Holcim launches first sustainability-linked bonds in Swiss franc market
Holcim successfully issued two sustainability-linked bonds in the Swiss franc market, with climate action at the heart of its financing strategy. The bonds raised CHF 325 million and CHF 100 million, with maturities in 2026 and 2032 respectively at a cost of 0.35 and 0.90 per annum.
Géraldine Picaud, Holcim CFO: “We are proud to be the first company to launch a sustainability-linked bond on the Swiss franc market. The bond attracted new ESG investors, demonstrating their confidence in Holcim’s financial strength, strategy and ability to deliver our sustainability targets.”
This transaction adds to Holcim’s global leadership in this area with around CHF 6.7 billion in sustainable financing agreements to date. It represents a significant step on the company’s journey to reach more than 40 of sustainable financing agreements as part of its “Strategy 2025 – Accelerating Green Growth”, with sustainability at the core of the company’s strategy. Investors will be entitled to a higher coupon if the company does not achieve its climate objective.
ISS ESG, a leading ESG consultancy organization, gave a second-party opinion validating the robustness, relevance and ambition of the company’s CO2 reduction target as part of the sustainability-linked financing framework updated in November 2021. ISS ESG’s experts confirmed the alignment of the framework with the Sustainability-Linked Bond Principles, which are published by the International Capital Markets Association (ICMA).
This transaction was the third access to the Swiss public bond market over the last 10 months, allowing the company to raise CHF 1.1 billion in total.
About Holcim
Holcim builds progress for people and the planet. As a global leader in innovative and sustainable building solutions, Holcim is enabling greener cities, smarter infrastructure and improving living standards around the world. With sustainability at the core of its strategy Holcim is becoming a net zero company, with its people and communities at the heart of its success. The company is driving the circular economy as a world leader in recycling to build more with less. Holcim is the company behind some of the world’s most trusted brands in the building sector including ACC, Aggregate Industries, Ambuja Cement, Disensa, Firestone Building Products, Geocycle, Holcim and Lafarge. Holcim is 70,000 people around the world who are passionate about building progress for people and the planet through four business segments: Cement, Ready-Mix Concrete, Aggregates and Solutions & Products.
More information is available on www.holcim.com
Important disclaimer – forward-looking statements:
This document contains forward-looking statements. Such forward-looking statements do not constitute forecasts regarding results or any other performance indicator, but rather trends or targets, as the case may be, including with respect to plans, initiatives, events, products, solutions and services, their development and potential. Although Holcim believes that the expectations reflected in such forward-looking statements are based on reasonable assumptions as at the time of publishing this document, investors are cautioned that these statements are not guarantees of future performance. Actual results may differ materially from the forward-looking statements as a result of a number of risks and uncertainties, many of which are difficult to predict and generally beyond the control of Holcim, including but not limited to the risks described in the Holcim's annual report available on its website (www.holcim.com) and uncertainties related to the market conditions and the implementation of our plans. Accordingly, we caution you against relying on forward-looking statements. Holcim does not undertake to provide updates of these forward-looking statements.
