DLL and EIB agree on €370m in circular economy project agreements targeting Benelux SMEs

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LL and the European Investment Bank (EIB) have signed lending agreements that will make available up to €370m to climate-conscious SMEs in the Benelux (Belgium, the Netherlands, and Luxembourg).

The EIB will provide €60m in sustainability lending for Belgium and the Netherlands as part of a wider European green financing program, of which a first portion was signed recently in Ireland.

Alongside this, the EIB will lend €125m for circularity initiatives in the Benelux region as a whole. As DLL will match-fund both figures, a total of €370m in new financing will become available for SMEs with green or circular projects.

Catherine Meyers, General Manager for Benelux at DLL, said: “This funding from the EiB helps us and our partners to provide our joint customers with suitable lease proposals with an interest benefit that lowers the threshold to invest in used refurbished machines. In this way, we can stimulate the circular economy and create a win-win for all parties involved.

"One example is our collaboration with Vervaet Rebuild, which for instance offers rebuilt Vervaet slurry injectors and beet harvesters to farmers who don’t want to invest in new equipment but do require a machine that is not inferior to a new machine in terms of quality, reliability and capacity.”

EIB vice-president Kris Peeters, said: “DLL and the EIB are longstanding partners and we hope that this agreement will be seen as a signal that green business makes sense also from a financial point of view.”