Green Financing

Swire Properties has been named one of the top 10 organisations globally in the “Post-Issuance Reporting in the Green Bond Market 2021” study conducted by the Climate Bonds Initiative (CBI), an international organisation focusing on green financing.

The study reviewed close to 700 green bonds from more than 400 issuers around the world. Swire Properties’ Green Finance Report 2020 achieved the maximum score and was cited as a best-practice case study for the clarity, comprehensiveness and transparency of its reporting. The CBI also praised us for our efforts to go beyond green building certification in projects supported by green financing. This included our disclosure of qualitative and quantitative indicators, such as the estimated carbon emissions avoided as well as energy and water savings.

In 2019, Swire Properties became the first company in Hong Kong to launch a financing mechanism with an interest rate indexed against improvements in our year-on-year environmental, social and governance (“ESG”) performance.

The agreement converted an existing five-year revolving credit facility of HKD500 million into a sustainability-linked loan, with the interest rate being indexed against improvements in our year-on-year ESG performance. A reduction in the facility’s interest rate will be granted each year, as long as we:

• Retain our listing on DJSI World; and
• Achieve a target reduction in energy use intensity, measured in kWh/m² each year, for our Hong Kong portfolio.

In 2020, we converted a further HKD2 billion in conventional loans into sustainability-linked loans and secured another HKD1 billion sustainability-linked loan, using the same criteria. These loans are being used to finance such projects as green buildings and the adoption of advanced energy- and water-saving technologies.

Our Two Taikoo Place project exemplifies how we put these loans to use. Set to open in 2022, the project is being built to the highest green building and wellness standards and has already earned triple Platinum pre-certifications in WELL, BEAM Plus and LEED.

Swire Properties continues to receive financing from the Swire Pacific SD Fund, which was established to support and accelerate SD projects to improve sustainability performance through innovative technologies. We are currently implementing three pilot projects under this scheme that will be executed at a larger scale if they are successful:

1. Sub-Micron Heat Transfer Fluid Technology – aluminium oxide nanoparticles that can be added in a fluid to a closed-loop chilled water system to increase the water’s thermal energy transfer capability. In turn this increases chiller efficiency and reduces energy consumption. Initial research shows this fluid increases performance by about 15% and decreases electricity consumption by around 12%.
2. Smart Waste Reduction and Engagement Solution – monitors tenant level waste disposal and recycling behaviours using smart scales and data-driven insights and engagement activities to gamify tenants’ waste reduction journey and drive behavioural change. Read more about the Smart Waste Reduction Challenge.
3. Integrated Direct Current (“DC”) Microgrid Solution – involves the adoption of a DC microgrid infrastructure that can reduce electricity conversion loss between systems and will support PV panels and low-carbon fuel cell applications. Read more about the energy-saving strategies we adopted in 2021.