Epta develops the ESG-linked programme with Deutsche Bank

by Federica Bartoli

Deutsche Bank has launched a sustainability-linked financing programme for Epta’s supply chain: it is the first programme of its kind for the Group specialising in commercial refrigeration and has been designed to provide financial incentives to Epta’s partners in order to improve their sustainability performance.

Initially launched in Italy, the programme is intended to be extended globally as well.

The supply chain finance (SCF) plan enables Epta’s suppliers to receive payment immediately after an invoice has been approved, while the suppliers’ financing costs are based on Epta’s creditworthiness. A further advantage of this sustainability-linked programme is that suppliers can reduce their financing costs in the supply chain even further if they improve their ESG rating, in this case the rating established by the international sustainability ratings platform EcoVadis. Therefore, the more sustainably a supplier operates, the greater the price advantage.

Last 20 April 2023, in fact, Epta had already announced a partnership with EcoVadis to promote virtuous growth in environmental, social and governance terms. This partnership is aimed at creating a responsible ecosystem throughout the entire supply chain and represents a crucial pillar of the Epta Sustainable Procurement project.

The Programme is designed to build responsible and resilient supply chains and ensure that Epta meets and exceeds the ever-evolving sustainability expectations of customers, investors and other key stakeholders.

Indeed, thanks to the EcoVadis assessment model, Epta is able to analyse the performance of each supplier in order to identify its strengths and areas for improvement. Various parameters are examined, including compliance with ESG criteria, work ethics and respect for human rights, with the aim of promoting the achievement of increasingly higher standards and guiding the activities of the Epta ecosystem towards conscious development across all areas of the business, including relations with stakeholders.

Simone Salani, Epta’s group purchasing & procurement director, added: «The financing programme developed with Deutsche Bank is another milestone in our mission to promote the energy transition in the commercial refrigeration sector. Less than a year ago, we announced our partnership with EcoVadis with the clear aim of encouraging the entire supply chain to become more transparent and sustainable. We are now proud to take another step in this direction and believe that the decision to support our more sustainable partners sends a strong message to the market and to our stakeholders».

This article was translated from the original Italian version with the assistance of artificial intelligence. In case of discrepancies, please refer to the original Italian version.