Success stories

Tacofino, a restaurant based in British Columbia, Canada, was looking to reduce its emissions when opening a second restaurant in Vancouver. Through Vancity, Canada’s largest credit union and a sustainable finance leader, Tacofino secured a $350,000 loan from the credit union’s Canada Small Business Financing Loan. This went towards investing in new and more efficient equipment as well as renovating the site.Vancity also provided advisory services to the business as it looked to green its operations. This included Vancity Green Business Manager, Maureen Cureton, connecting Tacofino with Recycling Alternative, which helps businesses reduce carbon emissions from organic waste and truck fuel.

“That can only be done by businesses working together. You can’t compete with big business and its economies of scale unless you can work collectively. It’s a relationship economy of organizations that share values and trust each other. Because so many of them already bank with Vancity, we have lots of opportunities to make connections that can really make a difference.”

In an effort to address the GHG emissions throughout its value chain, Tesco launched a sustainable supply chain initiative to encourage and support its suppliers by providing financing linked to sustainability performance. The initiative builds on The Tesco Supplier Network, which supports over 10,000 suppliers from different sectors to share best practices.

“This program not only provides suppliers with a real incentive to set science-based emissions reduction targets; it will help embed sustainability goals throughout our supply chain and support the UK in realizing its climate change targets.”

Tesco is also partnering with the World Wide Fund for Nature (WWF) to support suppliers in setting sustainability targets. Participating suppliers will have access to preferential financing rates from Santander. The rates will be pegged to the supplier’s carbon data disclosure, emissions reduction targets and progress towards reaching those goals.These financial incentives are aimed particularly at SMEs, so they can harness the improved financing rates from Santander to further support their environmental performance. Tesco has pledged to provide a suite of online tools to support suppliers, especially SMEs, in enrolling and participating in the programme.

Annually, Gucci publishes the total environmental footprint of their suppliers. In response to challenges experienced by their supply chain partners in accessing funds to advance sustainability in their own operations, Gucci has partnered with the Italian bank, Intesa Sanpaolo. Together they are supporting SMEs in Gucci’s supply chain to access loans at favourable terms and conditions if the supplier improves the sustainability of its operations. This includes improved invoicing terms.Gucci and Intesa Sanpaolo aligned this initiative with the Italian Government’s National Recovery and Resilience Plan (PNRR), which prioritises energy efficiency, green transport, renewable energy, circularity and gender equality.

Since the launch of this financing initiative over €230 million in loans has been extended to over 150 SME suppliers.

In August 2021, American multinational food company McCormick & Company announced a partnership with the International Finance Corporation (IFC) and Citi to provide its suppliers with financial incentives linked to sustainability improvements. The initiative offers discounted rates on short-term working capital to suppliers that meet McCormick’s sustainability standards. These standards cover issues such as labour conditions, environmental impact, crop management and women’s empowerment. The higher the supplier’s performance level in meeting these standards, the more they save.

“Promoting sustainable business starts with clear incentives,” said Rana Karadsheh, IFC Director of Manufacturing, Agribusiness and Services for Asia and Pacific. “That’s why we’re proud to support McCormick’s sustainability goals and build upon IFC’s sustainability goals and work with them to enhance IFC’s trade finance offering. Such initiatives help make sustainable business good business for emerging market players.”

The partnership is part of IFC’s Global Trade Supplier Finance (GTSF) programme, a $500 million multicurrency investment and advisory programme established in 2010. GTSF provides short-term financing to small and midsized suppliers in emerging markets selling to large domestic buyers or exporting to international buyers, by discounting invoices once they are approved by the buyer. The financing rates can be linked to sustainability measures to minimise impacts on the environment and promote climate-resilient agriculture practices, while connecting smallholders to global markets.

Not long after Mr Ang Sim Tat founded Bestcoat, which creates waterproofing products, the Singapore-based company experienced a traumatic event, jumpstarting their sustainability journey.

When it came time to expand its operations and facilities, Bestcoat wanted to ensure it did so as sustainably as possible, something also important to its customers. To do this, it was able to secure a green loan by leveraging the OCBC SME Sustainable Finance Framework.

“Our client has certain requirements when it comes to the materials and processes used to execute this project. Sustainability and the environment are important to them. Our ability to obtain a green loan was able to provide them with that assurance,” said Mr Ang Sim Tat.

By utilising a green loan, Bestcoat was able not only to secure the required financing, but also assure its customers of its green credentials. Green loans provide financing for ‘green’ projects, such as renewable energy, green buildings, pollution control, the circular economy and similar. While the loans often include additional verifications and steps, securing a green loan will mean that the credibility of the borrower’s sustainability commitments has been verified.

Group V is over 100 years old and still run by the family that created it. The company specialises in transportation for liquid foods – wine, milk and derivatives, juice, alcohol, glucose, oil and chocolate. Recently, Group V made strides in improving the quality of its food safety programme to ensure less food waste, especially within the specialised area of organic products.

The company also set its sights on achieving major GHG reductions – the majority of which are concentrated in its fleet – by converting to zero direct emissions vehicles. Shortly before this, BNP Paribas adapted its banking products and services to the priorities of the EU Taxonomy, which encourages investment in sustainable activities. Consequently, Group V was able to secure a preferential instrument (green loan) with more favourable terms through BNP Paribas by aligning its objectives with those of the EU Taxonomy in its application:

• increasing the number of low and zero emission vehicles and improving vehicle efficiency
• increasing substitution of fossil fuels with sustainable alternative and net zero carbon fuels.

Since receiving the loan, Group V has used 40% of the loan on bioethanol trucks and 50% on bioethanol semi-trailers.

In addition to transitioning its fleet, Group V has implemented a strong environmental approach to its entire operations, including closely monitoring its fuel consumption, choosing sustainable tyres, training its drivers in eco-driving, optimising travel by using geolocation and developing a transportation alternative to road, such as tank containers using modal road–rail transfer.

Group V expects that these changes will help it keep pace with the EU’s sustainability regulations, as well as meaningfully contribute to the EU’s achievement of its 2030 climate and energy targets.

Bar One Clothing was launched in 1982 as a garment wholesaler. Since then, they have grown their operations to employ 30 people and specialise beyond wholesale, into screen printing, embroidery, transfers and garment finishing. Today, Bar One counts Sony, Disney, the BBC and many others among its clients.

Over the past 32 years, environmental performance and sustainability have become increasingly important to consumers, priorities that Bar One has taken a keen interest in meeting. Bar One had already begun offering a range of organic and Fairtrade items in response to the requirements of its clients. Bar One became interested in looking even closer at its own operations: the energy efficiency of its 45-year-old facilities in Scotland, comprised of a reception and production area, offices and a warehouse.

As a Scottish business that falls within the EU definition of an SME, Bar One contacted the Scottish Government about its Zero Waste Scotland programme. The programme provides cashback grants of up to £20,000, as well as loans up to £100,000 to help SMEs pay for energy and carbon reduction solutions.

Working with advisers in the programme, Bar One identified several energy and carbon reduction opportunities within its operations, including the installation of energy-efficient LED lighting, a low-voltage distribution board, occupancy sensors to control lighting and the installation of rubber strip curtains to seal spaces more efficiently, eliminating the need for electric heaters.

Bar One secured an interest-free SME loan through the Zero Waste Scotland programme, enabling the business to implement these recommendations. Together the recommendations would cost £13,500 to implement and would save the business £1,900 a year on their energy bills, while reducing GHG emissions by an estimated 9.5 tons.