We are driving the grocery industry forward. Sustainably.

The fact that the company established a separate business unit dedicated to sustainability many years ago illustrates its significance for EDEKA Südwest.

Caroline Wilkens, Managing Director at EDEKA Südwest, explains that sustainability has been enshrined in the Group's business strategy since 2015 and emphasises the immense significance that this issue holds for the future at every level of the organisation.

As such, combining this issue with a suitable financing instrument was simply the logical next step: Helaba's sustainability-linked loan reflects EDEKA Südwest's long-standing approach to promoting sustainability by linking the interest rate to non-financial targets that must be achieved within a pre-defined timeframe.

Or, to paraphrase Caroline Wilkens: "Helaba provided us with tremendous expertise and the ideal product"

As part of its sustainability strategy, EDEKA Südwest has defined 25 goals within four areas of activity. Michaela Meyer, the head of EDEKA Südwest's sustainability unit, lists these areas as responsibility towards its workforce, sustainable products, the environment and energy as well as community engagement.

In collaboration with Helaba, the company selected four goals that form the basis of the sustainability-linked loan. In doing so, it was vital to consider all areas of activity, stresses Michaela Meyer: "We felt it was essential to take each area of activity into account, because we believe they all play an equally valuable role."

EDEKA Südwest is aiming to achieve a trainee ratio of around 5 % and to increase the share of organic products among its range of groceries to above 12 % in relation to total stock turnover. When it comes to energy efficiency, the company has pledged to adapt over 130 facilities to more sustainable building criteria. As a case in point, Caroline Wilkens highlights the ultra-modern regional warehouse facility in Rastatt, which was built to the very latest standards. In terms of the company's social commitment, the company plans to support more than 2,000 project days for young people and children dealing with the issue of healthy eating. Both the "Move More - Eat Better" and "Fit for my Life" projects at primary and secondary schools have been running for many years already. As Michaela Meyer explains, the goal is to "inspire pupils' curiosity to learn about issues of nutrition and exercise and to foster a sense of responsibility for their own wellbeing and the environment". She adds that major players in the grocery sector such as EDEKA Südwest have a special obligation in helping to promote sustainable development. In this vein, Caroline Wilkens underlines the company's own mission: "Our stores bring us into contact with countless people every day. That presents us with a huge opportunity, but also with an equally important duty: to lead by example in acting sustainably, thereby raising awareness of sustainability and encouraging other to adopt a more sustainable lifestyle."

In EDEKA Südwest's close collaboration with Helaba, Michaela Meyer praises the interest, motivation and, most of all, the wealth of expertise that the bank's team brought to the table: "We greatly value Helaba's team of experts who really got to grips with the specific concerns we wanted addressed." This team included Rainer Neidnig, Head of Sustainable Finance Advisory, who oversaw the process of developing and implementing the sustainability-linked loan for EDEKA Südwest. He also pays tribute to the way in which both parties worked together in a spirit of equal partnership as well as the genuine commitment of all those involved, noting: "We can only drive sustainable change by pulling together as a team and that's why we quickly found common ground." And there is another aspect that makes this transaction so special: "It is a first transaction of its kind in the supermarket industry based on performance metrics."

This increases the positive signs that a sustainable loan sends out because, in Rainer Neidnig's view, customers want to project a clear message to the outside world. At the same time, sustainable financial products accelerate processes within a company. The key factor is setting adequate goals, that is, defining ambitious milestones that are also realistically achievable. Although metrics such as CO2 emissions, diversity indicators and many others are recurring benchmarks, not every aspect lends itself to every client. "This is precisely where Helaba's task as the Sustainability Coordinator comes in: to find the right metrics and define meaningful targets together with the customer."

Helaba's proximity to its customers as well as its strong ties to the region form the basis of this approach, according to Rainer Neidnig. Beyond that, he also underlines another particular advantage that distinguishes Helaba: "Our customers know they can rely on us to deliver on our commitments. For EDEKA Südwest, we made sure the whole timeline was exactly spot on - right down to the day," he says.