First ever green bond issue from a seafood company
On 23rd January, Mowi successfully completed a EUR 200 million 5-year, senior unsecured green bond issue, marking the first ever Green Bond issued from a seafood company. We are committed to being part of the solution to global climate challenges and the green bond issue is an integral part of Mowi’s sustainability strategy, The Blue Revolution Plan.
The high interest and solid investor demand from both dedicated green and regular bond investors resulted in significant oversubscription and very attractive terms for the bond. The bond will have a coupon of three months EURIBOR + 1.60 %.
Speaking about the green bonds, Catarina Martins, chief sustainability officer, said: “Mowi is committed to being part of the solution to global climate challenges. The green bond issue is an integral part of Mowi’s sustainability strategy, The Blue Revolution Plan. This will allow us to achieve our goal of producing more food from the ocean thus meeting the demands of a growing population while respecting the planet and helping local communities to flourish. The Blue Revolution Plan is built around a tasty and nutritious product; financial responsibility and transparency; and taking care of our planet and its people.”
The proceeds from the green bond issue will be used for green projects as further defined by Mowi’s green bond framework. Examples could include sustainable aquaculture, e.g. investments related to ASC sites, investments in our feed division to produce sustainable feed and investments in freshwater plants with RAS technology which require less water consumption and produce larger and higher quality smolts. Mowi has received a positive second opinion from CICERO on the green bond framework.
Kristian Ellingsen, CFO, added: “At Mowi, we work with the ocean to produce sustainable and healthy seafood. Mowi was ranked number one in the Coller FAIRR Protein Producer Index for 2019, which ranks the largest global meat, dairy and fish producers by evaluating environmental and social risk factors. We are committed to the principles of the United Nation’s (UN) Global Compact and pursue an integrated sustainability strategy aligned with the UN’s Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs).”
