Enbridge raises funds from sustainability bonds in climate-goal push

(Reuters) – Enbridge Inc said on Monday it has closed its inaugural sustainability-linked bond (SLB), the first company in the midstream sector to raise sustainable bonds in North America, as it moves a step closer to its environment goals.

Enbridge said in a statement that as part of a larger $1.5 billion financing, it issued a $1 billion 12-year term senior note, integrating emissions and inclusion goals into the financing terms.

The energy infrastructure firm said it also closed a 30-year $500 million term senior note issuance with a coupon of 3.4%.

The SLB carries a coupon of 2.5%, Enbridge said, adding that the proceeds from the issuance will be used mainly to repay existing indebtedness, partially fund capital projects.

The Calgary, Alberta-based company had published a framework of the SLB a few weeks ago that laid out the principles for bond issuance and performance indicators that impact its borrowing costs. https://bit.ly/3hw3sQX

Enbridge has been under the scanner of environmental campaigners as they have argued for years that there is a risk its Line 5 oil pipeline in Michigan, built in 1953, could rupture in the Straits of Mackinac.

(Reporting by Vishal Vivek in Bengaluru, Editing by Sherry Jacob-Phillips)