Pioneer of sustainably-produced premium wines, Yealands Wine Group, is the first winery in New Zealand to sign a new Sustainability Linked Loan (SLL) with ASB.
The Sustainability Linked Loan requires Yealands to commit to key environmental, social or governance targets, with borrowing costs adjusted based on its performance against these targets.
This aims to reduce total emissions and intensity by 5% per annum.
As the first wine producer in the world to be Toitū carboNZero Certified from day one, Yealands has always measured, reduced and offset all emissions, targeting a 50% reduction in emissions by 2030.
Its ultimate goal as a founding member of International Wineries for Climate Action is to become carbon positive by 2050, moving beyond net zero to make positive contributions to the environment.
“At Yealands, our vision is to create nature positive, carbon positive, and beautifully biodiverse wines,” says Tiffani Graydon, Yealands Chief Executive.
“Sustainability has always been at the heart of our business with a real focus around taking actions that make a positive difference to our environment and community.
“A Sustainably Linked Loan aligns with our values and our premiumisation and growth strategy.”
Developed in partnership with ASB, the loan makes up to $96 million available to support the business’ growth plans.
The SLL has five focus areas: driving down CO2 emissions, reducing carbon intensity, increasing renewable energy use, driving down diesel consumption and executing Yealands’ long term biodiversity plan.
“The sustainability credentials of our wines are an important differentiation in the markets,” says Graydon.
“We are seeing strong demand globally – we recently doubled our volumes in the US and have already picked up some great awards for our vintage ’22 wines, so there is strong momentum behind our brands.”
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