industry successfully issuing a green bond. This underlines our pioneering role in the decarbonisation of our industry”, said Chief Financial Officer René Aldach. “The introduction of our Green Finance Framework a few weeks ago has already attracted the interest of a broader investor base. With the bond just issued, we are responding to the increased demand.”
Heidelberg Materials’ Green Finance Framework is based on the latest version of the International Capital Market Association’s (ICMA) Green Bond Principles and the Loan Market Association’s (LMA) Green Loan Principles. ISS Corporate has provided a Second Party Opinion, validating the alignment with ICMA and LMA Principles, the consistency with the company’s sustainability strategy, and that the projects financed will positively contribute to achieving the UN Sustainable Development Goals. The framework also considers selected elements of the EU Taxonomy Regulation and the associated Delegated Acts as well as the EU Green Bond Regulation.
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