Portuguese bank BPI (Banco Português de Investimento) has provided a sustainable loan of €100 million to Portuguese supermarket chain Continente, owned by MC, the food retail unit of conglomerate Sonae, according to media reports.
The issue, fully organised and underwritten by BPI, comprises a bond loan (€50 million) and a commercial paper programme (€50 million).
Both are indexed to the performance of MC in terms of specific ESG indicators, such as the presence of women in management positions and the reduction of carbon emissions.
In 2020, BPI and the Sonae Group issued their first ESG-linked bond issue, which was a first for the Portuguese market.
Since then, a set of series of sustainable financing operations have been signed with several companies of the group, worth over €200 million.
Sustainable Growth Strategy
With this new loan, Sonae, which first participated in the World Economic Council for Sustainable Development more than two decades, has achieved another important milestone in its sustainable growth strategy.
Sonae is fully committed to a long term vision of sustainability management, defining clear targets for priority action axes: CO2 and climate change, nature and biodiversity, plastics, inequalities and inclusive development and community support.
Sonae recently pledged to achieve carbon neutrality ten years ahead of the target set by the EU.
To reach this goal, the group is already working towards reducing its own emissions by 54% within this decade.
Days ahead of this financing operation, BPI structured a sustainable financing loan worth €50 million as part of Lidl Portugal’s ongoing sustainability initiatives.
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