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Budweiser APAC secures US$500 million loan with interest rate tied to brewer’s ESG performance
- Loan features a tiered discount on the interest rate if targets on renewable energy, carbon emissions, water usage and recycled content in packaging are reached
- Global green and ESG-linked loans reached US$320 billion in the year’s first half, a 3.5 times increase from last year, according to Refinitiv
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Budweiser Brewing Company APAC, the Asia-Pacific arm of the world’s largest brewer, has secured a US$500 million loan with interest rate tied to its sustainability performance, amid a global surge in sustainability-linked lending.
The revolving credit facility, signed with a consortium of banks led by Bank of China, features a tiered discount on the interest rate if targets on renewable energy procurement, carbon emissions, water usage and recycled content in primary packaging are reached.
“The facilities fits nicely in our sustainability approach which we launched at the end of 2017, the baseline year of our targets,” said Jan Clysner, vice-president of procurement and sustainability at Budweiser, which owns beer brands such as Corona, Hoegaarden and Stella Artois. “They can truly accelerate what we have been doing and provide an incentive to push our sustainability agenda further.”
When asked about the company’s targets linked to the potential savings on the interest, Clysner declined to comment, citing a confidentiality agreement with the banks.
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However, the company will be making disclosures regarding its performance on these metrics as part of its annual environment, social and governance (ESG) reporting, which will be audited by a third party that will announced at a later date, he said. Parent AB InBev’s ESG report is audited by KPMG.
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