IWIRC Indonesia的动态

Sustainability-linked loans under scrutiny. Japanese megabank MUFG lent millions in SLLs to a palm oil and paper company linked to deforestation, according to an investigation by Rainforest Action Network. SLLs give companies access to low-interest loans on the condition that they meet certain sustainability criteria.?The?SLL market has weakened since a surge in 2021?amid?scrutiny from international regulators?that such loans are prone to?greenwashing?harmful business practices. Demand has?continued to grow in Asia, with?Singapore among the biggest markets globally. RAN’s report?said?that paper and palm oil firm RGE has used?US$4.9 billion in SLLs and derivatives raised since 2021?– the biggest chunk of which was financed by MUFG – while companies controlled by RGE have continued to clear natural forests. It described the SLL deals as “sustainable finance greenwash”, since sustainability finance does not appear to address impacts across the wider RGE corporate group. RGE has denied any connection to the companies implicated in the deforestation highlighted in RAN’s report, or claimed that the tree loss occurred outside its concessions or was instigated by local communities. RGE said that the KPIs underpinning the loan?– which?include using 100 per cent no deforestation, peatland clearance or exploitation-compliant suppliers by 2025?– were approved by its creditors, and based on an second party opinion conducted by sustainability consultancy?ERM. MUFG said that when considering financing for business activities connected to palm oil plantations, it conducts a “rigorous” assessment of clients to ensure plantations are managed in an “environmentally and socially responsible manner.” The bank said that it “encourages” its palm oil clients to become members of the Roundtable on Sustainable Palm Oil (RSPO) and make no-deforestation pledges. #sustainabilitylinkedloans #greenwashing #palmoil