In a move to support the transition to a low-carbon world, on Sept. 28, Europcar Mobility Group unveiled a comprehensive carbon reduction plan with an offer the company is calling an "attractive alternative to vehicle ownership" with more green mobility solutions for customers.
This offer consists of €500m sustainability-linked senior secured notes, relying on “fleet greenification” criteria and aimed at the refinancing of its fleet. The company's announcement stated, "The group wishes to leverage sustainable financing schemes to accelerate its carbon transition; a lever that it considers to be both very relevant and powerful in engaging its internal and external stakeholders, as well as in transforming its operating model."
The purpose of the notes offering is to proactively manage the company’s fleet-related debt profile along its €1.7bn securitization program refinanced last July. As part of this offer, Europcar Mobility Group has established Sustainable Performance Targets:
reducing carbon emissions for its car and van fleet to reach an average of 93 g CO2/km for passenger cars and of 144 g CO2/km for vans respectively, by the end of 2024
targeting to have green vehicles (less than 50 g CO2/km) accounting for 20% of its car and van fleet by the end of 2024
This bond issuance is the first of its kind for the company.
"We believe that the mobility services we offer our customers – from car rental to car sharing to on-demand vehicles and subscription – are alternatives to vehicle ownership and thus, are part of the solutions to transition towards a low-carbon world," said Caroline Parot, CEO, Europcar Mobility Group. "We are also determined to reduce our carbon footprint year after year: specifically tackling our indirect emissions, which represent 98% of our carbon footprint and are largely dominated by the use of our fleet by our customers. The bond issuance we have just completed reflects a choice that involves our entire organization: the choice to act directly on the 'CO2' profile of our fleet, where we can have a significant impact. Our finance teams have perfectly integrated this commitment by translating it into the fleet financing strategy, and as such, we are particularly proud of the success met. We are going to continue our systemic approach, with 'low-carbon initiatives' in all the group's key functions, and by progressively bringing our customers on board.”
In 2005, Europcar Mobility Group joined the United Nations Global Compact in favor of sustainable development, and in 2019, joined the Science-Based Targets Initiative to take actions in line with the Paris Agreement. The "One Sustainable Fleet" program marked another step in increasing the share of green vehicles within its fleet over the years.
