• The 40-million-euro credit line will be mainly dedicated to the financing of an innovative combination of technological solutions at the Lonato del Garda (Brescia) plant

• Mauro Micillo (Chief of Intesa Sanpaolo’s IMI CIB Division) confirmed: “We remain committed to providing financial support for the innovative and sustainable re-design of the industrial system”

• Giuseppe Pasini (Chairman of Feralpi Group): “We invest to integrate sustainable growth strategies with innovative and circular technologies into the development of our business”

 

Milan, 4 March 2021 – Intesa Sanpaolo and Feralpi Siderurgica – one of Europe’s leading steelmakers specialising in the production of steel for the building industry – have signed a loan agreement in the amount of 40 million euro to achieve specific targets related to sustainability and the circular economy.

The credit line will be mainly used to finance the installation of a combination of technological solutions for steel products intended for the building and infrastructure markets at the Lonato del Garda (Brescia) plant.

Indeed, innovative technological solutions envisage the optimisation of the production process with a view to lower consumption of raw materials and energy, in addition to the significant reduction of waste materials, with a direct and indirect impact on reducing the plant’s environmental footprint. The plant has been certified as EMAS (Eco Management Audit Scheme) compliant since 2013.

The investment also includes strong acceleration of the implementation of artificial intelligence through algorithms that are capable of constantly raising the total efficiency of the plant through self-learning processes.

Efficiency, circularity and digital innovation fit in the Feralpi Group’s purpose, as it continues to invest in order to be among the international leaders in the steel sector, getting a head start on the standards of excellence in the industry through technological innovation and sustainability.

The loan will enable Feralpi to continue its pursuit of green investments in line with its business plan and the Feralpi Group’s business strategy as per six Goals (no. 7, 8, 9, 11, 12, 13) of the UN 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development which are also included in the Consolidated Non-Financial Statement (NFS).

For Intesa Sanpaolo, this marks the conclusion of an additional transaction concerning the 6-billion-euro ceiling dedicated to the circular economy as envisaged by the 2018-2021 Business Plan. Since it was launched, around 177 projects have been financed.

The transaction was concluded by the IMI Corporate and Investment Banking Division of Intesa Sanpaolo, headed by Mauro Micillo with the support of the Circular Economy Desk of Intesa Sanpaolo Innovation Center, a company dedicated to innovating and spreading the circular economy.

“An operation with an international renown group such as Feralpi confirms the strength and responsiveness of the Italian manufacturing industry – commented Mauro Micillo, Chief of the IMI Corporate & Investment Banking Division of Intesa Sanpaolo. “The topic of environmental sustainability is and will be increasingly crucial for business development strategies as demonstrated by national and international initiatives and projects within the framework of the National Recovery and Resilience Plan – Next Generation and the European Green New Deal. The Italian manufacturing industry has long understood the importance of sustainability and was able to implement strategies and innovations that position it as the least polluting in Europe together with its German counterpart. The Intesa Sanpaolo Group is committed to supporting the Country’s ESG transformation, facilitating the businesses that strive to improve their sustainability profile by supporting them in a structural change process aimed at consolidating their competitive positioning, including on global markets“.

“The Feralpi Group – recalled its Chairman Giuseppe Pasini – is oriented towards increasingly circular business models, through a development strategy that allows for continuous adaptation and mitigation of impacts. That is why we are committed to improving our environmental, social and economic performance by actively meeting the ESG criteria. We need to fulfil these conditions if we are to continue to be competitive on the markets, satisfy the demands of the supply chains we are a part of and take the opportunities offered by the energy transition to decarbonised models capable of combating climate change”.

To boost and support the Green Economy, Intesa Sanpaolo has developed a wide and diversified range of financing and advisory products, dedicated to all types of customers, in Italy and abroad. Projects receiving Intesa Sanpaolo loans for the circular economy must meet a number of criteria, including product life extension, renewable energy, resource optimisation, recyclable products and technologies that enable and foster this economic model. This allows the Bank to disburse loans at increasingly advantageous terms for customers, subject to verifying the achievement of the circular economy objectives.