Compañía de Empaques S.A., part of the Excala group, announced together with BID Invest the issuance of the first sustainability-linked bond (SLB) in Colombia for an amount in Colombian pesos equivalent to approximately 12.6 million dollars for a term of 5 years and with a sustainability goal to be met in 2024.

With this issuance, the company commits to reduce its energy consumption index over raw material incorporated into the process (KWh/Kg) by 8.3% by 2024, which represents an annual average of 1.7% of its energy intensity. Failure to meet the target will represent an increase of 20 bps on the interest rate applicable in 2025 until maturity of the bond.

The proceeds from the issuance will be used to make the necessary investments to increase its installed capacity, as well as to adopt new technologies to optimize the use of raw materials and energy consumption rate, such as energy efficient equipment, growth of packaging product portfolio with recycled and renewable materials, increased consumption of photovoltaic energy, technical operational improvements in compressed air consumption, as well as to promote the culture of energy resource management.

IDB Invest supported Compañía de Empaques through its advisory services in the identification of material KPIs, as well as ambitious targets comparable to international peers and standards. The framework has a second-party opinion from V.E., part of Moody’s ESG Solutions, attesting to its alignment with international thematic bond standards, as set out in the International Capital Market Association (ICMA) Sustainability-Linked Bond Principles.