Helen to publish a Green and Sustainability-Linked Finance Framework
Helen has published a combined Green and Sustainability-Linked Finance Framework. The purpose of the framework is to further integrate Helen’s sustainability targets into the company’s financing and guide resources to carbon neutral energy production projects. Within the framework, Helen can utilise green and sustainability-linked debt instruments in its financing, such as loans and bonds.
“Helen is a trailblazer of the energy transition, and the green transition is at the core of our strategy. The Green and Sustainability-Linked Finance Framework will significantly support the financing of our clean energy investments. Climate change is one of the most significant challenges of our time, and we are proud to be contributing to its mitigation,” says Helen’s Group Treasurer Jukka Kalliomäki.
The green financing part of the framework is built around two project categories – energy and clean transportation. The energy project category includes ten subcategories: solar power, wind power, bioenergy, heating and cooling, hydropower, hydrogen production, electricity transmission and distribution, distribution of district heating and cooling, energy storage and electric heat pumps. The clean transportation project category includes one subcategory: charging infrastructure for electric vehicles. Most of the eligibility criteria for the subcategories will follow the technical screening criteria defined in the EU taxonomy for substantial contribution to climate change mitigation.
The sustainability-linked financing part of the framework is built around two key performance indicators (KPIs), which are based on the reduction of greenhouse gas emissions in Helen’s own production (Scope 1 and Scope 2) and in the value chain (Scope 3). For Scope 3 emissions, the target encompasses greenhouse gas emissions from our associated companies’ energy production as well as emissions related to the production of purchased and resold electricity and heat.
Sustainability is an integral part of Helen’s strategy, which aims to make our energy production carbon neutral by 2030 and to phase out combustion-based energy production by 2040. Due to the Green and Sustainability-Linked Finance Framework, sustainability will also play even a greater role in Helen’s financing, which offers the providers of financing an opportunity to support, among other things, climate change mitigation and adaptation as well as the achievement of the United Nations Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs).
Danske Bank has acted as the adviser in the preparation of the framework, and Moody’s Investors Service has provided Second Party Opinion for the framework. Both the green framework and the sustainability-linked framework received the highest score (excellent) on Moody’s Investors Service’s five-level rating scale.
Further information
Jukka Kalliomäki, Group Treasurer, tel. +358 50 313 3228, email: jukka.kalliomaki(a)helen.fi
Timo Rajala, CFO, tel. +358 40 772 8060, email: timo.rajala(a)helen.fi