Ipsen has further bolstered its CSR commitment by adding social responsibility criteria to its new syndicated loan conditions.
We believe environmental and social responsibility is critical to how we do business and drive our company forward.
For each of the three pillars of our CSR strategy—Employees, Patients & Society and the Environment—we are committed to:
- Promoting diversity and inclusion by ensuring a gender balance in senior management positions.
- Embedding volunteering in our culture by encouraging our people to give their working time to worthy organizations in the healthcare field.
- Shrinking our carbon footprint and reduce our scope 1 and scope 2 greenhouse gas emissions.
Ipsen was assisted by Natixis in the coordination of the syndicated loan incorporating new CSR criteria.
Why tie company social responsibility to debt?
It is an innovative way of challenging more companies to change for the better. Finance as a driver of corporate social responsibility is a revolutionary concept first introduced in 2017—spearheaded by France in Europe. It has already attracted some big names in the French corporate world including Ipsen.
“We have closely tracked developments of the first deals of this kind. What quickly sparked our interest was the opportunity to combine financial and non-financial criteria,” says Aymeric Le Chatelier, Executive Vice-President and CFO, Ipsen.
This type of ESG-tied facility is also a broader opportunity to shine a light on our company social responsibility policy and to further embed sustainability in our corporate culture.
Ultimately, our goal is for one or more associations to benefit from payment of the credit line margin adjustment².
The additional margin will help to provide health services to vulnerable populations, consistent with our mission and directly in line with UN Sustainable Development Goal 3.
“I am extremely proud of this initiative, which demonstrates our commitment to being a socially responsible company. Gender equality, engagement with voluntary groups and reducing our carbon footprint are top CSR priorities for Ipsen. When we adopt these elements as performance indicators, they take root and strengthen our commitments to our external and internal stakeholders,” adds Feryal Ghouadni, VP, Head of Company Social Responsibility.
1 Scope 1: the company’s direct emissions; Scope 2: indirect emissions from energy consumption
2 If the objectives set are exceeded, the banks will donate to the associations, if the objectives are not met, Ipsen undertakes to make a donation.
