Intesa Sanpaolo has concluded a further international transaction drawing on the Group’s €5bn financing facility dedicated to the circular economy. The bank will provide GreenCycle, the waste and recycling management unit of the German retailer Schwarz Group, with a loan linked to reaching targets related to the Schwarz Group’s strategy to better recycle plastics.

The transaction was led by the Frankfurt branch of Intesa Sanpaolo’s Corporate & Investment Banking (CIB) Division, with support from the Circular Economy Team of the Intesa Sanpaolo Innovation Centre, thanks to the dedicated credit facility launched for the 2018-2021 period, with the commitment to support innovative and transformative projects for businesses based on the principles of the circular economy. The credit facility has financed 62 projects over the past two years for a total value of about €760m.

Projects eligible for circular economy financing by Intesa Sanpaolo must meet criteria that include product life extension, renewable resources, resource optimisation, recyclable products, and technologies that enable the circular model. Intesa Sanpaolo is thus able to provide credit at borrowing conditions that improve during the life of the financing as the client meets verifiable circular economy objectives.

Intesa Sanpaolo’s commitment to the circular economy, an economic model aimed at decoupling development from reliance on finite natural resources and redesigning the industrial system, is embedded in its four-year business plan and stems from an emphasis on sustainability and innovation.