Early Warning System

Regions

Europe and Central Asia

Geographic location where the impacts of the investment may be experienced.

Countries

Romania

Geographic location where the impacts of the investment may be experienced.

Financial Institutions

European Bank for Reconstruction and Development (EBRD)

International, regional and national development finance institutions. Many of these banks have a public interest mission, such as poverty reduction.

Project Status

Active

Stage of the project cycle. Stages vary by development bank and can include: pending, approval, implementation, and closed or completed.

Bank Risk Rating

Environmental and social categorization assessed by the development bank as a measure of the planned project’s environmental and social impacts. A higher risk rating may require more due diligence to limit or avoid harm to people and the environment. For example, "A" or "B" are risk categories where "A" represents the highest amount of risk. Results will include projects that specifically recorded a rating, all other projects are marked ‘U’ for "Undisclosed."

Voting Date

Sep 6, 2022

Date when project documentation and funding is reviewed by the Board for consideration and approval. Some development banks will state a "board date" or "decision date." When funding approval is obtained, the legal documents are accepted and signed, the implementation phase begins.

Borrower

WAREHOUSES DE PAUW NV

A public entity (government or state-owned) provided with funds or financial support to manage and/or implement a project.

Sectors

Construction

The service or industry focus of the investment. A project can have several sectors.

Investment Amount (USD)

$ 148.46 million

Value listed on project documents at time of disclosure. If necessary, this amount is converted to USD ($) on the date of disclosure. Please review updated project documents for more information.
Currency conversion note:
Bank reported 150
Converted using 2022-09-06 exchange rate.

Project Cost (USD)

$ 729.41 million

Primary Source

Original disclosure @ EBRD website

Updated in EWS Dec 9, 2022

Disclosed by Bank Nov 2, 2022

Contribute Information
Can you contribute information about this project?
Contact the EWS Team

Project Description

If provided by the financial institution, the Early Warning System Team writes a short summary describing the purported development objective of the project and project components. Review the complete project documentation for a detailed description.

PROJECT DESCRIPTION

Provision of a long-term senior unsecured loan of up to EUR 150 million in favour of Warehouses De Pauw NV ("WDP" or the "Company"), a Belgian public limited company, to finance part of the company's development program of logistic and light industrial facilities in Romania.

PROJECT OBJECTIVES

The project will enable WDP to expand its portfolio of industrial and light manufacturing real estate in Romania and thus support the development of A-class sustainable industrial real estate in the country.

TRANSITION IMPACT

ETI score: 67

1) Well-Governed: The Company will implement several improvements across targeted dimensions of corporate climate governance, including in the areas of i) governance and accountability, ii) strategy, iii) risk management and iv) reporting metrics and targets.2) Green: The Project will contribute to the decarbonisation of the building sector in Romania, as the Company commits to certifying all of the assets financed by EBRD with the EDGE certification.

1) Well-Governed:

CLIENT INFORMATION

WAREHOUSES DE PAUW NV

Warehouses De Pauw NV is the Belgian arm and holding company of Warehouses De Pauw portfolio and subsidiaries. The Company is incorporated in Belgium and listed on Euronext Brussels and Euronext Amsterdam.

ADDITIONALITY

Additionality in this project stems from the financing structure, climate governance risk mitigation as well as from EBRD's expertise in energy and resource efficiency, allowing the Company to reach higher standards.

ENVIRONMENTAL AND SOCIAL SUMMARY

Categorised B under the 2019 ESP. Environmental and social impacts associated with the development of a logistic centre can be readily identified and addressed through appropriate mitigation measures. Environmental and Social Due Diligence (ESDD), undertaken by ESD staff, was based on the review of the completed ESDD Questionnaire, the Company's group-level official 2021 annual corporate social responsibility report and their statement on commitment to a sound working environment as well as follow up with the client. The ESDD showed that the client has adequate environmental and social risk management capacities and the Project is not associated with significant environmental & social issues. To ensure the Project's compliance with the EBRD Performance Requirements (PRs), a concise Environmental and Social Action Plan (ESAP) has been developed and agreed with the client. The client is required to ensure that the Project complies with the EBRD PRs as well as submit an annual ES report to the Bank.The ESDD showed that the Company publishes a group-level annual report in line with the Global Reporting Initiative as well as the Sustainability Accounting Standards. The Company is publicly committed to sustainability and publishes analyses of their business operation in accordance with 2030 SDGs. They aim to be CO2 neutral in the medium term. Their Human Resources (HR) policies include an employee grievance mechanism and occupational, health & safety policies in line with EBRD PR2 and PR4. The Company reported that there were no material accidents at the group level in 2021. While they do not pursue environmental management accreditations, they have overarching environmental procedures and environmental managers in place. The light manufacturing component in the logistic centre of the Project does not involve hazardous waste production. The Bank will monitor the project's environmental & social performance by reviewing an annual ES report and site visit if deemed necessary.

Investment Description

Here you can find a list of individual development financial institutions that finance the project.

European Bank for Reconstruction and Development (EBRD)

Contact Information

This section aims to support the local communities and local CSO to get to know which stakeholders are involved in a project with their roles and responsibilities. If available, there may be a complaint office for the respective bank which operates independently to receive and determine violations in policy and practice. Independent Accountability Mechanisms receive and respond to complaints. Most Independent Accountability Mechanisms offer two functions for addressing complaints: dispute resolution and compliance review.

Charlotte de Troyer
charlotte.detroyer@wdp.eu
+32 (0)52 338 400
www.wdp.eu
Blakebergen 15 1861 Wolvertem Belgium

ACCESS TO INFORMATION

You can request information by emailing: accessinfo@ebrd.com or by using this electronic form: https://www.ebrd.com/eform/information-request

ACCOUNTABILITY MECHANISM OF EBRD

The Project Complaint Mechanism (PCM) is the independent complaint mechanism and fact-finding body for people who have been or are likely to be adversely affected by an European Bank for Reconstruction and Development (EBRD)-financed project. If you submit a complaint to the PCM, it may assess compliance with EBRD's own policies and procedures to prevent harm to the environment or communities or it may assist you in resolving the problem that led to the complaint through a dialogue with those implementing the project. Additionally, the PCM has the authority to recommend a project be suspended in the event that harm is imminent.

You can contact the PCM at: pcm@ebrd.com or you can submit a complaint online using an online form at: http://www.ebrd.com/eform/pcm/complaint_form?language=en

You can learn more about the PCM and how to file a complaint at: http://www.ebrd.com/work-with-us/project-finance/project-complaint-mechanism.html