DLL and the European Investment Bank (EIB) signed new lending agreements that will make available up to €370 million ($417.7 million) in new lending to climate-conscious small and mid-size enterprises in the Benelux region, which is made up of Belgium, the Netherlands and Luxembourg. The EIB will provide €60 million ($67.74 million) 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 €125 million ($141.11 million) for circularity initiatives in the Benelux region as a whole. DLL will match-fund both figures, marking a total of €370 million ($417.7 million) in new financing available for SMEs with green or circular projects.

“This funding from the European Investment Bank 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,” Catherine Meyers, general manager for Benelux at DLL, said. “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.”

“Another good example is crane rental companies in the Netherlands, which not only compose their fleet in terms of tonnage but also in terms of new and used refurbished equipment,” Heddi Khatib, account manager of construction, transportation and industrial at DLL, said. “They make informed decisions when investing in used mobile cranes, and when a reconditioned used crane can be adjusted according to their needs, it will retain its value.”

“Green business will continue to increase in importance, as shown by recent paradigm shifts in lending, bond issuing and buying,” Kris Peeters, vice president of the European Investment Bank, 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.”

The new lending to be made available by DLL is intended for circular economy projects and sustainability initiatives by SMEs as intended in the European taxonomy. The final lending decisions will rest with DLL.