ACI EUROPE congratulates Rome airports on securing Sustainability-Linked Bond
26 April 2021
Level 4+ Airport Carbon Accredited operator vouches that future investments will be increasingly oriented towards environmental, social and territorial sustainability
Brussels, 26 April 2021: ACI EUROPE today hailed the announcement that Aeroporti di Roma - operator of Rome-Fiumicino and Rome-Ciampino airports – has secured a €500 million Sustainability-Linked Bond (SLB)1. This green financing mechanism will link the availability of funding to the airports’ carbon management performance and will be focused on investment in projects with a positive environmental impact.
The bond issue is thus directly connected to environmental commitments from Aeroporti di Roma including:
- Achieving net zero for CO2 emissions under its control (scope 1 and 2) by 2030. The main projects that will allow the Rome-Fiumicino and Rome-Ciampino to achieve this ambitious target are the construction of two photovoltaic plants for a total capacity of 60MW, the electrification of the entire ground-vehicle fleet, the phase out of the fossil fuel-powered cogeneration plant and switching to bio methane for boilers from 2029.
- Reducing CO2 emissions relating to access to the airports by 10% by 2030 on per passenger basis (scope 3), through the installation of more than 500 charging stations for electric vehicles and enhancing the capacity of the railway station at the airport. Furthermore, the airport operator also plans to invest in the availability of sustainable aviation fuel for airlines by 2024.
The financial characteristics of the SLB instrument will be influenced by Aeroporti di Roma’s achievement or failure to meet these environmental commitments. Performance will be evaluated on an annual basis according to a set of Key Performance Indicators, including the maintenance of its certification at Level 4+ (Transition) under the Airport Carbon Accreditation programme. Aeroporti di Roma became the first European airport operator to obtain this certification earlier this month.
Olivier Jankovec, ACI EUROPE Director General commented: “The successful launch of the Sustainability-Linked Bond for Aeroporti di Roma shows that financial markets have trust in the ability of the airport industry to decarbonise. This is an extremely important signal under the current circumstances. We can only hope that the EU and Public Financial Institutions will display the same confidence in us – and thus be ready to support us through our recovery.
The fact that this is being measured and progressed through Airport Carbon Accreditation also speaks volumes about the credibility and standing of this unique programme.”
