NIB signs sustainability-linked loan with Elisa

NIB and Finnish Elisa Oyj have signed a EUR 100 million 7-year sustainability-linked loan (SLL). The loan will finance investments in 5G and optic fibre access to increase capacity and coverage in Finland and Estonia.

The interest rate margin on the sustainability-linked loan is linked to Elisa’s climate targets and the development in access to highspeed connection.

Elisa and NIB have agreed two targets that cover Scopes 1 & 2 and Scope 3 greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions under the “Purchased goods” and “Purchased services” categories. The climate-related KPIs have been validated by the Science Based Targets initiative (SBTi) for the 1.5 °C alignment pathway. The third key performance indicator (KPI) measures the decrease in the population without highspeed connections.

“By linking financing to ambitious targets, Elisa shows their commitment to integrating sustainability into their strategy and mitigating climate change throughout their operations. With this loan, we can also support their investments needed to reach customers in rural areas and offer a resilient infrastructure,” says André Küüsvek, NIB President and CEO.

The agreed sustainability targets are:

• KPI 1: A reduction of absolute Scopes 1 and 2 GHG emissions by 42% from the baseline year (8,225 t CO₂e in 2021)
• KPI 2: A reduction of absolute Scope 3 GHG emissions by 42% in the purchased Services and Goods categories from the baseline year (140,994 t CO₂e in 2021)
• KPI 3: A decrease in the population without highspeed connections (min. 100 mb/s, both mobile and fixed) in Finland and Estonia, with a target of 1% by 2030

“Elisa’s mission is a sustainable future through digitalisation, and we are committed to sustainable business, including in terms of financing. This financing from the Nordic Investment Bank is a continuation of our previous sustainability-linked financing arrangements. It will enable us to accelerate significant reductions in our greenhouse gas emissions in our own operations, and especially in our supply chain, which is crucial for us to achieve our target of zero emissions by 2040”, says Jari Kinnunen, CFO at Elisa.

Elisa offers telecommunications and digital services. They provide solutions for over 2.8 million consumer, corporate and public administration customers in the core markets of Finland and Estonia, as well as in over 100 countries internationally. In 2023, Elisa employed 5,700 people in more than 20 countries.

NIB is an international financial institution owned by eight member countries: Denmark, Estonia, Finland, Iceland, Latvia, Lithuania, Norway, and Sweden. The Bank finances private and public projects in and outside the member countries. NIB has the highest possible credit rating, AAA/Aaa, with the leading rating agencies Standard & Poor’s and Moody’s.

For further information, please contact
Harald Rokke, Director, Banker & Country Lead for Norway, +358 10 618 0286, harald.rokke@nib.int

Lotta Forssell, Senior Communications Officer, at +358 10 618 0498, lotta.forssell@nib.int