Improvement to GRESB Score

RNS Number : 2812I

Aquila European Renewables PLC

01 December 2022

 

1 December 2022

Aquila European Renewables plc improves GRESB score to 88 out of 100

Aquila European Renewables plc ("AER" or "the Company"), the London-listed investment company advised by Aquila Capital Investmentgesellschaft mbH (the "Investment Adviser") today announced the results of its annual GRESB assessment for 2021.

GRESB is the global ESG benchmark for real estate and infrastructure which synthesises data and provides actionable insights to its members, partners, and investors. The reporting solutions aid over 170 institutional investors and more than 2,000 fund managers, companies, and asset operators to make informed decisions based on Environmental, Social, and Governance ("ESG") data.

In its second year of participation in the GRESB assessment, AER has achieved an overall GRESB score of 88 out of 100 (2020: 84 out of 100), higher than the GRESB average of 82 points amongst its peer group. In addition, AER achieved a 3 out of 5-star GRESB rating (2020: 4 out of 5) . While GRESB score is an absolute measure, the GRESB rating is an overall relative measure of ESG management and performance of the Company. The calculation of the GRESB rating is based on the GRESB score and its quintile position relative to the GRESB universe. Despite AER's improvement in overall GRESB score from 84 to 88, AER's GRESB star rating reduced from 4 to 3 as a result of the relative improvement in GRESB's peer universe for the period (consisting of infrastructure funds and infrastructure assets).

At portfolio level compared to the last GRESB assessment, the result shows an improvement in performance in the categories of Leadership, Reporting and Risk Management, whilst the score in Stakeholder Engagement and Policies was maintained. At asset level, meanwhile, the rating recognises AER's strong policy frameworks as well as its performance in resource and emission management including water, greenhouse gas emissions and energy. Areas identified for improvement include Reporting (e.g. ESG investor reporting and incident management) and Risk Management (e.g. risk management systems at asset level, social risk assessments and incident reporting). In response, the Company will be working with the Investment Adviser to implement a variety of enhancements which are expected to be introduced in 2023, further details of such initiatives will be included in the Company's next Annual Report.

ENDS

For further details contact:

Media Contacts

Edelman Smithfield

Ged Brumby 07540 412301

Kanayo Agwunobi 07581 010560

Sponsor, Broker and Placing Agent

Numis Securities 020 7260 1000

Tod Davis

David Benda

Vicki Paine

NOTES

The objective of Aquila European Renewables plc is to provide investors with an attractive long-term, income-based return in EUR through a diversified portfolio of wind, solar PV and hydropower investments across continental Europe and Ireland. Through the diversification of generation technologies, the seasonal production patterns of these asset types complement each other to balance the cash flow, while the geographic diversification serves to reduce exposure to one single energy market. In addition, a balance is maintained between government supported revenues, fixed price power purchase agreements and market power price risk.

www.aquila-european-renewables.com

LEI Number: 213800UKH1TZIC9ZRP41

About GRESB

The GRESB Infrastructure Asset Assessment provides the basis for systematic reporting, objective scoring and peer benchmarking of ESG management and performance of infrastructure assets around the world. Both single and multi-asset operators can participate and the process leads to deep data insights for investors, fund managers and asset operators. The data is self-reported by Assessment participants between April 1 and July 1 each year and subjected to a multi-layer validation process after which it is scored and benchmarked. The result is high-quality data that investors and participants can use in their investment and decision-making processes.

Further details can be found at  https://gresb.com/nl-en/infrastructure-asset-assessment/

 

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