Aurubis links the greatest part of its financing to its sustainability performance

Aurubis AG, headquartered in Hamburg, Germany, says it has linked its factoring program, through which it sells its accounts receivable to a third party to meet its short-term liquidity needs, to its environmental, social and corporate governance, or ESG, performance. The company has announced an initial factoring volume of 150 million euros, or $159.4 million, over three years, which Aurubis says it plans to raise successively to 300 million euros, or $318.7 million.   

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Following a syndicated credit line and a bonded loan, Aurubis is also linking factoring to the development of its EcoValdis rating. As such, the largest part of the financing for the Aurubis Group is now tied into its sustainability performance, the company says.

On the EcoVadis sustainability rating platform, Aurubis currently holds Gold status with 73 out of 100 points, putting it among the top 2 percent of companies in the nonferrous metals industry, it says.

EcoVadis’ annual assessment reflects Aurubis’ sustainability achievements, and the link means they now directly influence how the factoring interest rate is calculated. Aurubis says it receives more favorable factoring interest rates as its rating improves and vice versa: Rates rise as the number of rating points drops. The link between the financing instrument and the EcoVadis rating represents a direct incentive for Aurubis to further advance its sustainability efforts.

“Sustainable action is not just a central component of our group strategy, it is also essential to our understanding of who we are,” Aurubis Chief Financial Officer Rainer Verhoeven says. “So, it only makes sense to apply this principle to all financing instruments as well. This is how we practice sustainability not just in everyday business, but also in all supporting functions—and it highlights how integral sustainability is to our corporate strategy.”