UK's John Lewis signs credit facility linked to environmental targets

Under the terms of the new agreement, the interest rate we pay on the facility will vary depending on whether we achieve three environmental targets over five years related to reducing carbon emissions, reducing food waste and moving away from fossil fuels, the company said in a media statement.

The targets contribute to the Partnership’s existing sustainability commitments. It includes carbon emissions to be net zero by 2035, 50 per cent reduction in food waste across Waitrose by 2030, against a 2018 baseline; and end use of fossil fuels across the company’s transport fleet by 2030.

As a Partnership, the company is owned by everyone who works at the business - its Partners - rather than external shareholders. As there are no equity shareholders, cash balances exist for liquidity and risk management reasons. Alongside these cash balances, the business maintains a committed credit facility with a group of relationship banks should additional financial resources be needed, according to John Lewis.

The Partnership is investing around £800 million this year to transform and grow its retail brands, John Lewis and Waitrose, while diversifying into areas such as financial services and rented housing.

“This is an important agreement for the Partnership. It is critical for businesses to align financial strategy with sustainability goals in order to address climate change. I am pleased that the Partnership is living up to its sustainability commitments and its purpose by making this very important step, ahead of the COP26 summit. This credit facility also reinforces the strong relationships we have with our banking partners, who continue to support the Partnership and our plans for the years ahead,” Bérangère Michel, executive director for finance at the John Lewis Partnership said in a statement.

Fibre2Fashion News Desk (GK)