Convenience and fuel retail company Alimentation Couche-Tard announced today the launch of a proposed $1 billion senior unsecured notes offering, which includes the company’s first unsecured green bonds. Alimentation Couche-Tard has more than 14,200 stores across 26 countries and territories, with brands including Couche-Tard and Circle K.
Brian Hannasch, President and CEO, said:
“This initiative marks an important milestone in our journey to create sustainable value for all our stakeholders. We have already set our sights high by establishing ambitious 2025 sustainability targets around key areas where we believe we can have a meaningful impact. We are now taking a further step towards providing greater transparency and engagement on our efforts and our desire to have a positive impact on the communities we serve and the world around us.”
The bonds are being issued under Alimentation Couche-Tard’s newly released Green Bond Framework, which outlines eligible use of proceeds from green bond offerings. Eligible categories under the framework include Clean Transportation, such as electric vehicle charging stations; Energy Efficiency, including expenditures related to design, construction, operation and maintenance of energy-efficient facilities and infrastructure, such as HVAC and LED lighting; Renewable Energy, including including on-site or off-site solar, wind and small-scale hydropower generation and expenditure related to sourcing renewable fuels; Pollution Prevention and Control, including emissions reduction, waste prevention, recycling, sustainable packaging, among others; Sustainable Water and Wastewater Management, and; Green Buildings. The framework has received a second party opinion from ISS ESGEnvironmental, social, and governance (ESG) criteria are a set of standards for a company’s operations that socially conscious investors use to screen potential investments..
Ina Strand, Chief People Officer & leader of Couche-Tard’s sustainability efforts, said:
‘’With the launch of our second sustainability report in 2020, we created a more defined framework and strengthened how we incorporate sustainability in our way of thinking and decision-marking, making it now a lens to our business and pushing forward our commitment to actionable results. This offering will allow us to accelerate investments towards the ambitious priorities that we previously laid out.’’
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