JetBlue’s amended $550 million RCF includes a “sustainability-linked” provision, to align its strategic initiatives with its environmental, social and governance (ESG) performance goals — which the airline has been doing for years, in various ways.
BNP Paribas has closed a sustainability-linked loan (SLL) with JetBlue
Airways, through an amendment to its existing Senior Secured Revolving Credit
Facility (RCF).
“Our owners, many of whom are also crewmembers, want to see how ESG initiatives
are connected to our financials,” said Sophia
Mendelsohn,
Chief Sustainability Officer for JetBlue. “As the first airline to accomplish
this type of transaction, we are directly linking our commitment to addressing
environmental and social issues with our bottom line. We are proud of what we
have accomplished, but also understand we have more to do in reducing our carbon
footprint and meeting the needs of our stakeholders.”
JetBlue has been an industry leader on sustainability — beginning in 2014, when
it partnered with The Ocean Foundation on a groundbreaking
report
that correlated the long-term health of ecosystems in the Caribbean, one of
its most popular destinations, to the health of the airline’s bottom line. In
2016, it became one of the largest renewable jet fuel
purchasers
in aviation history; in 2017, it released a SASB-aligned sustainability
report.
Last year, JetBlue teamed up with The Nature Conservancy to examine the
connection between natural resources and
tourism
in the Caribbean — and the resulting opportunities for tourism operators
(hotels, cruise lines, airlines) to work together to ensure the health of
ecosystems in such prime destinations. And earlier this year, it became the
first US airline to announce that it was ramping up its carbon
offsets,
in order for all of its domestic flights to be carbon neutral (though
Delta
is now hot on its heels).
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“We couldn’t be happier to continue our partnership with JetBlue as the Company
progresses on its sustainability journey. JetBlue’s SLL is just one element of
the airline’s comprehensive ESG and sustainable finance strategy, which is
incredible to see. BNP Paribas is dedicated to working with our corporate
clients to identify tailored solutions that align with their specific efforts
and commitments toward achieving their ESG goals,” said Florence Pourchet,
Co-Head of Global Banking Americas at BNP Paribas, who also oversees the Bank’s
Sustainable Finance strategy in the Americas.
Read
more
on JetBlue’s sustainability strategy and BNP Paribas’ role in sustainable
finance transactions …
Published Feb 25, 2020 7am EST / 4am PST / 12pm GMT / 1pm CET
Sustainable Brands Staff