Standard Bank Secures Sustainable Funding For Africa’s Largest Retailer
Standard Bank Secures Sustainable Funding For Africa’s Largest Retailer. Standard Bank has acted as sole lender, arranger and sustainability structuring agent for the Shoprite Group’s first sustainability-linked loan.
The loan, worth R2 billion, is the largest sustainability-linked loan provided in South Africa’s retail sector to date and provides sustainable funding linked to the Shoprite Group’s key ESG focus areas: Renewable energy and the increase of energy from renewable sources as a percentage of total electricity consumption; Recycling cardboard and plastic; Sustainable packaging, including reusable, recyclable and compostable packaging, containing recycled material; and Energy efficiency, including LED lighting, and a monitoring system for refrigeration to reduce energy consumption and waste.
The Shoprite Group is Africa’s largest supermarket retailer and has adopted a proactive approach to addressing sustainability challenges within the retail sector, committing to achieving their ESG targets by 2025 and net zero by 2050. Since opening its first stores in 1979, Shoprite Holdings has had a bold vision for the future; a vision that would see the Group grow from strength to strength to become the leading food retailer it is today
Standard Bank’s commitment to powering positive impact and the client’s alignment with its own ESG-driven approach were guiding principles in its decision to provide sustainable funding for the Shoprite Group. Standard Bank is proud to support Africa’s largest supermarket retailer as they undertake significant commitments towards a cleaner and greener future.
