EDF and Standard Chartered Bank sign a 200-million-euro revolving credit facility indexed to ESG criteria
on 30 Oct 2020EDF and Standard Chartered Bank have signed a 200-million euro revolving credit facility, incorporating a pricing adjustment mechanism that links the margin to three of the Group’s sustainable development KPIs: direct CO2 emissions, electrification of its vehicle fleet, and French residential customer usage of online consumption monitoring tools.
In signing this contract, EDF has reaffirmed the central role of sustainable finance instruments in its financing strategy. Revolving credit facilities indexed to environmental, social, and corporate governance criteria now amount to more than 5.5 billion euros, that is to say, approximately 52% of the Group’s credit lines.
The chosen KPIs reflect the Group’s main environmental commitments, and in particular a 50% reduction in greenhouse gas emissions (CO2) by 2030, in order to reach carbon neutrality by 2050 and full electrification of the EDF vehicle fleet by 2030.
They illustrate the “raison d’être” set out in the Group’s statutes since May 2020: “to build a net zero energy future with electricity and innovative solutions and services, to help save the planet and drive wellbeing and economic development.”
This new contract ties in with the other five credit lines indexed to Group sustainable development performance, signed in 2017, 2018 and 2019.
Xavier Girre, Senior Executive Vice-President, Group Finance, EDF, stated: “This fifth ESG-indexed renewable credit facility is another demonstration of the consistency of our financing strategy with our raison d’être. It testifies to our commitment to sustainable finance. We are convinced that sustainable finance, of which we are the pioneers in France, is an enabler for the energy transition.”
Isabelle Chastagner, Senior Banker, Managing Director at Standard Chartered Bank declared: “We are delighted to once again partner with EDF as together we work towards a shared purpose of sustainable growth. Helping our clients manage their financing strategies in a sustainable way is integral to our core value of Here for good.”
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About EDF
A key player in energy transition, the EDF Group is an integrated electricity company, active in all areas of the business: generation, transmission, distribution, energy supply and trading, energy services. A global leader in low-carbon energies, the Group has developed a diversified generation mix based on nuclear power, hydropower, new renewable energies and thermal energy. The Group is involved in supplying energy and services to approximately 38.9 million customers (1), 28.8 million of which are in France. It generated consolidated sales of €71 billion in 2019. EDF is listed on the Paris Stock Exchange.
(1)The customers were counted at the end of 2019 per delivery site; a customer can have two delivery points: one for electricity and another for gas.
About Standard Chartered
We are a leading international banking group, with a presence in 60 of the world’s most dynamic markets and serving clients in a further 85. Our purpose is to drive commerce and prosperity through our unique diversity, and our heritage and values are expressed in our brand promise, Here for good. Standard Chartered PLC is listed on the London and Hong Kong Stock Exchanges. For more stories and expert opinions please visit Insights at sc.com. Follow Standard Chartered on Twitter, LinkedIn and Facebook.