LeasePlan’s first-ever Green Bond is a new front in our strategy to speed up the transition to electric driving and help tackle climate change. An industry first, the Green Bond is a EUR 500 million five-year fixed rate note issued in March 2019, the proceeds of which will only be used to finance the purchase of Battery Electric Vehicles (BEVs).
The successful bond attracted EUR 3.5 billion of demand through the participation of around 260 investors, including many responsible investmentorientated investors*. The level of demand was a clear indication of the support from Europe’s institutional investor base for LeasePlan’s sustainability strategy to achieve net zero emissions from its total fleet.
"We’re very proud to have introduced this new way of funding our BEV ambitions,” says Yolanda Paulissen, Chief Strategic Finance and Investor Relations Office. “The Green Bond enables us to tap new investment pools and further expand our diversified funding platform, while allowing our customers to make sustainable mobility choices."
By helping us expand our BEV fleet growth, LeasePlan’s Green Bond supports the achievement of the United Nations Sustainable Development Goals ‘Good Health and Well-Being’ (SDG 3), ‘Industry, Innovation and Infrastructure’ (SDG 9), ‘Sustainable Cities and Communities’ (SDG 11) and 'Climate Action' (SDG 13). LeasePlan’s Green Bond framework is also aligned with the Green Bond Principles** under the ‘clean transportation’ category.
* As defined by the United Nations – supported Principles for Responsible Investment (PRI)
** The Battery Electric Vehicles acquired under the LeasePlan Green Bond Framework, being ‘zero tailpipe emissions vehicles’, are also recognised as contributing substantially to Climate Mitigation under the developing ‘EU Taxonomy of environmentally-sustainable economic activities’ (www.ec.europa.eu/info/sites/info/files/business_economy_euro/banking_ and_finance/documents/190618-sustainable-finance-teg-report-taxonomy_en.pdf). The Taxonomy is anticipated to form the basis for future green bond issuances aligned with the expected EU Green Bond Standard currently under development.