Waste and recycling multinational Averda has concluded a successful refinancing of its $148-million term loan and secured a $30-million green loan from banking group HSBC to invest in circular economic activities in the emerging economy markets it serves.
For a circular economy to become a reality, aligning the financial system with sustainable development will require actions across the entire financial system, and form part of a wider sustainable investment, which is aimed at reducing the impact on the environment, says Averda MD Justice Tootla.
"There is a huge demand for these financial services in developing economies that are wrestling with the urgent need to transition to a more circular economy and balance economic growth with combatting climate change.
"The green loan reflects Averda’s recognised role in bringing sustainable waste management and waste-to-energy technology to the developing world. This is a growth area for the company,” he notes.
The loan will be used to support a number of Averda’s existing sustainable waste management projects, especially its new blending platform facility, launched last year in Vlakfontein, Gauteng.
The new state-of-the-art blending platforms allow the industry to transform hazardous waste liquids into an alternate fuel for the cement industry.
"Producing such fuel from waste requires considerable investment to do so in ways that comply with the new Waste Classification and Management Regulations introduced in South Africa in 2019, which puts a responsibility on the waste sector to safely dispose of hydrocarbon-based materials at landfill sites."
Hazardous liquid and sludge can no longer be dumped and this is where blending platforms enter the frame, Tootla notes.
"We hope this kind of partnership will pave the way for greater access to green financing as we further expand our sustainable waste management services. By investing in existing and new facilities, this will assist in bringing circular economy principles to developing economies, which has been validated and supported by HSBC," he adds.