JinkoSolar and Industrial Bank Close the World's First GSSA-Standard Sustainability-Linked Loan

en.Wedoany.com Reported - JinkoSolar Holding Co., Ltd. (hereinafter referred to as "JinkoSolar"), a globally leading solar and storage company, announced that the Sustainability-Linked Loan (SLL) signed with Industrial Bank has been officially completed. This project is the world's first sustainability-linked loan applying the supply chain ESG standards under the Global Solar & Storage Alliance Sustainability Initiative (GSSA), marking a significant breakthrough for Chinese solar and storage companies in the collaborative innovation of green finance and industrial sustainable governance.

Project Highlights: Green Finance Empowering Industrial Sustainable Development

This sustainability-linked loan incorporates Sustainability Key Performance Indicators (KPIs), whereby JinkoSolar can trigger a preferential interest rate reduction upon achieving the agreed targets, using market-based mechanisms to incentivize the company to continuously improve its supply chain ESG governance.

Currently, the industry is at a stage of cyclical adjustment alongside rising global sustainable development requirements, with upstream and downstream players in the industrial chain placing higher demands on ESG management, supply chain collaboration, and green finance innovation. Taking green ESG as the entry point, this project integrates the GSSA supplier compliance assessment coverage rate into the evaluation system, promoting the effective alignment of industrial sustainable governance with sustainable finance mechanisms. The project actively responds to the directives on enhancing the resilience, security, and green low-carbon development of the industrial and supply chains. Through an interest rate floating mechanism, it drives sustainable governance across the upstream and downstream supply chain, providing innovative practices for advancing industry standard coordination, improving supply chain sustainability management capabilities, and exploring green finance services for the real economy.

Bank-Enterprise Collaboration: An ESG-Leading Bank and a PV Industry Leader Jointly Setting a Benchmark

As a pioneer and advocate in the domestic ESG field, Industrial Bank has been continuously innovating in sustainable finance for many years, accumulating extensive practical experience and professional strengths. From project design to final implementation, Industrial Bank and JinkoSolar teams maintained close coordination and efficient collaboration, safeguarding the project with professional ESG service capabilities. This project also serves as a landmark transaction following the signing of the Sustainable Development Advisory Bank Agreement between the two parties, laying a solid foundation for deeper cooperation in the future.

Global First: GSSA Standards Applied to Green Financing for the First Time

The core innovation of this project lies in the first-ever application of GSSA, a China-led ESG standard, as the linked indicator for a sustainability-linked loan, setting a precedent for the industry. As a global joint initiative for sustainable development in the solar and storage industry, the financial application of GSSA's supply chain ESG standards not only enhances the influence of Chinese ESG standards in the international financial arena but also provides strong support for Chinese enterprises going global in addressing international ESG compliance challenges.

Professional Empowerment: ERM Issues Second Party Opinion to Ensure Standard Compliance

This project is supported by ERM (ERM Environmental Resources Management (Shanghai) Co., Ltd.), a globally leading environmental, health, safety, and sustainability consulting firm, which provided the Second Party Opinion (SPO) service. ERM possesses extensive international practical experience in sustainable finance, having provided structuring and verification services for green loans and sustainability-linked financing to numerous global financial institutions and new energy companies. The issuance of this SPO provides independent and professional standard-compliance endorsement for the collaboration between JinkoSolar and Industrial Bank, ensuring the project's credibility and transparency under internationally mainstream sustainable finance frameworks.

Outlook: Continuing to Lead High-Quality Sustainable Development in the Global Solar and Storage Industry

As a leading enterprise in the global solar and storage industry, JinkoSolar has always regarded sustainable development as one of its core strategies. Looking ahead, the company will continue to deepen cooperation with domestic and international financial institutions in the field of green finance, persistently explore the deep integration of ESG standards with green finance, participate in global sustainable governance industry practices with an open attitude, and leverage the dual drivers of financial innovation and industrial practice to help the global solar and storage industry move toward a new stage of higher-quality and more sustainable development, contributing JinkoSolar's strength to the energy transition and green low-carbon development.