Sustainability & Financial Report 2019
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SUSTAINABILITY & FINANCIAL REPORT 2019 WELCOME FROM OUR CEO 2019 has been a year As Chief Executive Officer of Vena Energy Collaborations with our host and Chairperson of our Sustainability communities are stronger than ever, to remember for Committee, I am very pleased to welcome with new initiatives being carried out on Vena Energy, marking you to Vena Energy’s 2019 Sustainability healthcare, infrastructure, education, Report. and the environment across Australia, another consecutive Indonesia, India, Japan, Philippines, 2019 has been a year to remember Singapore, South Korea, Taiwan, and year of double-digit for Vena Energy, marking another Thailand. The cooperation and guidance growth in operating consecutive year of double-digit growth from our local stakeholders were essential in operating capacity, development for the success and effectiveness of our capacity, development project conversions, geographical corporate social responsibility initiatives. project conversions, expansion, functional integration, social For example, in 2019 we successfully initiatives, financial performance and completed our wildlife and natural habitat geographical expansion, talent onboarding in our ever more preservation project at our 70 MW Mingus functional integration, diversified regional team. I wish to Solar Farm in Taiwan. A large number of extend my gratitude to all our internal local and migratory wild birds have made social initiatives, and external stakeholders for their a permanent home within our 241,000m2 financial performance invaluable contributions, which enabled Ecological Conservation Area, including us to achieve such remarkable results. the endangered Black-Faced Spoonbill and talent onboarding in This success makes us even prouder as which migrates to our site during the our ever more diversified it comes from activities entirely aligned winter months. We are already onto with our corporate values, further proving the next initiative, ready to open our regional team. that sustainability is an effective engine brand-new Mingus Education Centre to for responsible growth. schools, NGOs and the general public, to promote education and appreciation 4 VENA ENERGY SUSTAINABILITY REPORT 2019 of clean green energy and its integration enabling Vena Energy to deliver affordable bond was successfully issued and listed with the environment and wildlife. A clean energy to our customers and on the Singapore Exchange in February great deal of merit goes to the residents progressively approach grid parity in all 2020 in compliance with the ICMA Green of Chiayi County and all the organisations our markets. Commercial corporate PPAs Bond Principles, and it became the first and institutions in Taiwan that have made also continue to become a bigger part of corporate USD Green Bond issuance by this project a reality. We extend the same our business, as we successfully signed a Singapore-based company. appreciation and gratitude to all our host new agreements in Australia and Taiwan communities across the Asia Pacific while preparing to achieve similar success Prior to the bond issuance, Vena Energy region, who allowed our many other across our other markets, such as Japan also obtained investment grade credit initiatives to be equally effective. and the Philippines. ratings from both Standard and Poor’s and the Japan Credit Rating Agency (JCR), We became a participant of the United In 2019 we welcomed some very important a reflection of our diversified and resilient Nations’ Global Compact (UN GC), the new stakeholders to our family as we cash flows under long-term offtake world’s largest corporate sustainability launched our newest business activity arrangements as well as our in-house initiative. Vena Energy fully supports of renewables fund management. Our first operational capabilities that enable us UN GC’s ten founding principles related renewables fund placement saw us partner to control construction and operations to human rights, labour standards, with a group of four leading ESG-driven while managing the associated risks. The environmental protection and anti- institutional investors. We are honoured limited exposure to individual off-takers corruption, and we are pleased to to have them as partners and are hopeful and the associated regulatory and market commit to the communication to our of more collaborations with them and risks allowed Vena Energy to demonstrate stakeholders on our progress and results in other like-minded, sustainability-focused an impressive resilience to the challenges implementing these ten principles and the investors in the near future. We are proud and effects of the COVID-19 pandemic, UN Sustainable Development Goals (UN to have become the partner of reference with minimal disruptions to our SDG) through an annual Communication for many stakeholders who seek to make a operations and no material impact on on Progress (COP). positive impact on sustainability and ESG the company’s budget. initiatives across the Asia Pacific region. From an operational perspective, Vena On behalf of all of us at Vena Energy, we Energy commissioned 10 additional Another notable success in the past thank you for your continued interest renewable energy projects during the year, year was the preparation of our in our company and we look forward to an average of 1 new project every 5 weeks. inaugural green bond issuance. This another year of successful collaboration At the same time, our team managed was a yearlong effort by the entire Vena with you in our joint mission to help to further reduce our Levelised Cost of Energy team, encompassing third-party combat climate change and decarbonize Energy (LCOE) for another consecutive reviews of all aspects of our business, the economy through the generation of year in a concerted effort among our including our operations, policies, clean renewable energy. engineering, procurement, operations risks and opportunities, as well as a and asset management teams, as we thorough description of our portfolio and Nitin Apte further integrated our business model, activities. The culmination of this effort CEO of Vena Energy expanded the reach of our O&M activities was the US$1,000,000,000 guaranteed Chairperson of Vena Energy’s and obtained new construction licenses. euro medium-term note programme Sustainability Committee This virtuous trend paves the way for established in November 2019. more competitive renewable projects, Subsequently, Vena Energy’s inaugural VENA ENERGY SUSTAINABILITY REPORT 2019 5 1. Introduction 07 4. Governance 49 1.1. Corporate Overview 07 4.1. Board of Directors and Management 50 Team 1.2. 2019 Highlights 11 4.2. Sustainability Committee 51 1.3. Precautions against COVID-19 17 4.3. Management Framework 51 1.4. Sustainable Business Model 17 4.4. Vena Energy Governance Policies 52 2. Environment 19 4.5. Overview of ESG Policy 53 4.6. Green Financing Framework 55 2.1. Our Commitment to Climate Action 20 2.2. Our Environmental Considerations 21 5. Financials 56 2.3. Our Environmental Strategies 22 5.1. Introduction 57 2.4. Environmental Management System 24 5.2. Financial Highlights 58 2.5. Our Environmental Impact 26 5.3. Financial Results 59 3. Social 30 5.4. Capital Management 60 5.5. Significant Events Post December 2019 62 3.1. Social – Internal 31 3.2. Social – External 38 6. Additional Information 63 3.3. Corporate Social Responsibility 40 Highlights 6.1. Independent Limited Assurance Report 63 6.2. Commitment to the UN Global Compact 66 6.3. Legal Statements 67 6 VENA ENERGY SUSTAINABILITY REPORT 2019 1. INTRODUCTION 1.1. CORPORATE OVERVIEW 1.1.1. About Vena Energy Headquartered in Singapore, Vena Energy capacity is contracted with central or projects with superior performance is one of the leading pure renewable energy provincial state-owned utilities with standards, while minimising development Independent Power Producers (IPP) in the strong credit profiles, and the remaining and construction risks and utilising best- Asia Pacific region. We develop, construct, 10% of operating capacity is contracted in-class technology and equipment. The own and operate solar photovoltaic (PV), under long term PPAs, predominantly ability to efficiently self-develop, build and wind and energy storage projects in Japan, with investment grade rated corporate operate assets has enabled us to reduce Australia, India, Indonesia, the Philippines, off-takers. No single asset in Vena Energy’s the Levelised Cost of Energy (LCOE) of South Korea, Taiwan and Thailand, with portfolio contributes to more than 10% our projects. an extensive local presence of over 500 of our total operational capacity, and this employees across eighteen management percentage has continued to decline as Sustainability remains the centrepiece of offices and twenty-nine operational offices. more assets were built and commissioned, Vena Energy’s corporate strategy, as we further reducing project concentration risk. aim to deliver high performance to all our As of December 2019, Vena Energy’s Both the operation & maintenance and stakeholders including employees, host portfolio comprised of: asset management functions are often communities, suppliers, counterparties, contracted to Vena Energy-owned entities partners and investors. Our sustainability • 55 operating assets with a gross on a long-term basis, providing visibility on goals are not only limited to providing clean capacity of 1.7 GW; recurring operational costs. Debt financing renewable energy to our communities, is arranged for each asset on a non-recourse