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HSBC Sustainability Improvement Loan

Capture the benefits of sustainable financing with HSBC basis your EcoVadis rating

Many businesses need to become more sustainable to meet customer expectations and regulatory demands. However, the cost, time and expertise required to develop a sustainability strategy can be a barrier to meaningful change, particularly for small and medium-sized companies.

The Hongkong and Shanghai Banking Corporation Limited, India (HSBC) launched its Sustainability Improvement loan (SIL) proposition wherein client with an EcoVadis ESG rating becomes eligible for an array of HSBC products that can provide support in their transition journey.

EcoVadis is one of the world’s largest providers of business sustainability ratings, they have provided sustainability ratings to over 130,000 companies globally¹. EcoVadis offers ESG assessments for businesses along with comprehensive assessment of their operations, and that of their suppliers. EcoVadis can help you to understand how sustainable your business really is, identify areas of strengths and highlight where changes are needed to improve your ESG rating.

Benefits of an ESG assessment

By completing an EcoVadis ESG assessment of your business, you will get a rating which can be used to take out a HSBC Sustainability Improvement Loan. This means that the cost of borrowing can be linked to your sustainability performance, and the interest rate on your lending can reduce² as your EcoVadis score improves.

Further benefits of an ESG assessment include:

Benchmark your performance against your sustainability goals

Get key insights to help you shape a more sustainable business model, making your business more cost effective and resilient

Use your ESG rating in bids and tenders to show that you meet sustainability criteria

Eligibility

If you have an EcoVadis ESG rating, you may be eligible for our Sustainability Improvement Loan.

The HSBC Sustainability Improvement Loan will be eligible for HSBC customers looking for a new facility or those who are looking to refinance or convert an existing facility and will be available for a range of business loans and trade products.

How it works - HSBC Sustainability Improvement Loan

Once you have a HSBC Sustainability Improvement Loan, you must undertake an EcoVadis ESG assessment in order to get a new rating for each annual reporting period, for the lifetime of the facility.

Your EcoVadis rating is used to track your ESG performance over time, and you can qualify for better interest rates if your scores improve in line with agreed targets. Similarly, your interest rate may increase if your EcoVadis rating declines.

EcoVadis ESG assessment

1. Create a company profile and a custom assessment will be made for you to complete
2. Complete the custom assessment and upload any supporting document

3. EcoVadis analysts will then assess and validate a personal scorecard for your business, giving you:
- - Scores of 1-100 across four areas: Environment, Labour & Human Rights, Ethics and Sustainable Procurement
- - Detailed insights into areas of strength and weakness, with recommendations on areas to prioritise
- - A benchmark of performance that rates you against your peers by industry or country
- - Ongoing reporting so you can track your progress