ITOCHU Announces the Conclusion of a Green Loan Agreement
September 29, 2023
ITOCHU Corporation (headquartered in Minato-ku, Tokyo; Keita Ishii, President & COO; hereinafter “ITOCHU”) announced that ITOCHU and Sumitomo Mitsui Trust Bank, Limited (headquartered in Chiyoda-ku, Tokyo; Kazuya Ohyama, President) entered into the green loan agreement, which limits the use of funds to environmentally friendly projects.
ITOCHU Group, conducting business globally under the spirit of "Sampo-yoshi", the management philosophy of merchants in the Ohmi province of Japan (present-day Shiga Prefecture) which is our Corporate Mission, considers that addressing global environmental and social issues is one of the top priorities in its management policy.
We contribute to the realization of a sustainable society based on The ITOCHU Group Code of Ethical Conduct, in order to achieve the goals of The ITOCHU Group Corporate Guideline of Conduct, "I am One with Infinite Missions."
ITOCHU also has set the basic policy “Enhancing our contribution to and engagement with the SDGs through business activities” in the”FY2022-2024 Outline of Medium-Term Management Plan” announced on May 10th, 2021. Through business activities, ITOCHU is contributing to the achievement of SDGs in such ways as maintaining the foundations of everyday life and protecting environment.
The purpose of implementing the green loan financing is to make the policy of ITOCHU known to various stakeholders and to promote such efforts about SDGs.
To implement the green loan financing, ITOCHU has established the Green Loan Framework*1 in alignment with the Green Loan Principles, 2023 as administered by the Asia Pacific Loan Market Association (APLMA), the Loan Market Association (LMA), and the Loan Syndications and Trading Association (LSTA), as well as the Green Loan Guidelines, 2022 as administered by the Ministry of the Environment of Japan. And it has obtained an external evaluation (second party opinion) from Japan Credit Research Agency, Ltd (JCR)*2 for the conformity of our Framework with principles such as the Green Loan Principles.
- *1ITOCHU’s Green Loan Framework (https://www.itochu.co.jp/en/csr/pdf/green_loan_framework_en.pdf )
- *2Second Party Opinion from JCR (https://www.itochu.co.jp/en/csr/pdf/external_evaluation_en.pdf )