euNetworks has added two environmental performance targets to its €1.26 billion Sustainability-Linked Loan, linking the financing structure more closely to how it plans and builds network infrastructure. The critical bandwidth infrastructure provider will introduce Network Development ‘Impact by Design’ Plans for major construction projects and pursue continuous improvement in its GRESB score. The measures address projects responsible for approximately two-thirds of the company’s current greenhouse gas emissions, while retaining an existing gender diversity target. They sit alongside euNetworks’ validated Science Based Targets and its commitment to Net Zero by 2040.

Embedding Impact In Network Design

The new Network Development Impact by Design Plans will apply to major projects requiring significant construction of new network infrastructure. Such projects account for a substantial share of euNetworks’ annual capital investment and present a clear opportunity to address emissions at the design stage, before specifications are fixed.

The framework will bring customers and construction partners into earlier discussions on lower-carbon materials, construction techniques and supplier solutions. It is intended to make environmental considerations part of commercial and engineering choices, alongside cost, delivery times and customer requirements.

Marisa Trisolino, CEO at euNetworks, said:

“Our new SLL targets mark an important step in euNetworks’ commitment to growing our business sustainably, focusing our efforts on the areas where we can deliver the greatest impact. The introduction of our NetDev Impact by Design Plans represents a significant evolution in how we approach major network development projects, embedding sustainability considerations from the very beginning of the design and planning process.”

Infrastructure Focused ESG Benchmark

Alongside the project-level plans, euNetworks has introduced a target for continuous improvement in its GRESB score. GRESB provides an infrastructure-specific benchmark for environmental, social and governance performance, offering a structured measure for a business whose expansion depends on physical network assets.

The company expects the target to align governance, environmental management and operational performance with its infrastructure-led growth model. It also connects directly with the Impact by Design plans, bringing project decisions and wider ESG measurement into the same financing framework.

Marisa Trisolino, CEO at euNetworks, shared:

“This is complemented by our GRESB score improvement target, which provides a rigorous measure of ESG performance for organisations delivering infrastructure-led growth. Together, these targets will help us drive meaningful emissions reductions across euNetworks, for our customers and for our wider supply chain.”

Loan Structure Supports Accountability

euNetworks first established its Sustainability-Linked Loan at €760 million in 2021 to support the expansion of its fibre network infrastructure across Europe. In 2024, the company refinanced and expanded the facility to €1.26 billion with support from a syndicate of infrastructure-focused lenders.

Under the revised structure, the loan now incentivises progress against three targets: gender diversity, GRESB score improvement and Network Development Impact by Design Plans. The retained diversity objective gives the framework a social dimension, while the two added targets concentrate environmental assessment on capital-intensive network deployment and business-wide performance.

The approach gives euNetworks a practical means of connecting sustainability commitments with its long-term financing and delivery model. Rather than treating emissions as an issue considered after a project has been commissioned, the company is placing carbon and supplier considerations among the factors assessed during planning.

A Connected Growth Strategy

euNetworks operates 18 metropolitan city networks connected through a high-capacity intercity backbone covering 53 cities in 17 countries. It directly connects more than 600 data centres and provides network services supporting cloud and AI adoption across Europe.

That scale makes construction choices, equipment procurement and supplier collaboration material to the company’s environmental performance. Its new targets build on existing work including supplier engagement and investment in carbon measurement tools, with an emphasis on areas where network operators can influence decisions across their value chain.

The updated Sustainability-Linked Loan framework offers a considered model for infrastructure businesses seeking to connect growth capital with measurable environmental management. By bringing lower-carbon options into the earliest stages of network development and using an infrastructure benchmark to track ESG progress, euNetworks is putting clear operational mechanisms behind its wider Net Zero ambition.