Seoul (South Korea), November 15: SK Geocentric Co., a South Korean plastic waste recycling company, said Tuesday it has secured 475 billion won (US$358.3 million) through a loan backed by its low emissions goals.
The sustainability-linked loan (SLL) commits SK Geocentric to increase its plastic recycling capacity to as much as 900,000 tons and cut the greenhouse gas emissions by 24.9 percent from its 2019 figure, by 2025, the company said.
An SLL is a type of financing instrument increasingly gaining traction in Europe that provides funding to a company at a lower interest rate if the company achieves the pre-agreed emissions cut targets.
SK Geocentric said it will use the funds for the recycling cluster under construction in the country's southeast city of Ulsan for completion in 2025. The facility aims to process about 250,000 tons of plastic waste annually.
The three-year sustainability-linked loan (SLL) was extended by five global banks, including BNP Paribas S.A., Agricultural Bank of China, the Bank of China, MUFG Bank Ltd. and Credit Agricole Corporate and Investment Bank, SK Geocentric said.
SK Geocentric, formally SK Global Chemical, is pushing to transform its business from traditional chemicals to green chemistry, notably chemical decomposition. It plans to spend 5 trillion won by 2025 for plastic waste recycling.
Source: Yonhap
