A Bristol recycling company has secured a £2 million finance facility from HSBC UK to accommodate its growing membership base.
Ecosurety, a UK recycling compliance schemes, provides well-known brands with the traceable recycling evidence they need to submit under UK law.
The scheme has more than 1,000 members across the food, drink and retail sectors, including Danone, The Co-operative Group, Innocent, Morrisons and Virgin Media.
As well as providing Ecosurety with the financial flexibility to meet the compliance needs of its growing membership base, the funding from HSBC UK will enable it to accelerate what it calls “much needed” investment into recycling innovation and infrastructure in the UK.
Ecosurety helps its members manage their legal recycling obligations, whilst also working with them at a strategic level, channelling investment into UK recycling projects that offer a solution to the UK’s reliance on waste export markets.
The £2m finance facility will enable Ecosurety to continue to meet the needs of its members, whilst delivering on its broader mission to build UK recycling capacity through collaboration, innovation and targeted investment
The company says only through increased infrastructure, innovation and consumer awareness campaigns, can a more “resilient recycling system” be created in the UK.
James Piper, CEO at Ecosurety, said: “Ecosurety is committed to accelerating the growth of UK recycling infrastructure and to helping the UK build a more transparent recycling system that reduces its reliance on foreign export markets. As companies recognise the long-term benefits that Ecosurety’s business model offers, we’ve seen increased business growth.
“This, coupled with high recycling evidence (PRN) prices, has created the need for a more flexible cash-flow set up – something HSBC UK is helping us manage. The £2m finance facility will enable Ecosurety to continue to meet the needs of its members, whilst delivering on its broader mission to build UK recycling capacity through collaboration, innovation and targeted investment.”
James Shepherd, Head of Corporate Banking in Bristol, Gloucestershire and Wiltshire, added: “HSBC UK is committed to helping Bristol businesses realise their ambitions and Ecosurety is no exception. It is one of the leading businesses in its field, helping companies share recycling evidence and innovate to improve the UK’s recycling efforts.
“This sustainability-driven company is closely aligned with our own ambitions to achieve sustainable growth and we look forward to working with the team as it continues to attract new members.”
Packaging compliance applies to companies that handle more than 50 tonnes of packaging a year and have a turnover of more than £2 million per annum.
These companies are required to take responsibility for their environmental impact and must pay a proportion of the cost of packaging recovery and recycling through the purchase of certificates or recycling evidence.
The funding from HSBC UK has been drawn from the bank’s SME Fund, which has dedicated £550 million to SMEs across Bristol.