ING was joint mandated lead arranger in the GBP 250 million bond for Anglian Water, the UK’s largest water company. This green bond is the country’s first in the water sector. Funds will be used to finance projects related to drought, resilience, energy efficiency, and water recycling.
“Issuing the very first public utility sector green bond amplifies our commitment to sustainability, and demonstrates how we operate as a leading business,” said Anglian Water’s Group Treasurer Jane Pilcher in a press release.
The bond is in line with Anglian Water’s Love Every Drop sustainability strategy, which includes cutting pollution, waste and water leakages. This earned the company the Business In The Community’s Responsible Business of the Year 2017 award.
Hans Biemans, head of Sustainable Markets at ING, said: “ING is committed to creating sustainable financing options for its clients, and green bonds are becoming increasingly popular. We are pleased to have worked with Anglian Water on this deal.”
A pressing challenge
Long-term access to secure supplies of water is one of the most pressing environmental and economic challenges in the world, and scarcity is set to worsen with an increasing global population and climate change.
The economic and environmental outlook is bleak on current trends, but the shift to a circular water economy holds much promise.
Anglian Water aims to become a carbon-neutral business by 2050. It has already reduced its level of embodied carbon by 55% from 2010 and aims to reach 60% carbon reduction by 2020.
Operating in one of the driest, yet fastest growing regions of the UK (East of England), the company invested GBP 2.1 billion between 2010 and 2015 to improve its services in the area, and it will invest a further GBP 5 billion between now and 2020 to continue these improvements. In the long term, Anglian Water has also committed to enable sustainable economic and housing growth in the region, and make it resilient to drought and flood risks.
