The Circular Economy is a key strategic pillar within Intesa Sanpaolo 2018-2021 Business Plan and an important step to become a positive impact bank, with one main objective: a Circular Economy Plafond.

In September 2018, Intesa Sanpaolo launched Circular Economy Plafond of 5 billion Euros (recently increased to 6 billion Euros) to finance innovative and transformative projects and companies that adopt CE principles. This credit facility offers the best credit access terms to businesses in line with CE principles and CE criteria.

Transactions are considered circular-compliant if they are coherent with a set of criteria defined by the Ellen MacArthur Foundation. The eligibility criteria are as follows:

1. Solutions that extend the useful life of the product or the cycles of use of goods and materials (application of modular design; implementation of reverse logistics programs; reuse, repair and refurbishment or refurbishment of products).
2. Production processes powered by renewable energy and products made from renewable or recyclable resources (for example products that replace critical materials with organic or recycled materials).
3. Products and services that significantly increase the effectiveness of resource consumption, within the company or along its value chain (application of principles of industrial symbiosis and creation of integrated value chains that transform waste into products).

The loans already disbursed through the CE Plafond represent the underlying portfolio of the Sustainability Bond of 750 million Euros issued by Intesa Sanpaolo in November 2019, winner of the Environmental Finance's 2020 Bond Awards.