Santander has partnered with Sonae to offer suppliers preferential discount rates based on their ESG rating from global sustainability rating platform EcoVadis

This innovative sustainability-linked supply chain finance program has been designed to incentivize an improvement in sustainability performance and is open to Sonae’s suppliers in Portugal and Spain

Lisbon, May 11, 2022. 
SANTANDER has launched a sustainability-linked supply chain finance program with SONAE and global sustainability rating platform EcoVadis, designed to incentivize improvement in the sustainability performance of Sonae’s suppliers in Portugal and Spain. This is the first program of its kind for a Portuguese Retailer and is directly linked to Sonae’s sustainability goals and its purpose of “creating a better tomorrow, for all”.

Santander’s sustainability-linked supply chain finance offering combines a market leading supply chain finance platform, with strong ESG structuring capabilities to incentivise meaningful impact in the supply chain. The Sonae program will initially benefit suppliers of Continente, Worten, MO and Zippy, and will be an important step to encourage suppliers to become aware of their sustainability practices and their impact throughout the value chain. The independent ESG ratings from EcoVadis provide a standardized form of assessment for suppliers of any size and support continuous improvement year on year. Santander has been a key partner to Sonae in the issuance of various sustainability-linked products and demonstrates the bank’s strong commitment to support clients transition to a more sustainable business model.

Sustainable finance is key to achieving an economy that is more respectful of people and the planet, and Santander strives to be an agent of change in this space. The bank is a founding member of the Net-Zero Banking Alliance and has set ambitious targets to achieve net zero carbon emissions across the group by 2050 and to raise or facilitate EUR 220 billion in green finance by 2030. Santander was recently elected the “Most Responsible Bank – ESG” in Portugal, taking first place in the banking sector in the Merco ESG 2021 ranking.