LafargeHolcim Ltd., Zurich, is breaking new ground in financing instruments among heavy building materials operators. Investors in its 850 million-euro ($1.03 billion) sustainability-linked bond will earn a higher coupon upon 2031 maturity should the producer not meet a primary objective—cutting net carbon dioxide emissions per ton of cementitious material output—by the end of the decade.
“This demonstrates the company’s commitment to reach the most ambitious CO2 reduction target of the industry for 2030,” says LafargeHolcim Chief Sustainability Officer Magali Anderson. “[The] bond issuance brings our Environmental, Social and Governance related funding agreements to CHF 6 billion [$6.74 billion].”
Leading Environmental, Social and Governance consultancy ISS ESG gave a second-party opinion validating robustness of the producer’s CO2 target in the bond’s context. Officials confirmed alignment of LafargeHolcim’s Sustainability-Linked Financing Framework with the International Capital Markets Association Sustainability-Linked Bond Principles. Maryland-based ISS ESG ranks LafargeHolcim #4 out of 95 companies in the same sector, qualifying its bonds as responsible investment.
Eagle Roofing Products Florida, LLC has engaged a national commercial real estate broker to locate a Sunshine State property for a satellite to a Sumterville concrete tile plant, with both operations supporting a Palm Beach warehouse and stocking facility opened in early 2020.
“After much thought, we have decided to start the process of locating land suitable for a two- or three-line plant that will serve the West Coast of Florida and supply concrete roof tile to our Palm Beach yard,” says Eagle Roofing Vice President of Sales & Marketing John Campbell, based at the producer’s southern California headquarters. “We have provided our agent with specifications and the ideal location between Arcadia and Immokalee, preferably close to Interstate 75. Our ability to recommission production equipment from California facilities ensures that our second plant could be fully operational within 12 months.”
The Florida subsidiary has grown steadily since a 2006 charter, he adds, and earned a reputation as the concrete tile producer of choice for roofing contractors, builders and distributors throughout the Sunshine State and Eastern Seaboard. The Palm Beach facility and new plant siting follow last year’s addition of a fourth Sumterville production line.
“This commitment to additional capacity in Florida mandates that we expand our focus on growing our industry by continuing to convert temporary asphalt shingle roofing to concrete tile,” observes Eagle Roofing Director of Business Development Tyler Allwood. “Our industry has a great story to tell that low end, builder grade roofing products cannot compete with. Asphalt shingles simply cannot compare to the energy efficiency, resale value, permanence and curb appeal that concrete tile roofs have to offer.”