Pensana plc (LON:PRE) has announced that it has received certification from CICERO, the leading independent provider of assessments on green bond frameworks. CICERO Shades of Green is Norway’s foremost institute for interdisciplinary climate research, which is internationally recognised as a leading provider of independent reviews of green bonds. It is independent of the financial and corporate sectors and a multiple award winner of International Environmental Finance Assessment Awards.
CICERO has rated Pensana as in line with its principles, based on the Company’s plans to create a sustainable magnet metal supply chain through a rare earth processing facility at the Saltend Chemicals Park in the Humber Freeport and mining in Angola.
CICERO has also rated Pensana’s operations as LIGHT GREEN with a Governance score of GOOD. The rating refers to transition activities and projects that reduce emissions or provide other environmental benefits.
About CICERO Shades of Green
CICERO is a leading independent provider of second opinions on sustainability-linked bonds and financing frameworks to determine their environmental robustness. CICERO’s Second Opinions build on renowned climate research, drawing on competence from the CICERO Centre for International Climate Research, one of the world’s foremost institutes for interdisciplinary climate study. In the Second Opinion, CICERO assesses whether a given activity or technology supports a low-carbon and climate-resilient society in the long-term.
The innovative methodology used by CICERO is aligned to the International Capital Markets’ Association’s (ICMA) Green Bond Principles and issuance of an opinion provides robust independent verification that Pensana’s Saltend project is aligned to best practice in the climate financing sector.
Pensana Chairman Paul Atherley commented:
“From the outset, the Pensana team has set out to develop an independent and sustainable magnet metal supply chain, and it is extremely gratifying to receive a positive rating from an internationally recognised assessment agency of CICERO’s standing.
The CICERO certification supports our ambition to establish in the UK world-class production of the critical magnet metals vital to the Electric Vehicle and Offshore Wind industries.
Our aim is to produce ultra-low carbon magnet metal powered by private wire link to Offshore Wind at Saltend, supplied with high-value feedstock from Longonjo powered by hydroelectricity.
The CICERO assessment will be important for the proposed green bond issuance as it will broaden the range of institutional investors interested in the offering.”
