Icelandic fisheries company Brim has completed the issuance of the first of its green and blue bonds, which it hopes will finance projects promoting sustainability.
Generated in collaboration with Icelandic bank Íslandsbanki, the bonds are the first of their kind to be issued by Brim and the first in Iceland to fall under the blue- and green-financing framework.
“Climate issues are one of the main challenges of our time, and we all need to respond,” Brim CEO Guðmundur Kristjánsson said. “The key to success is a large increase in investment in innovation and development of projects in the field of environment and climate change. That is why it is important to mobilize the financial market for cooperation with us and to establish a professional procedure that ensures that sustainability is a guiding principle in the assessment of our investments.”
The bonds sold are in the series BRIM 221026 GB. They are non-indexed and have a final maturity date of 22 October., 2026. They carry 4.67 percent interest, which is to be paid quarterly, but the principal of the bonds is paid in one payment on the final maturity date.
The total size of the bond series is ISK 5 billion (USD 38.7 million, EUR 33.3 million) nominal value, but bonds with a nominal value of ISK 2.5 billion (USD 19.3 million, EUR 16.7 million) have been issued.
The company plans to invest in projects that accomplish a net benefit to the environment, such as reducing greenhouse gas emissions, reducing pollution, and promoting more environmentally friendly modes of transport.
Among the projects covered by Brim’s funding framework are the company’s waste-sorting stations, where everything generated in its operations at sea and on land is sorted; the development of an environmental database, with the aim of having an overview of emissions and where they occur in the operations; and the renewal of equipment that increases the utilization of raw materials and reduces environmental impact.
Íslandsbanki oversaw the issuance of the bonds, while international consulting firm Sustainalytics informed Brim’s sustainable-financing framework
Brim's aim is to register the bonds on the Nasdaq Iceland market.
Photo courtesy of Brim
