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Companies will ask banks to finance their ‘green’ projects, but it will be the Ministry of the Environment guarantee to credit institutions that it is not green wash, that is to say, of only apparent ecological intention. And it’s the first time that happens. A change of perspective achieved in full pandemic and under a Experimental program already started by the ministry with the participation of some credit institutions. These will have the ‘Operational Guidelines’ available, but the ministry will certify the level of environmental quality with respect to the indicators already identified, allowing banks to select projects not only on the basis of its economic sustainability, but also on the basis of its environmental sustainability. “This is a tool that will help the most virtuous companies in our country – explains a ilfattoquotidiano.it Minister Sergio Costa – from the big to the small ”. Covid-19 had a strong impact on them, slowing down and putting in difficulties those who had embarked on a path of sustainability. But if on the one hand, to remind us of the effects of the pandemic, there are the bulky packaging on the shelves of supermarkets and the postponement of plastic tax, in the same months there were important regulatory changes on circular economy. The same program launched with the banks is the result of this complicated period. “When we left – says Costa – I felt like I was on the top of a rock. This is the moment to take a leap to reach the spur in front of you ”. To help companies achieve this, this experiment has been launched in which ICCREA Banca, Cassa Centrale Banca – Crédito Cooperativo Italiano, Intesa San Paolo and Cassa Depositi e Prestiti participate as lenders.
Minister, how do these guidelines provide a tool to combat the greenwashing phenomenon?
“The proposal that we have developed, after consulting the institutes that have joined the working group on Sustainable Finance, was born within the European regulatory perimeter to favor ‘Green Finance’ and is consistent with the EU regulations on Taxonomy, which defines the same concept of “sustainable economic activity”. The aim is to help companies and allow credit institutions to select projects to finance not only based on their economic sustainability, but also with regard to the environment. Therefore, the ministry transparently assesses the quality of a project with respect to the benchmark indicators in the so-called ‘Green Board’, built on the basis of six objectives: mitigation and adaptation to climate change, sustainable use and protection of the water and marine resources. , transition towards a circular economy, prevention and reduction of pollution, protection and restoration of biodiversity and ecosystems ”.
What companies can benefit from it?
If the European objective, also supported by our country, is to speak of ‘green finance’ especially to large European companies and multinationals, there is a whole Italian theme that closely concerns the manufacturing sector and small and medium-sized companies. medium-sized companies, but also micro-companies, which are outside the EU taxonomy regulation. Our goal, on the other hand, is to apply this system to all companies. We also want SMEs and micro-enterprises to be ‘green’, given that 90% of the Italian productive fabric is made up of these realities ”.
A company goes to the bank because it needs access to credit. What happens?
“As in these cases, the project and the production guarantee and a risk index are requested and, based on these, a loan is granted at more or less significant rates depending on a series of elements. We asked these institutes to begin to transparently evaluate the environmental aspect of the project, in addition to the risk of investment in the green field, also because it is in this direction that the global system is heading. So banks can no longer evaluate projects with the old parameters, those of the fossil to be clear, if they want to lower the risk index. And, in any case, the guarantee of a sustainability evaluation, which is the third one, is given by the Ministry of the Environment. And it is the first time that a private banking system has accredited a state system as a guarantor partner in evaluating the risk index of a project.
The emergency we are facing can be a brake for companies that want to invest in sustainability, but also a breaking point with the past. So far, the signs have not been encouraging. Just think of the postponement of the plastic tax. Has Covid-19 changed priorities? What difficulties are you getting from companies?
“Companies are certainly asking for a debureaucratization of the system, but also – due to Covid-19 and beyond – the support of the State in easy ways and of the credit system at an economic level. It is no coincidence that as of January 1, 2021, the CIPE changes its name, becoming Cipess (the Interministerial Committee for Economic Planning will become the Interministerial Committee for Economic Planning for Sustainable Development). This means that large Italian investments in large works, in addition to looking at the private world, will also look at the public and all must be compatible with environmental sustainability and, therefore, with the six indicators. The same resources from the Recovery Plan, at least 37% for green projects (which will go to different ministries, ie) will be added to those made available for other sectors, but which must still respect the sustainability indicators. Another important tool will be green bonds, government bonds that will be put on the market, which we are defining and which we intend to support by giving financial credibility to the greens.
Let’s go back to plastic. Ilfattoquotidiano.it worked on research to understand what companies were doing to reduce it: they replace it with other materials (and they are not always sustainable or easily recyclable options) reduce its weight or, again, increase the share of recycling. Even multinationals do little compared to the millions of tons of waste they produce. In order not to find waste (including Italian ones) in the oceans or in landfills (in Italy and Europe, as in Malaysia) it would not be better to invest directly in reuse, the effective reduction of returnable packaging and vacuum systems and dispose of them? Was it disposable?
“The entire circular economy package approved last summer goes in this direction, that is, reuse, recycle, reuse. To stay in plastic we must, first of all, give value to waste materials, those that have already been recycled: without the law this product has no economic value, but if you give it value you create a supply chain, therefore a interest in not throwing it away. Once the standard is made, all improvement paths must be defined. “
Businesses often encounter various obstacles, including bureaucratic ones.
“It was certainly the limitation of producing bottles in rPet (recycled plastic) with a maximum of 50% recycled plastic. In October, an amendment to the August decree was approved that allows 100% rPet bottles to be produced in our country as well. This means that, when you make a separate collection with numbers of a certain type, you can finally start to think of a specific Tari according to the differentiated ones made by each family. Because the citizen who creates an economic value with the collection, has the right to pay less. The other aspect of the law is that of extended producer responsibility, with which it pushes to design objects in such a way that they can have another life and enter the cycle of the circular economy. These measures are relatively new. They need help and support, but they are there ”.
Meanwhile, during the Covid-19 emergency, the shelves were filled with packaging. According to large-scale retailing, consumers consider them safer, from a hygienic point of view, than bulk products. However, scientific studies do not speak at all of a shorter permanence of the virus in plastic.
“Large-scale distribution plays a fundamental role. And this is precisely the moment when I hope that, also with the support of the ministry, more concrete actions than ever will be taken on green indicators, offering sustainable products to the end, at all stages, in production, transport and distribution. Also because today around 84% of Italians pay marked attention to the ‘green’ market “.
This business and large retailers have gotten it right, based on media campaigns focused on actual or suspected sustainability.
“That’s right. That is why it is important for the Ministry of the Environment to guarantee the effective sustainability of the projects that banks must also finance. And that is why we would like large retail businesses to undertake a path like the one undertaken by credit institutions. The establishment of ‘Made Green Italy’ (the national certification scheme for the environmental footprint of the product, ed) also goes in this direction, which grants traceability and traceability of a product until it reaches the consumer ”.
In the province of Varese, the Spesa Sballata project has entered the operational phase, through which 33 families, in some Carrefour and Coop stores, will be able to buy without disposable containers. Is this the way or are these initiatives destined to remain isolated?
“Effective packaging reduction is the way to go without a doubt. And that is why we have given incentives to encourage the sale of bulk and barrel products ”.
Then came Covid-19.
“It is understandable that at this moment there is fear in many of us, uncertainty. But we should not be overwhelmed by this fear. If I have the guarantee of a system that assures me that I am buying a healthy product and I do it safely, I no longer need polluting packaging. I can use a loose product or even simply wrapped in a thin film that guarantees me particular foods. In the midst of a pandemic, various tools have been put in place, from the circular economy package to this latest experiment involving banks. Let’s not forget that Covid-19 had a beginning, and hopefully, soon, it will also have an end. We have to take that leap ”.
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