December 17th – Treasury Wine Estates Ltd (TWE) today announced that the company was transitioning USD $1 billion (AUD $1.4 billion) of financial loans into Sustainability Linked Loans.
This is one of the largest Sustainability Linked Loans in Asia-Pacific, and the first for a wine company in the region as TWE’s global headquarters is in Melbourne, Australia.
Treasury Wine Estates Technical Viticulture Sustainability and Research Director, Americas Will Drayton said the premium winemaker was following through on its commitment to a lower carbon future.
“We’ve set ambitious targets to be powered by 100% renewable electricity by 2024 and reach net zero emissions (scope 1 and 2) by 2030. Transferring a substantial proportion of our existing loans to Sustainability Linked Loans provides even further incentive for our teams to progress towards our sustainability goals and cultivate a brighter future for all,” Mr. Drayton said.
As part of the Sustainability Linked Loans, TWE will receive financial incentives as it progresses and delivers towards a number of its sustainability targets including:
- 100% renewable electricity by 2024;
- Reduced greenhouse gas emissions;
- Undertaking a comprehensive review of water usage and footprint at a catchment level in F22; and
- 50% women in senior leadership and 42% female representation overall, by 2025.
“Setting sustainability targets is important but to truly make a difference we need to embed sustainability across the entire business. Integrating sustainability within our financial framework is a key step to keeping us accountable and building a resilient business for the long-term.
“We know the American wine industry has a carbon neutral future in its sights and we hope that TWE can demonstrate one way that winemakers can build sustainability into their business plans,” Mr. Drayton said.
Today’s announcement forms part of TWE’s commitment to sustainability which focuses on building a resilient business, fostering healthy and inclusive communities, and producing sustainable wine. Recent initiatives including launching a global domestic and family violence policy, becoming a founder member of the Sustainable Wine Roundtable, and joining the RE100 global renewable power initiative.
About Sustainability Linked Loans (SLLs)
Sustainability Linked Loans (SLL’s) incentivize borrowers to improve their sustainability profile by linking their performance against one or more Sustainability Performance Targets (SPT’s).
SLL’s align the borrower’s performance against the SPT’s to an adjustment in the loan margin over the life of a loan. For example, a favorable performance would result in a loan margin reduction while underperformance would lead to an increase.
The SPTs are agreed between the borrower and the financial lender(s) and typically align closely with the borrower’s sustainability strategy, governance focus, and internal KPI reporting.
