RMBpartnerswithPicknPay

14 July 2023

RMB partners with Pick n Pay on its inaugural Sustainability-Linked Loan

RMB has played an integral role in securing Pick n Pay’s inaugural sustainability-linked loan, acting as sole mandated lead arranger (MLA), bookrunner and sustainability coordinator on a syndicated debt facility to the value of R4.5 billion.

As one of South Africa’s leading retailers, Pick n Pay is committed to a sustainable future. The sustainability-linked features of the loan are a siginficant milestone for Pick n Pay as it aligns its financial strategy with its sustainability strategy – a further reflection of their ethos of 'doing good is good business'.

Pick n Pay intentionally incorporated refrigeration conversion to natural refrigerants and food waste reduction as Key Performance Indicators (KPIs) into the terms of the syndicated debt facility, together with ambitious targets to underpin the structure. The targets, when achieved, will result in significant scope 1 emission reduction and food waste reduction.

“Pick n Pay welcomed the opportunity to work with RMB as its sustainability-coorindator to develop KPIs that are meaningful. The funding package will be used to fund our Ekuseni plan, which drives both our growth strategy and our sustainability goals. It made sense for us to structure this is as sustainability-linked funding package, which aligns financial incentives with us meeting our sustainability targets,” says Vaughan Pierce, ESG Executive at Pick n Pay.  

“RMB has a long-standing relationship with Pick n Pay. This opportunity to structure the sustainability features of the loan and deeply understand the sustainability vision of the group was a privilege. The selected KPIs deal with two major challenges of our time, food security and greenhouse gas emissions. It is reassuring to see the focus and commitment on these matters from industry leaders such as Pick n Pay,” says Cara Lishman, Sustainable Finance Transactor at RMB.

Pick n Pay has ambitious targets for sustainability, including reducing carbon emissions to be a Net Zero business by 2050, reducing store food waste by 50% by 2030, making all PnP-branded packaging recyclable or reusable by 2025, reducing energy usage by 45% by 2030 and water usage by 20% by 2025.