Air Products has successfully issued its registered green bond offerings of US$600 million aggregate principal amount of US dollar-denominated fixed-rate notes and €700 million aggregate principal amount of euro-denominated fixed-rate notes.
"Put simply, sustainability is our growth strategy at Air Products," said Seifi Ghasemi, Chairman, President and CEO. "We want to grow responsibly through sustainability-driven opportunities that benefit our customers and our world. Importantly, our multi-currency green bond offerings make us the first US chemical company to issue with green and blue hydrogen as an eligible expenditure category, further reinforcing our leading position advancing the energy transition through hydrogen for zero-emission transportation and industrial decarbonisation."
Air Products intends to use the net proceeds from the notes offerings to finance or refinance, in whole or in part, one or more Eligible Projects (as defined in the applicable prospectus supplement), including:
- Expenditures and investments related to pollution prevention and control – green and blue hydrogen and green and blue ammonia.
- Expenditures in renewable energy.
- Expenditures and investments related to sustainable aviation fuel (SAF).
Pending full allocation of the net proceeds to such Eligible Projects, Air Products may hold and/or invest the balance of such net proceeds not yet allocated, in the company's discretion, in its Treasury portfolio (in cash, cash equivalents, money market funds, etc.) in line with its Treasury policies or use them to repay a portion of outstanding indebtedness.
Morningstar Sustainalytics, a leading global provider of environmental, social, and governance (ESG) research and ratings, has completed and published a Second Party Opinion (SPO) on Air Products' green finance framework. The firm reviewed Air Products' green finance framework and determined that the planned use of proceeds is consistent with Air Products' sustainability strategy. Sustainalytics' SPO offers investors additional insight into the alignment of Air Products' green finance framework with the Green Bond Principles.