Verizon issued its first green bond in February 2019, followed by a second green bond in September 2020. As of July 2021, Verizon has fully allocated the nearly $2 billion in net proceeds from the green bonds primarily to finance, in whole or in part, VPPAs for new renewable energy projects.
2020 green bond
$994.1 million
—
2019 green bond
$636.9 million
$319.3 million
$36.7 million
$0.8 million
$993.7 million
Total
$1,631 million
$1,987.8 million
Renewable energy
Anticipated greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions avoided per year
Estimated annual renewable energy2 multiplied by GHG emissions factor3
2,475,899 MT CO2e avoided annually4
Square footage contracted for LEED Gold or higher certification
1 This table highlights the cumulative environmental impacts of the key categories of eligible green investments to which we have allocated green bond proceeds. 2 The estimated annual amount of renewable energy generated by the projects covered by the VPPAs was determined based on the full amount of our contracted capacity with respect to those projects.
3 Emissions calculated using the EPA eGRID United States Electricity Grid average for 2018 for the 2019 Green Bond and 2019 for the 2020 Green Bond (U.S. annual CO2 equivalent total output emission rate (lb/MWh)). See https://www.epa.gov/energy/greenhouse-gases-equivalencies-calculator-calculations-and-references
4 Because the green bond proceeds allocated to the VPPAs for the North Carolina and Iowa projects cover only a portion of the estimated total cost of the VPPAs, we have included only an equivalent proportion of the estimated total annual amount of avoided emissions for the projects.
In December 2020, the Blooming Grove Wind Energy Center commenced commercial operations. Verizon entered into a VPPA with Invenergy, the developer, for 52% of the output of the project. This project is located in McLean County, Illinois and was allocated to Verizon’s first green bond. According to Invenergy, Blooming Grove generates enough electricity to power about 69,000 homes each year, supported about 500 jobs during the 12-month construction period and will invest nearly $120M in the local community through property taxes, landowner payments, and wages and benefits.
Read more
Verizon Green Bond Reports: https://www.verizon.com/about/investors/green-bond-reports
ESG Report: https://www.verizon.com/about/sites/default/files/esg-report/2020/index.html
Citizen Verizon: https://www.verizon.com/about/responsibility
