Image: Lidl Sverige

16 Dec 2021

NIB agrees sustainability-linked loan with Lidl Sverige

NIB and Lidl Sverige have signed a ten-year loan of SEK 525 million (EUR 52 million) linked to key performance indicators (KPIs) on greenhouse gas emission and food waste reduction.

Lidl Sverige is one of the sustainability frontrunners in the Nordic–Baltic grocery retail industry, having set a wide range of long-term environmental and social targets. Lidl Sverige is a subsidiary of the Germany-based Schwarz Group, which is Europe’s largest food retailer by turnover. The objective of NIB’s sustainability-loans is to create financial incentives for Lidl Sverige and to further strengthen the company’s climate and circular economy targets.

NIB and Lidl Sverige have agreed three KPIs under the loan: 1) the reduction of hydrofluorocarbons in cooling equipment in all Lidl Sverige stores, warehouses and the company headquarters, 2) achieving fossil-free transport by increasing the share of renewable fuels in goods distribution and the number of electric cars in the company’s car fleet, and 3) reducing food waste in stores and warehouses.

All three KPIs will be followed up annually and the long-term targets are to be achieved by end of February 2026.

“NIB’s sustainability-linked loans are aligned with our customers’ corporate strategies and aim to catalyse the development of sustainable finance markets. This loan will support Lidl Sverige’s efforts to further improve their sustainability performance”, says André Küüsvek, NIB’s President & CEO.

“This loan is another step forward for our sustainability work. We are growing and gaining market shares. This loan makes it possible for us to grow sustainable and shows the credibility of our sustainability work”, says Martin Kauffner, Chief Financial Officer at Lidl Sweden.

Lidl Sverige currently has 203 stores and over 5,000 employees, with almost 6% share of the Swedish grocery market. The chain is part of the Germany-based Schwarz Group.

NIB is an international financial institution owned by eight member countries: Denmark, Estonia, Finland, Iceland, Latvia, Lithuania, Norway and Sweden. The Bank finances private and public projects in and outside the member countries. NIB has the highest possible credit rating, AAA/Aaa, with the leading rating agencies Standard & Poor’s and Moody’s.

Lidl Sweden opened their first stores in September 2003 and the company has challenged the market in Sweden since start. Today, Lidl Sweden has over 5,000 employees and 203 stores in Sweden from Trelleborg in the south to Boden in the north. Lidl has three central warehouses located in Halmstad, Rosersberg and Örebro as well as four real estate offices located in Stockholm, Gothenburg, Örebro and Malmö. The head office is located in Barkarbystaden in Järfälla Municipality.

Mr Seppo Halttunen, Senior Client Executive, Services & Consumer, at +358 10 618 0411, seppo.halttunen@nib.int

Ms Lisa-Maria Altenberger, Communications Unit, at +358 10 618 0234, lisa-maria.altenberger@nib.int

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