Affinity Water has issued its first green bond to fund environmental projects identified in the company’s green finance framework.
Schemes funded through the £130 million issuance will fall into four categories: sustainable water and wastewater management; preventing and controlling pollution; biodiversity and conservation; and energy efficiency.
Projects relating to water and wastewater management will include upgrading treatment assets and reducing leakage, whilst the company will work to reduce pollution through demand management and at the the catchment level. Its biodiversity work will cover conservation projects such as restoring rivers and adapting to climate change.
Affinity treasurer Michael Blake said the bond aligns the company’s sustainability-focussed financing strategy and gives investors a view of the type of projects the company will invest in.
“This journey brings with it great opportunity. We are investing in our assets, ours services and collaborating across the industry to ensure we leave more water in our globally rare, precious chalk streams and move towards a net zero carbon future.
“Our plans are robust, credible and will deliver sustained high-performance all whilst we continue to deliver an essential public service to customers.”
Last week, Affinity unveiled a framework that it and Thames will use to assess the health of chalk streams within their catchment areas.