For the first time, a plastic resin manufacturer has become the recipient of a "Blue Loan," a program from the International Finance Corp.that supports sustainability efforts focused on the world's oceans.
Indorama Ventures Global Services Ltd., a subsidiary of Thailand-based PET resin manufacturer Indorama Ventures Ltd. (IVL) has been granted a $300 million financing package, arranged for by IFC, which the company will use on investments in renewable energy and resource efficiency projects as well as to increase its recycling capacity in Thailand, Indonesia, Philippines, India and Brazil — countries which are grappling with mismanaged waste and serious plastic waste in the environment.
It is IFC’s first Blue Loan exclusively focused on addressing marine plastic pollution.
As a member of the World Bank Group and the largest global development institution focused on the private sector in emerging markets, IFC has put together a package comprised of a $150 million senior loan from IFC and parallel loans of $150 million from the Asian Development Bank and Deutsche Investitions-und Entwicklungsgesellschaft.
A Blue Loan is an instrument whereby the funds raised are certified and tracked exclusively for projects that support a Blue Economy. sustainable use of ocean resources for economic growth, improved livelihoods and jobs and ocean ecosystem health.
Indorama is aiming for a minimum of 750,000 metric tons of recycled PET globally by 2025. To that end, the company is building the recycling infrastructure needed to divert waste from the marine environment, said Yashovardhan Lohia, chief sustainability officer, at IVL.
A key feature of the investment is to create value out of waste by promoting higher-value bottle-to-bottle recycling.
“By recycling post-consumer PET bottles into new bottles, we give waste an economic value. This drives improvements in waste collection systems, meaning less waste and cleaner oceans,” Lohia said.
The loan will also allow IVL to install more solar panels at facilities in Thailand and India, with other sites to follow, while also securing more renewable energy for its manufacturing facilities. IVL is working on a Waste Heat Recovery (WHR) project at its PET and fiber manufacturing facility in Indonesia, where energy efficiency measures are expected to reduce the facility’s carbon footprint by as much as 25 percent, and plans to develop similar projects, Brazil and at other manufacturing facilities to meet its corporate targets.