Gecina Wants to Transform 100% of Its Bonds Into Green Bonds, Within a Global, Dynamic and Innovative Approach

PARIS--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Regulatory News:

Following on from the announcement of CAN0P-2030, its Carbon Net Zero Plan with a target for its operational portfolio to be carbon neutral by 2030, Gecina (Paris:GFC) is launching the requalification of all its outstanding bond issues as Green Bonds, further strengthening the alignment between its environmental performance and its financial structure.

Building on its policy launched in 2018 to set up responsible bank loans, which represent 49% of the bank facilities in place today, Gecina is committed to setting up a 100% Green Bond program.

Presented in its Green Bond Framework (available on the Company’s website), with its ambition approved by an independent third party, ISS Corporate Solutions, Gecina is moving forward with its approach for all of its issues to be Green Bonds.

This program, which is innovative on several levels, aims to accompany the continuous, global improvement in the Group’s asset portfolio and environmental performance:

- All issues will transition to Green Bonds: outstanding issues (€5.6bn) will be requalified¹, and all future bonds will be issued in this format;

- Dynamic approach with Green Bond financing or refinancing eligibility criteria for buildings that are reviewed every year and increasingly demanding to ensure alignment with the Company’s target to be carbon neutral by 2030;

- Continued improvements with carbon and energy performance across all of the buildings, with a global vision, since the entire existing portfolio, both offices and residential, is tested each year and applies to be eligible.

In the future, this program will also open up possibilities to issue Sustainability-Linked Bonds (SLB) with interest rates that are indexed against the achievement of carbon footprint goals for the entire Group, making it possible to issue bonds with both Green Bond and SLB status.

If approved by note holders at their general meetings, this 100% Green format will position Gecina as one of the first companies in the world to have a fully green euro bond financing program.

Crédit Agricole CIB and Allen & Overy advised Gecina on this operation.

“With this pioneering project to transform our entire bond portfolio into Green Bonds, we are setting out the ambition from our CAN0P-2030 plan for net zero emissions. This 100% Green Bond financing program will help drive improvements in energy performance across our portfolio, with a transition to increasingly high-performance assets based on increasingly demanding criteria”, confirms Méka Brunel, Gecina’s Chief Executive Officer.

About Gecina

As a specialist for centrality and uses, Gecina operates innovative and sustainable living spaces. The Group owns, manages and develops Europe’s leading office portfolio, with nearly 97% located in the Paris Region, and a portfolio of residential assets and student residences, with over 9,000 apartments. These portfolios are valued at 19.7 billion euros at end-2020.

Gecina has firmly established its focus on innovation and its human approach at the heart of its strategy to create value and deliver on its purpose: “Empowering shared human experiences at the heart of our sustainable spaces”. For our 100,000 clients, this ambition is supported by our client-centric brand YouFirst. It is also positioned at the heart of UtilesEnsemble, our program setting out our solidarity-based commitments to the environment, to people and to the quality of life in cities.

Gecina is a French real estate investment trust (SIIC) listed on Euronext Paris, and is part of the SBF 120, CAC Next 20, CAC Large 60, CAC 40 ESG and Euronext 100 indices. Gecina is also recognized as one of the top-performing companies in its industry by leading sustainability benchmarks and rankings (GRESB, Sustainalytics, MSCI, ISS ESG and CDP).

www.gecina.fr

¹ The requalification of outstanding issues as Green Bonds will be subject to approval by note holders invited to attend a General Meeting for each outstanding issue. All of the documents relating to the convening of note holders are available on Gecina’s website.