Ahold Delhaize expands sustainability-linked credit

Ahold Delhaize on Monday said it has closed on its 1.5 billion euros (about $1.6 billion) sustainability-linked revolving credit facility, which links the cost of borrowing to the company’s performance on certain sustainability metrics.

The new facility also expanded the total available in the revolving facility by 500 million euros, reduces the Zaandam, Netherlands-based company’s borrowing costs and extends the maturity date to December 2027.

The sustainability goals are aligned with Ahold Delhaize’s “Grounded in Goodness” strategy, which focuses on the health of people and the planet.

Specifically, the facility includes three sustainability metrics to reduce Ahold Delhaize’s carbon emissions within its own operators (knowns a “scope 1” and “scope 2” carbon emissions-reduction targets), reduce food waste and help customers make healthier choices.

The facility also includes the opportunity to add scope 3 (reflecting its entire value chain) carbon emissions reduction performance targets by 2025. The company said it would report progress on its performance targets in its annual reports.

ABN AMRO Bank N.V. and Société Générale acted as coordinators and sustainability coordinators on the facility.

Separately, the company also said on Monday that it had received a score of 76 points out of 100, which it said was “well above the industry average of 37 points” in the Dow Jones Sustainability World Index.

Related:JJ Fleeman tapped as new Ahold Delhaize USA CEO

“We are pleased that we continue to be ranked among the leading companies in our industry,” said Jan Ernst de Groot, chief sustainability officer at Ahold Delhaize. 

The company, which operates Food Lion, Giant Food, Giant, Stop & Shop, Hannaford Bros. and FreshDirect in the U.S., recently updated its scope 3 CO2 emissions targets, aiming to achieve net-zero emissions status by 2050. It said it remains committed to become net-zero for scope 1 and scope 2 by 2040, with a target of 50% reduction by 2030.