Lucart, one of the most important European paper groups, known for, among other things, the brands Tenderly, Grazie Natural and Tutto Pannocarta, and Intesa Sanpaolo have signed a financing agreement for an amount of 10 million euros backed by a SACE Green Guarantee.
The financing is aimed at supporting Lucart Group’s growth and development plan from an ESG (Environmental, Social and Governance) and circular economy perspective. The credit facility has a pricing mechanism linked to the achievement of specific sustainability targets. These objectives include, on the one hand, completion of the Castelnuovo di Garfagnana (LU) production line, which will enable the company to increase its use of alternative packaging, and, on the other, greater recovery of Tetra Pak® type poly-coupled food cartons at the Diecimo (LU) plant.
The transaction was concluded by Intesa Sanpaolo’s IMI Corporate & Investment Banking Division, led by Mauro Micillo with the support of the Circular Economy Desk of Intesa Sanpaolo Innovation Centre, a company dedicated to innovation and to the spread of circular economy.
The financing is part of Lucart Group’s strategy, which for years has adopted a sustainable development model aimed at optimising the use of raw materials and reducing waste by transforming it into new resources, in line with the principles of circular economy. Lucart is in fact the only tissue mill capable of recovering all the components of beverage cartons: both the fibrous part, which is converted into paper products of the Natural lines, and the aluminium and polyethylene part, converted into other objects such as pallets for transporting goods.
Thanks to their positive impact in terms of mitigating climate change, the financed projects meet the objectives of the Green New Deal, the plan for a modern, circular, sustainable and resilient Europe. In this context, SACE plays a central role in the implementation of the Green New Deal in Italian territory, as envisaged by the “Simplification” Decree Law of July 2020 (76/2020). The company led by Pierfrancesco Latini, can now issue “green guarantees” for domestic projects that encourage the transition to an economy with a lower environmental impact, integrate production cycles with low-emission technologies for the production of sustainable goods and services and promote initiatives aimed at developing new and greener modes of transport. Since the entry into force of the Decree, a team of specialists has been set up across the various corporate functions, encompassing different and complementary professional skills, capable of responding comprehensively to the needs of these new SACE operations. The deal in support of Lucart was concluded thanks to the commitment of the Florence office, one of SACE’s 14 local offices in Italy, and the Green Task Force, set up to respond to the needs of the new operations linked to the Green New Deal.
“Lucart Group is a top Italian and international player that has embraced environmental sustainability issues for a some time,” commented Richard Zatta, Head of Global Corporate at Intesa Sanpaolo’s IMI Corporate & Investment Banking Division. “This transaction confirms Intesa Sanpaolo’s commitment to boosting and concretely supporting the Green and Circular Economy by sustaining the development plans of companies in this area.”.
“We are proud,” stressed Mario Bruni, Head of Mid Corporate at SACE, “to continue to support the growth of a key player like Lucart and to work alongside it in its sustainable development plans. With our involvement, the company will be able to pursue important objectives of environmental protection and circular economy in line with the objectives of the NRRP. SACE thus continues to play a leading role in Italy’s ecological transition”.
“We are very pleased with the support that Sace and Intesa Sanpaolo will be giving our projects. Their commitment to the sustainable economy dovetails perfectly with our dedication to applying circular business models through a strategic plan to increase the recovery of raw materials to 60%,” commented Andrea Fano, Chief Financial Officer of Lucart Group. “Another important goal is to get to 100% recycled and/or compostable packaging by 2030, on all our production lines”.
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