SITA signs $400m sustainability credit facility

SITA, a global IT provider for the aviation industry, has signed a $400m inaugural sustainability-linked revolving credit facility over a minimum three-year term;  the backup facility aims to support the company’s general business needs.

A statement said the syndicated credit facility linked to environmental performance is an innovative step forward in the company’s ongoing sustainability efforts.

It includes significant reduction targets relating to Scope 1, 2, and 3 greenhouse gas emissions to align with SBTi frameworks. SITA’s performance against these targets will be externally audited.

The statement quoted the Chief Financial Officer, SITA,  Nicolas Husson, as saying, “Sustainability is high on our agenda and we are deeply committed to ensuring a sustainable future for all, including for our employees, customers, and partners. We are delighted to secure financing that is directly linked to the performance of our sustainability ambitions.”

The statement further said that this new backup syndicated facility would supersede the company’s previous bilateral committed lines and is now directly linked to pre-agreed environmental KPIs and yearly targets, with a bonus or a malus on the interest margin depending on SITA’s performance.

SITA said the syndication was oversubscribed. As part of the arrangement, four new banks signed up to support SITA in addition to the company’s five existing banking partners, underlining investor confidence in the technology provider.

The statement noted that Société Générale and Crédit Industriel et Commercial are acting as joint coordinators and bookrunners of the transaction. Société Générale has been mandated as ‘ESG Coordinator’ and ‘Facility Agent’ while Crédit Industriel et Commercial acted as ‘Documentation Agent’. In addition, Barclays, Credit Suisse, and J.P. Morgan joined as mandated lead arrangers. Bank of China, Landesbank Baden-Württemberg, and Unicredit are taking part as lead arrangers while Banco Bilbao Vizcaya Argentaria is taking part as arranger.

In another statement,  SITA has ramped up its emission reduction efforts, achieving CarbonNeutral® status under The CarbonNeutral Protocol in 2021. More recently, the company announced its commitment to setting science-based targets via the Science Based Targets initiative to join other leading companies to combat climate change aligned to net-zero and the 1.5oC scenario of the Paris Agreement.