Telecom giant Verizon announced the release of its new Green Bond Impact Report, indicating that it has fully allocated the nearly $1 billion of funds raised in its most recent green bond offering to renewable energy projects.
Verizon issued its second green bond in September 2020, raising $994 million, with proceeds targeting long-term renewable energy purchase agreements to support the construction of solar and wind facilities and bring new renewable energy to the grids that power the company’s networks, supporting the transition to a greener grid. According to the new report, the company has already fully allocated proceeds in virtual power purchase agreements (VPPAs) for renewable energy projects for approximately 1 gigawatt of renewable energy, generating capacity across seven states. The projects consist of 83% solar energy, and 17% wind energy.
Verizon’s first $1 billion green bond was issued in 2019. Roughly two-thirds of the proceeds from that offering were allocated to renewable energy, while over $300 million was allocated to green buildings, with the remainder going towards energy efficiency projects, as well as biodiversity and conservation efforts. According to Verizon, the company is the only U.S telecommunications company to complete the full allocation of two green bonds.
According to the company, the allocation furthers its strategy to minimize its environmental impact by adding renewable energy generation capacity to its power grids and avoiding GHG emissions associated with fossil fuel energy generation. The agreements also follow Verizon’s commitment made in July 2020 to reach carbon neutrality by 2035 and its sign-on to The Climate Pledge initiative last year.
Matt Ellis, Verizon’s executive vice president and chief financial officer, said:
“To date, we have issued $2 billion in green bonds that support the transition to a greener grid and help us achieve our ambitious goal of net zero emissions in our operations by 2035. Verizon’s green bond projects demonstrate our long-term commitment to minimize our environmental impact, drive operating efficiencies and benefit the communities we serve.”