Covestro has signed a €225 million loan with the European Investment Bank (EIB), the lending arm of the European Union, which the company will utilise to boost its sustainability-oriented R&D in the European Union.
EIB makes long-term finance available for investment in order to contribute towards EU policy goals. It offers mid-cap companies direct support for research and development investments that meet certain requirements. To be eligible for funding, projects must among other things meet high standards of technical, ecological and social responsibility.
Covestro implemented a global strategic circular economy programme in autumn 2019 that focussed on improving recycling from plastic waste, alongside the development of innovative technical and production methods in the use of alternative raw materials.
Since 2019, too, the company has been in discussion with EIB to identify R&D projects which would be compatible with that bank’s financing requirements. The present loan complements the recently renewed syndicated revolving credit facility of EUR 2.5 billion, whose interest rate is linked to the company’s Environment, Social Governance (ESG) rating.
It also provides the additional financial flexibility to ‘push forward our strategic focus in the areas of sustainability and the circular economy’, said Covestro’s CFO, Thomas Toepfer.