Telefonica will open the way on the global telecommunications sector with the first issuance of green bonds, whose funds are used to finance environmental projects. According to information published by the newspaper Expansión, the Spanish operator will mark a global milestone in the sector with a sustainable debt operation of at least 500 million euros, led by BBVA, Crédit Agricole and HSBC.
To this end, according to Expansión, the Spanish operator has hired the services of BBVA, Credit Agricole and HSBC, the entities with which this issue will be addressed for an amount of between 500 and 1,000 million euros. This amount is considered a benchmark or standard size issue in the market, and it could be executed in the next few days.
World leader in climate change management
As a matter of fact, Telefónica has announced that it has been recognized as a leading global company in the fight against climate change and is part, for the fifth year in a row, of the “A List ” prepared by CDP, the non-profit organization that annually collects and distributes this information among investors, corporations and governments. It thus becomes the only Spanish Telco that appears on the CDP world list.
CDP has assessed the actions of the multinational to reduce its CO2 emissions, mitigate climate risks and help develop the low carbon economy in the last year.
This ranking, drawn up at the request of more than 650 investors with assets of 87 billion dollars, is made up of six telecommunications companies, out of a total of 126 companies around the world, four of which are Spanish. The firms analyzed get a rating from A to D, depending on the effectiveness with which they address climate change. Those that do not provide information or when doing so, it is deemed insufficient, get an F.
“The management of climate change is a priority for Telefonica. Today more than 50% of the electricity we use comes from renewable sources. And we have stabilized our energy consumption even though traffic has grown by 107% in the last three years, so we have improved our efficiency by 52%. We have achieved all this two years ahead of what is stated in our goals. In other words, we are more efficient and, in addition, we consume an increasingly greener energy every year, “explains Enrique Blanco, Global GCTIO of Telefónica, who recalls the commitment to the transformation of the copper network to fiber where the company is a leader and which represents an efficiency in excess of 85%.
