REG - SSE Plc - SSE Issues New Sustainability Framework

SSEAnnouncement

23/08/2023 09:00

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RNS Number : 2067K  SSE PLC  23 August 2023

SSE PLC

SSE ISSUES NEW SUSTAINABILITY FRAMEWORK

SSE, the leading electricity infrastructure company, has published an updated
Sustainability Financing Framework (the "Framework"), that represents the next
step of maturity in SSE's approach to sustainable financing and will help
deliver its ambitious net zero-focused growth strategy.

SSE is already one of the largest issuers of Green Bonds in the UK having
raised £2.5bn since 2017.

The new Framework merges SSE's Green Bond and Sustainability-Linked Bond
frameworks and the aim of this new Framework is to facilitate transparency
through high quality disclosure in SSE's Green and Sustainability-Linked
financing for interested stakeholders. To achieve this, SSE has aligned the
Framework to the following key external frameworks and standards:

• Include all green and sustainability linked financing under one document,
therefore aligning the Framework to the ICMA's Green Bond Principles 2021 and
Sustainability Linked Bond Principles 2023 and to the Loan Market
Association's Green Loan Principles 2023 and Sustainability Linked Loan
Principles 2023. Therefore, the Framework applies also to Green Loans,
Sustainability-Linked Loans and any other Use of Proceeds or General Corporate
Purpose instrument (e.g., hybrid bonds, convertible bonds, commercial paper,
derivatives instruments, or other forms of financial instrument available).

• Alignment of the Use of Proceeds Framework with the Technical Screening
Criteria of the EU Taxonomy for sustainable activities - a cornerstone of the
EU's sustainable finance framework and an important market transparency tool.

Green Projects eligible under this framework comply with the Technical
Screening Criteria defined as making a substantial contribution to the climate
change mitigation environmental objective. SSE will align with the
requirements of the Do No Significant Harm (DNSH) criteria, as well as the
minimum safeguards outlined in Regulation (EU) 2020/ 852 on a best-efforts
basis.

Gregor Alexander, SSE's Finance Director, said: "Investments in clean and
low-carbon infrastructure are a win-win for the economy and the climate. By
financing these investments through green bonds and sustainability-linked
instruments, we are helping to attract more capital into initiatives that will
accelerate progress towards net zero while holding ourselves to account on
wider sustainability efforts. This new, enhanced Framework underlines our
commitment to green finance, while we also remain focused on the important
qualities of optionality, agility and discipline for future financing.

This Framework will help us secure the funding required for our Net Zero
Acceleration Programme Plus investments, and will enable us to continue to
deliver cleaner, more secure and more affordable energy."

Notes

The Framework along with DNV's opinion can be found at
https://www.sse.com/greenbond (https://www.sse.com/greenbond) . This site also
contains SSE's recently published Green Bond report along with an Assurance
Report from PwC.

 

 Enquiries
 Investors  SSE Investor Relations  ir@sse.com (mailto:ir@sse.com)        Michael Livingston  +44 (0)345 0760 530
 Media      SSE Media               media@sse.com (mailto:media@sse.com)  Sam Peacock,        +44 (0)345 0760 530

                                                                          Glenn Barber

            MHP Communications                                            Oliver Hughes       +44 (0)7885 224 532
                                                                          Simon Hockridge     +44 (0)7709 496 125

 

 

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