Sustainable finance

As part of our growth strategy, joining economic performance and sustainable development, Air Liquide has announced its new objectives to ACT for a sustainable future. Air Liquide’s financial policy is part of its responsible and sustainable business model. In this context, Air Liquide decided to develop new sustainable financial instruments.

Framework

Air Liquide’s refreshed Sustainable Financing Framework echoes to its new strategic plan ADVANCE, which places sustainable development at the heart of the Group’s strategy. Air Liquide supports the continued growth and development of sustainable finance, taking into consideration the evolutions in ESG regulations and market expectations.

As Air Liquide continues to develop pioneering technologies and solutions which are key for energy transition, Sustainable Finance is also an opportunity to foster the dialogue with the market on these.

This Framework is aligned with the Green Loan Principles 2023 and the Social Loan Principles 2021 overseen by the Loan Market Association (LMA) and with the Green Bond Principles 2021 (GBP), the Social Bond Principles 2023 (SBP) and the Sustainability Bond Guidelines 2021 (SBG) overseen by the International Capital Markets Association (ICMA).

Are the Eligible Categories aligned with the EU Taxonomy and Green Bond Principles/Social Bond Principles?

Whenever possible we choose to align with the eligibility criteria of the European Taxonomy. However, the publication of this framework embarks activities which are not included in the EU Taxonomy. For example, our framework covers Air Gases which are contributing to GHG abatement and that are fully aligned with AL’s sustainable strategy.

How frequently will Air Liquide report? What type of information will the reporting include?

Air Liquide commits to publish annually a Sustainable Financing Report, which will provide an allocation report and an impact report. The allocation and the impact reporting will be provided until full allocation of proceeds, and thereafter in case of material changes. An external verification on these reports will be provided by an independent external auditor, and will be made public on the Air Liquide website.

Green bond issuance

Following its inaugural green bond issuance in 2021, Air Liquide has successfully issued a new 500 million euros green bond, in line with its ambition to combine growth and sustainable development. The Group intends to use the proceeds from the issuance to finance or refinance flagship energy transition and sustainable projects, in particular in low-carbon hydrogen, carbon capture and low-carbon air gases. This new issuance confirms Air Liquide as a regular ESG issuer.

Our sustainability linked RCF

In December 2019, Air Liquide signed an amendment to its 2.5 billion euros syndicated credit line so as to include, from now on, a correlation scheme between its financial costs and three of its CSR targets regarding its carbon intensity, gender diversity and safety. As an industrial player committed to sustainable development, Air Liquide demonstrates through this initiative its willingness to combine performance and sustainability.

The indexation mechanism includes an increase or decrease of the financing cost and commitment fees based on the achievement of fixed annual targets for each criteria.

These environmental and societal performance criteria are:

  • The carbon intensity of the Group  (direct and indirect kg CO2 emissions /€ Ebitda)
  • The proportion of women among engineers and managers
  • The loss time accident frequency rate

This syndicated credit facility was renewed in May 2024 for an amount of 3 billion euros, maintaining the same indexation mechanism.

Advancing for a sustainable future

Our sustainability commitments