Metlen, in the coming years, will continue to deploy its business model, with focus on the mitigation of climate change and the energy transition. The Company will strength its presence in the renewable energy, with further implementation of a significant portfolio of over 3.5GW of RES projects, in Greece and abroad and will invest in increasing the production of secondary aluminum, implementing cutting-edge technologies, and leveraging digital industrial processes at various stages of primary aluminum production to improve energy efficiency, as well as in the development of energy storage projects. In this context, the Company in order to facilitate transparency, to meet these ambitious commitments, and finance projects that will deliver benefits to support its Sustainable Development strategy, has elected to create a green bond framework the “Metlen Green Finance Framework”, under which it can issue Green Bond(s).
Under this framework, the eligible green projects of the Metlen are identified in accordance with the Green Bond Principles (“GBP”) published in June 2021 (with June 2022 Appendix 1), administered by the International Capital Market Association (“ICMA”) as well as the Green Loan Principles (“GLP”) published in February 2023, administered by the Loan Market Association (“LMA”), the Asia Pacific LMA (“APLMA”) and the Loan Syndications and Trading Association (“LSTA”). Specifically, these eligible green projects include investments/expenditures for the acquisition, construction, development, and installation of renewable energy production units, investments in the production of recycled/secondary aluminum, investments in primary aluminum production, as well as investments in energy storage projects." The “Metlen Green Finance Framework” has received a positive assessment from ISS-Corporate, one of the largest Second Party Opinion Providers globally, with the highest possible rating on the ISS-Corporate scale. This assessment confirms both the overall quality of the “Metlen Green Finance Framework” and the company's significant contribution to specific Global Sustainable Development Goals. Moreover, in order for investors and other stakeholders to monitor the progress of Metlen's Green Bond issuance and be informed about how the proceeds from the green bonds are being used, Metlen will provide an annual “Green Finance Allocation & Impact Report”.