Financial Sustainability

Green Borrowing Programme

Contact is committed to a sustainable energy future and wants to take a leading role in supporting the transition to low carbon economy for the benefit of our environment, communities and economy.

To support this transition we have developed a Green Borrowing Programme, the first of its kind in New Zealand, to create an opportunity for lenders and investors to invest in certified Green Debt Instruments and recognising the value of our low carbon renewable generation assets.

Climate Bond Certified

Contact’s Green Borrowing Programme is market leading - for the first time ever, investors have the opportunity to invest in certified Green Debt Instruments issued by a New Zealand company.

This is a progressive approach to green finance and will better support Contact’s past and future renewable energy generation initiatives whilst also providing investors and lenders with an opportunity to access a broad range of certified green debt instruments.

Sean Kidney, CEO Climate Bonds Initiative:

"This NZD 1.8bn (USD 1.3bn) Green Borrowing Program from Contact Energy is our single largest Certification to date and a significant global boost for best practice standards in green finance. Contact Energy are demonstrating the kind of corporate leadership we need to see replicated, both in trans-Tasman capital markets and internationally by more listed companies."

Our Programme is based on the Green Bond Principles, and has been certified against the Climate Bonds Standard V2.1, which are universally accepted as a basis for capital markets issuance of green bonds, and assured by EY. It will be supported by Green Assets, initially comprising geothermal assets that meet the CBI criteria. Once criteria have been finalised for hydro assets, Contact can seek to include these as Green Assets.

The debt instruments certified under the Programme include all Contact’s committed bank facilities, commercial paper and retail bonds, US Private Placement Notes and wholesale bonds.

The proceeds of Contact’s Programme will be used to finance existing and future renewable generation assets that meet the Green Bond Principles and the Climate Bonds Standard (Green Assets). All of Contact’s geothermal assets (excluding Ohaaki power station) qualify to be included as eligible Green Assets.

Contact is committed to ensuring that its Programme is always at least 1.0 times covered by the value of its Green Assets (the “Green Ratio”), 1.27x as at 30 June 2019.

Green Debt Instrument

For Contact’s existing lenders and debt investors that already have exposure to the debt instruments listed above, they will now hold a debt instrument that is a Green Debt Instrument under the Programme certified by the Climate Bonds Initiative.

Any new investors wanting to participate in Contact’s certified Green Debt Instruments should contact a broker (in the case of retail bonds) or a bank (in the case of wholesale bonds and commercial paper, noting these are available to institutional investors only).

Contact has invested in expanding its renewable energy generation with the construction of a new geothermal plant, Te Mihi. Consequently, this has enabled Contact to systematically undertake the closure of 400MW of thermal generation. These actions have resulted in a 59% reduction in Contact’s greenhouse gas emissions from electricity generation since 2012, and the building out of a more sustainable yet still reliable supply of energy to meet market needs.

For more information, see the Green Borrowing Programme Framework.

Downloads:

Contact Green Borrowing Programme - CBI Certification
Contact Green Borrowing Programme - Independent Assurance Report
Contact Green Borrowing Programme - Framework

The Climate Bonds Disclaimer applicable to Certification can be found here

Contact Green Borrowing Programme Infographic