Optus is the first telecommunications company to issue a sustainability linked bond in the Australian market. The investment from Australian Ethical will finance initiatives to reduce its scope 1 and scope 2 emissions by 25 per cent by 2025 and 42 per cent by 2030 (from a 2015 baseline).
In 2019, Optus aligned its decarbonisation objectives to the 1.5-degree scenario of net zero emissions. The problem? It’s capital intensive and time consuming for a legacy business to make changes to its operations and reduce emissions.
The investment from Australian Ethical will contribute to Optus expanding energy efficiency measures across its communications network, including towers infrastructure.
As the first telecommunications company in Australia to raise capital via a sustainability linked bond, our investment in Optus provides a blueprint for how emissions-intensive companies can tap the bond market to reduce their carbon footprints.
SDG contribution