Sustainability-Linked Finance
For NRG, the issuance of Sustainability-Linked Bonds reinforces its commitment to a low-emissions future. Such bonds represent the next step in aligning NRG’s business and financing with its commitments and values by creating a direct link between its climate and funding strategies.
Sustainability-Linked Bond Framework – November 2020
Second Party Opinion on NRG's Sustainability-Linked Financing Framework
In 2020, NRG completed the issuance of $900 million in senior secured first lien notes in a landmark issuance, with NRG pioneering the first Sustainability-Linked Bond (SLB) in North America, and the first issued by any energy company outside of Europe. In 2021, we once again utilized our Sustainability-linked bond framework, issuing and additional $1.1 billion of senior notes due 2032. These SLBs link attractive financing to the realization of our previously announced goals to achieve a 50% reduction of absolute greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions by 2025, and reach net-zero GHG emissions by 2050, from the current 2014 baseline.
In 2019, NRG became the second U.S.-based power company to engage in an ESG-linked loan. This Sustainability Linked Loan (SLL) or ESG loan embeds a pricing mechanism linked to specific sustainability metrics. Although our $2.6 billion SLL was only the third such transaction for a U.S. power company, demand is growing for this type of financing, which emphasizes a potential increased access to capital by demonstrating strategic long-term planning of corporate responsibility. More information about our SLL can be found here.