Fashion label Chanel issues loan linked to climate targets
PARIS (Reuters) – French luxury brand Chanel on Thursday lifted a € 600million ($ 699million) bond with clauses tied to its environmental goals, as companies in an industry watched by concerned buyers of waste multiplies green initiatives.
Fashion companies have publicly lobbied in recent years to show their credentials for being environmentally friendly, abandoning certain materials used in clothing or handbags or trying to improve their energy supply in stores. .
A handful are now exploring new avenues of financing to support their push towards tougher targets in areas such as carbon emissions. “Sustainability bonds” are tied to company-level goals, unlike green bonds, which fund specific projects.
The five- and ten-year deals issued by the private company Chanel, which only started publishing annual results in 2017, marked its first foray into the bond market, said CFO Philippe Blondiaux.
Part of the product can be used for investments, especially in startups developing alternatives to plastic or leather.
Depending on the structure of the deal, Chanel will also have to pay a premium upon maturity of the bonds if it does not meet certain emission reduction targets within the company and its supply chain.
Chanel could tap the market again, Blondiaux said, adding that the company’s future funding strategy would be in the form of sustainable bonds.
“It’s a logical step … we are making (the funding strategy) consistent with the company’s strategy, which is focused on transitioning to a more sustainable model,” he said.
Chanel received 600 million euros of investor demand for the shorter bond of 300 million euros, which was priced at 0.548%, and 750 million euros of demand for the longer bond maturity, which was priced at 1.059%, a manager advance on the deal said.
British Burberry BRBY.L issued a £ 300million sustainability bond earlier in September.
($ 1 = € 0.8587)
(This story has been passed on to clarify the Burberry link in the last paragraph)
Reporting by Sarah White, Yoruk Bahceli and Silvia Aloisi; Editing by Kirsten Donovan