Vedanta Aluminium Raises USD 250 Mn In Sustainability Linked Loans; Know Why

Bhubaneswar: Vedanta Aluminium on Tuesday said it has raised USD 250 million through Sustainability Linked Loans (SLL) from reputed international banks, for financing its capex initiatives and reducing carbon footprint.

The loans were granted on the basis of specific performance parameters for decarbonisation and safety, which the company aims to meet by deploying these funds towards capital expenditure. This will fuel its growth journey as well, including achieving a higher degree of backward integration and production of value-added aluminium products, a company release said.

The lenders include some of the largest international banks from the Middle East and Far East like Mashreq Bank, First Abu Dhabi Bank, Qatar National Bank Q.P.S.C., CTBC Bank and others, all of whom have newly started term lending relationships with the Vedanta Group through this facility.

This is Vedanta Group’s first such sustainability linked loan and sets the ball rolling on the company’s aspirations to invest in green growth. This serves as a positive reinforcement of the company’s endeavours to decarbonise its operations. For instance, Vedanta Aluminium has reduced its greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions intensity by 24% in FY 2022 from 2012 baseline. It was also India’s largest consumer of renewable energy in the previous fiscal at 3 billion units, which was used to produce India’s first low carbon ‘green’ aluminium by the company, branded ‘Restora’.

Speaking about the funding, CEO – Aluminium Business, Vedanta Ltd, Rahul Sharma said, “Aluminium will be indispensable to a low-carbon future, with critical applications across a vast spectrum of industries ranging from electric vehicles to renewable energy and more. We intend to conceive our growth plans on the bedrock of sustainability, with a sharp focus on people safety, decarbonisation of our value-chain and water positive operations. The funds raised via Sustainability Linked Loans will be invested towards growing our business sustainably and responsibly.”