Averda, a leading waste and recycling company operating across the emerging world, is pleased to have concluded a successful refinancing of its $148-million term loan, including a $30-million Green Loan from syndicate leader HSBC.
Green lending refers to a lending dependent on environmental criteria for the planned use of funds. Averda’s MD Justice Tootla explains: “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 combating climate change.”
Tootla added that 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 that aims to reduce the impact on the environment.
Justice Tootla, Managing Director, Averda
The $30-million Green Loan portion reflects Averda’s recognised role in bringing sustainable waste management and waste-to-energy technology to the developing world. This is a key area of growth for Averda. This loan will be used to support a number of Averda’s existing sustainable waste management projects, especially its new blending platform in South Africa. The facility was launched last year at their Vlakfontein site in Gauteng. These 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 is no small feat and requires considerable investment to do so in ways that comply with the new Waste Classification and Management Regulations, introduced in South Africa in 2019. These place the 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 adds: “We hope that this kind of partnership will pave the way for more 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.”
About Averda:
Averda is a leading waste management and recycling company in the emerging world, operating in India and across the Middle East and Africa. The company provides a broad and specialised range of services to over 60 000 clients, large and small, across the private and public sectors. These include the municipal authorities of major cities and household names in a wide range of sectors including oil & gas, automotive, retail and hospitality.
Founded in 1964 and headquartered in Dubai, Averda increasingly focuses on providing sustainable solutions that extract value from waste, reducing use of the planet’s limited natural resources and driving the circular economy. The company’s portfolio of services range from collecting bins and cleaning city streets to sorting, composting, recycling and disposing of household waste as well as safely managing highly-regulated hazardous waste streams, including medical waste and dangerous chemicals. Recent investments have further developed the company’s waste treatment capabilities, with the goal of providing circular recovery options in all markets.
The company currently employs over 14 000 people worldwide, helping to provide secure employment among the communities it serves. Protection of environmental and human health are the company’s highest priorities, and it operates in full compliance with international standards for quality control wherever it operates: UAE, Saudi Arabia, Oman, Qatar, Morocco, South Africa, Congo and India.
www.averda.com