UniCredit S p A : proud to support Eni in the energy transition

UniCredit has assisted Eni, the leading Italian integrated energy company, in pricing its EUR 1 bn inaugural sustainability-linked bond, representing the first issuance of its kind in its sector.

UniCredit is proud to have assisted Eni, one of the seven biggest European oil companies, in issuing its inaugural EUR 1 bn sustainability-linked bond (SLB). The deal represented a first both for Eni and for its sector - paving the way for further companies of its sector to issue SLBs.

This comes as many industries look to transition from 'brown' to 'green', making their operations more environmentally friendly and sustainable. Eni's energy transition strategy is a strong example of this, with the company having committed to decarbonising all its products and processes (within scope 1, 2 and 3) by 2050. As part of this roadmap, Eni has set targets of achieving net zero (scope 1 and 2) emissions for its upstream operations by 2030 and net zero overall (both up and downstream) by 2040. Eni's renewable capacity is also expected to increase to 5GW by 2025, 15 GW by 2030, and 60 GW by 2050, and to be fully integrated with the company's product offering.

The bank acted as both Sustainability Structuring Agent and Joint Bookrunner, playing to UniCredit's strength of ESG expertise and debt market knowledge. The deal followed a very successful marketing campaign, illustrating the appetite of the European investor base for sustainable purchases, particularly when the issuer has a solid commitment to ESG principles.

The transaction follows the company's recent implementation of a Sustainability-Linked Financing Framework, drawn up with support from UniCredit. Both the framework and the transaction serve as testament to Eni's commitment to playing a key role in the energy transition, with sustainability at the core of its financing strategy.