The Port of Brisbane, Australia’s largest city port, has agreed to terms on a $500 million sustainability linked loan, to be financed by a syndicate of 10 banks.
The sustainability linked loan was negotiated as part of larger $850 million syndicated bank loan transaction in November 2022 and will take effect from June 2023.
The loan will reportedly be executed under the port’s sustainability financing framework and will be linked to KPIs across three key areas: emissions reduction, biodiversity, and mental health first aid.
Port of Brisbane Pty Ltd’s (PBPL) Chief Executive, Neil Stephens, said the deal would support the port’s ongoing investment while cementing its place as an industry leader in sustainability.
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“Sustainability at the Port of Brisbane is a whole-of-business strategy. Everything we do incorporates the principles sustainability with the long-term future of the business and its community at its core,” said Stephens.
“Our ambitious sustainability targets across people, planet, prosperity and partnerships drive not only our day-to-day business activities, but our future planning and our interactions with stakeholders.”
Stephens added that the port was particularly proud to include mental health first aid as a key focus area in the deal.
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“Sustainability to the Port of Brisbane is also about the health and wellbeing of our workforce, which is why we have included ambitious goals on mental health first aid support,” explained Stephens.
“To be a sustainable business must mean having a healthy and engaged workforce, and we will be working hard to deliver on those commitments as soon as we can.”
The $500 million sustainability-linked loan is split across two terms, $240 million over a four-year term, $260 million over a six-year term and will allow PBPL to decrease its funding costs should it meet the afore-mentioned targets.
