Emperador raises 300 million euros from its first sustainability-linked loan
Emperador International Ltd. (EIL), a wholly owned subsidiary of Emperador Inc., is refinancing a 300-million-euro loan with a sustainability-linked facility.
This is the Emperador group’s first sustainability-linked loan (SLL) and the first for a Philippine food and beverage group.
In a disclosure to the Philippine Stock Exchange (PSE) on Tuesday, April 14, Emperador said the company, together with Emperador Distillers Inc. (EDI), will guarantee the refinancing of an existing loan.
The facility is from a group of lenders, with Banco Bilbao Vizcaya Argentaria, S.A., Singapore Branch (BBVA), Bank of China (Hong Kong) Ltd. (BOC), and DBS Bank Ltd. as mandated lead arrangers, underwriters, and bookrunners. BBVA and BOC also act as sustainability coordinators.
The new facility is a sustainability-linked loan with two key performance indicators: reduction of Emperador’s Scope 1 and 2 greenhouse gas (GHG) emission intensity and an increase in the use of renewable electricity.
“We are happy to have this new facility where we can have financial benefits, and at the same time strengthen our commitment to sustainability. This SLL serves as a milestone for the company, and an encouragement to continue operating sustainably,” said Emperador Chairman Winston S. Co.
Liquor production is a very energy-intensive process, and Emperador has been taking responsibility to reduce its impact on the environment.
Emperador has invested in numerous capital-intensive projects aimed at reducing its carbon footprint. Most notable are Whyte and Mackay’s bioenergy center and carbon capture in Invergordon, a biomass boiler in Jura, and renewable electricity contracts across all sites in Scotland.
Renewable electricity contracts and solar panels are also in place at facilities in the Philippines, Spain, and Mexico.
Emperador is a global spirits conglomerate with manufacturing facilities in the Philippines, the United Kingdom (UK), Spain, and Mexico, and distribution across 100 countries worldwide.