Chinese tech giant Alibaba has apportioned the net proceeds from its first sustainability bonds to 12 different projects, reports the South China Morning Post. The bonds, issued last February and totaling $986.9 million, were used to fund initiatives in five environmental, social, and governance areas, including energy efficiency, green buildings, Covid-19 crisis response, renewable energy, and “circular economy and design”—a business strategy centring on reuse and recycling.
Alibaba distributed the largest portion of the proceeds—45.7%, or $451 million—to the construction of energy-efficient data centers that apply hot air recycling, waste water recovery, and recycling systems to reduce energy consumption and absorb heat generated by critical hardware.
Around 35.7% of the bond proceeds were spent on building and refurbishing green buildings, while the rest were used for Covid-19 relief efforts, the purchases of solar and wind power, and recycling and waste management programs.