BNP Paribas, Handelsbanken and Nordea acted as coordinating mandated lead arrangers and bookrunners for a €750 million revolving credit facility for UPM, a provider of renewable and responsible solutions in six business areas: UPM Biorefining, UPM Energy, UPM Raflatac, UPM Specialty Papers, UPM Communication Papers and UPM Plywood.
Citi, Commerzbank, Crédit Agricole Corporate and Investment Bank, Danske Bank, DBS Bank London Branch, DNB Bank, HSBC France, J.P. Morgan Securities, OP Corporate Bank, Santander and Swedbank acted as mandated lead arrangers and bookrunners for the five-year facility, which has two one-year-extension options.
The pricing mechanism of the facility is linked to both biodiversity and climate targets, including achievement of a net positive impact on biodiversity in the company’s own forests in Finland and a 65% reduction of carbon dioxide emissions from fuels and purchased electricity by 2030 from 2015 levels, in line with UPM’s commitment to UN Business Ambition for 1.5°C.
“Connecting UPM’s sustainability performance to our financing demonstrates the importance of responsible business practices to our long-term value creation,” Tapio Korpeinen, CFO of UPM, said. “Sustainable forest management plays an important role in mitigating climate change, as it ensures material long-term CO2 sequestration and improves adaptation to global warming. Enhancing biodiversity is not only about preserving forests, but is also a crucial element in sustainable industrial use, taking into account a wide range of flora and fauna. UPM is committed to achieving a net positive impact on biodiversity and we have developed indicators and methods to monitor it.”
BNP Paribas also acted as a sustainability coordinator for the facility.
“Promoting biodiversity through finance is an essential lever in tackling the climate crisis. As a bank committed to innovation towards the transition, we are proud to support UPM in their strategy to accelerate sustainable forest management through finance,” Marjo Liukkonen Lazaro, head of BNP Paribas Finland, said. “This transaction highlights the positive role of sustainable finance to link to progressive decarbonisation targets, which can jointly protect ecosystems.”
