Sustainability Linked Loans are currently making a major breakthrough in the sustainable finance sector. Their interest margins are linked to the environmental, social and/or governance performance of borrowers, which must show maturity and ambition in their sustainability strategy.
Umicore, a global player in materials technology and recycling, has decided to take out such a loan by tying the cost of this €500 million Revolving Credit Facility. This facility was underwritten by a pool of 13 international banks and has a base term of five years. It measures Umicore’s progress towards its carbon neutrality and gender diversity objectives.
“This inaugural sustainability-linked loan fits our commitment to our ambitious Let’s go for Zero ESG* strategy,” says Filip Platteeuw, Umicore’s Chief Financial Officer. “It further extends Umicore’s funding capacity, supported by a broad group of international relationship banks.”
Through Umicore’s “Let’s go for Zero” strategy, launched in June 2021, the Group commits to reaching carbon neutrality in 2035, with intermediate targets to reduce its Scope 1 & 2 greenhouse gas emissions by 20% in 2025 and by 50% in 2030, and to reaching gender parity as soon as possible, with 35% of women in management by 2030.
"For companies now seeking to achieve the UN's Sustainable Development Goals, the finance market has rarely been so interesting", emphasizes Didier Beauvois, Head of Corporate Banking & member of the Executive Committee of BNP Paribas Fortis. “I am proud that Umicore has chosen BNP Paribas Fortis to set up its first Sustainability Linked Loan to support its ambitions to achieve carbon neutrality and gender diversity. This Sustainability Linked Loan is a clear example of how we and the syndicated banks we represent, intend to serve our clients for a more sustainable future."
BNP Paribas Fortis, KBC Bank and SMBC acted as Coordinating Bookrunners and Mandated Lead Arrangers for the transaction, while BNP Paribas Fortis also acted as Sustainability Coordinator.
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Press Contacts Umicore:
Ms Marjolein Scheers
+32 2 227 71 47 marjolein.scheers@umicore.com
Ms Caroline Jacobs
+32 2 227 71 29 caroline.jacobs@umicore.com
Umicore is a global materials technology and recycling group. It focuses on application areas where its expertise in materials science, chemistry and metallurgy makes a real difference. Its activities are organized in three business groups: Catalysis, Energy & Surface Technologies and Recycling. Each business group is divided into market-focused business units offering materials and solutions that are at the cutting edge of new technological developments and essential to everyday life. Umicore generates the majority of its revenues and dedicates most of its R&D efforts to clean mobility materials and recycling. Umicore’s overriding goal of sustainable value creation is based on an ambition to develop, produce and recycle materials in a way that fulfils its mission: materials for a better life. Umicore’s industrial and commercial operations as well as R&D activities are located across the world to best serve its global customer base. The Group generated revenues (excluding metal) of € 2.1 billion (turnover of € 12.7 billion) in the first half of 2021 and currently employs just below 11,000 people.
BNP Paribas Fortis (www.bnpparibasfortis.com) offers the Belgian market a comprehensive range of financial services for private individuals, the self-employed, professionals, companies and public organisations. In the insurance sector, BNP Paribas Fortis works closely, as a tied agent, with Belgian market leader AG Insurance. At international level, the Bank also provides high-net-worth individuals, large corporations and public and financial institutions with customised solutions, for which it is able to draw on the know-how and international network of the BNP Paribas Group.
BNP Paribas (www.bnpparibas.com) is a leading bank in Europe with an international reach. It operates in 68 countries and has more than 193,000 employees, including nearly 148,000 in Europe. The Group has key positions in its three main activities: Domestic Markets and International Financial Services (whose retail-banking networks and financial services are covered by Retail Banking & Services) and Corporate & Institutional Banking, which serves two client franchises: corporate clients and institutional investors. The Group helps all its clients (individuals, community associations, entrepreneurs, SMEs, corporates and institutional clients) to realise their projects through solutions spanning financing, investment, savings and protection insurance. In Europe, the Group has four domestic markets (Belgium, France, Italy and Luxembourg) and BNP Paribas Personal Finance is the European leader in consumer lending. BNP Paribas is rolling out its integrated retail-banking model in Mediterranean countries, in Turkey, in Eastern Europe and a large network in the western part of the United States. In its Corporate & Institutional Banking and International Financial Services activities, BNP Paribas also enjoys top positions in Europe, a strong presence in the Americas as well as a solid and fast-growing business in Asia-Pacific.
