McCain partners with
BNP Paribas Bank Polska
to launch a regenerative agriculture program in
Poland
, supporting potato farmers in transitioning to sustainable practices. The program includes technical, commercial, and financial support, aiming to implement regenerative practices globally by 2030.
BNP Paribas Bank Polska
plays a key role in sustainable financing and supports the partnership with McCain. The program marks a significant milestone in McCain's sustainability journey.
Key Highlights:
* McCain aims to implement regenerative agricultural practices across 100% of its potato acreage worldwide by 2030
* BNP Paribas Bank Polskas sustainable financing at the end of Q3 2023 amounted to PLN 8.9 billion
*
BNP Paribas Bank Polska
supported the largest transaction under the
Sustainable Development Goals
(SLL) linked formula on the Polish market for
Polsat Plus Group
, worth more than PLN 10 billion
Original Press Release:
POLAND
,
May 21
--
McCain Foods Ltd
issued the following news release:
McCain is proud to join forces with
BNP Paribas Bank Polska
to launch today a new and exciting regenerative agriculture program in
Poland
, built on a transition package to support potato growers on their sustainability journey. McCain is supporting Polish potato farmers in their transition to more sustainable agriculture practices, with a range of actions including technical, commercial and financial support. The project is launched in partnership with
BNP Paribas Bank Polska
, the leader in supporting green transformation in
Poland
.
Potato farmers are facing increasing challenges that include climate change, variable and unpredictable weather, rising input costs, and regulatory uncertainty. McCain is partnering with farmers to transform the way potatoes are grown using regenerative agriculture practices. The framework McCain has developed globally is an ecosystem-based approach to farming that aims to improve farmer resilience, yield, and quality. This is done by improving soil health, enhancing biodiversity, and reducing the impact of synthetic inputs. Potato farmers in
Poland
will be eligible to take part in this new program, which is part of McCain’s global commitment to implement regenerative agricultural practices across 100% of its potato acreage worldwide by the end of 2030.
"With potato yields decreasing all across
Europe
and more extreme climate events, Regenerative Agriculture is not a passing trend : it is a matter of resilience for our entire supply chain. It is McCain's duty to build a robust de-risking package to engage our grower partners into the transition and secure our long term supply, while decarbonizing and preserving ecosystems, biodiversity, soil health" says
Leslie Camus
, Vice President Agriculture, McCain Europe.
The project is supported by
BNP Paribas Bank Polska
, the leader in green transformation in
Poland
where its sustainable financing at the end of Q3 2023 amounted to PLN 8.9 billion, or 9.8% of the bank's total loan portfolio. BNP Paribas BP has also helped a number of industries to open up to green transformation and took part in the largest transaction under the
Sustainable Development Goals
(SLL) linked formula on the Polish market - for
Polsat Plus Group
, worth more than PLN 10 billion.
“We are proud to enter a partnership with McCain, one of the global leaders in the sustainable transition of the food value chain. The cooperation between
BNP Paribas
and McCain will be multidimensional. Thanks to our global presence and expertise we proved our strength in cooperation with multinational corporates. The unique solutions allow to support banks’ clients worldwide and spread the competence on each local market. The footprint of
BNP Paribas Group
enables clients to reach sustainability goals globally” – says
Szymon Bielawa
, Director, Head of North America Corporates Coverage at
BNP Paribas Bank Polska
.
The three pillars of the newly launched McCain regenerative agriculture program include the following:
* Technical support
McCain, together with its independent agricultural expert,
Jerzy Prochnicki
Ph D, will guide and train a first group of farmers in areas such as soil life, organic matter, cover crop management, crop diversification, biodiversity enhancement.
BNP Paribas Bank Polska
will, together with McCain, will sponsor the technical training and support of growers for a period of 3 years.
Jerzy Prochnicki
explains “Regenerative agronomic practices are the basis for restoring and further increasing soil fertility and producing high-quality food in a cost-effective way, especially for a demanding crop such as potatoes. Moreover, the regenerative agronomic practices will make it possible to store in soil excess carbon from the atmosphere and stop the climate catastrophe."
* Commercial support
McCain will offer a unique three-year contract on a voluntary basis for farmers willing to engage in the regenerative agriculture journey, to reward and support their efforts in this transition. This contract will include a premium in zloty per ton of potatoes delivered coming from regenerative agriculture fields.
* Financial support
McCain will work in partnership with
BNP Paribas Bank Polska
to support growers in their transition. The partnership will provide a whole range of financial support measures to farmers joining the regenerative agriculture program, including a discounted interest loan to assist them in transitioning to regenerative farming practices. The McCain agreement with
BNP Paribas Bank Polska
runs over a three-year period.
Roman Majchrzycki
, McCain’s agriculture manager in
Poland
concludes: “After the successful roll-out of McCain Regenerative Agriculture programs in
France
and
the Netherlands
, I am proud we are now launching our program in
Poland
, to support the sustainability of supply and strengthen the collaboration with our farmers”.
“We are proud to join with McCain, one of the global leaders in the sustainable transition of the food value chain. This partnership is a stepping stone towards BNP Group’s ongoing efforts in expanding its financing of decarbonisation and transformation actions among clients in the food industry. Building a loan portfolio resilient to climate change risks, higher profitability for our partners, and lower risk for the Bank are only a few among many benefits such projects could provide to both sides of the partnership, says Elżbieta Bugalska, Food & Agri Strategic Clients Director at
BNP Paribas Bank Polska
.
The program is a significant new milestone in McCain’s regenerative agriculture journey, which coincides with the company also celebrating 25 years of manufacturing excellence at its Strzelin facility, setting out a bright future for McCain in
Poland
for the decades to come.
Information about the progress of the regenerative agriculture program will be shared in due time.
About McCain in
Poland
McCain is a company with a 65-year tradition. Our mission is to provide products of consistently the highest quality, to know and understand the market, to provide the latest technical and agrarian solutions, to continually introduce innovative products to the market and to provide customer service at the highest level. Founded 65 years ago in
Canada
, McCain is the world's largest producer of French fries, frozen potato products and snacks based on cheese, vegetables and meat. Our company operates in more than 160 countries and employs approximately 23,000 people. Our network consists of 53 production facilities, of which 1 is in
Poland
. McCain has been operating on the Polish market since 1993, and in 1999 the Polish McCain factory located in Strzelin near Wrocław was opened. This is one of the company's most modern investments in
Europe
.
About
BNP Paribas Bank Polska
BNP Paribas Bank Polska S.A.
, which has been listed on the
Warsaw Stock Exchange
since 2011, is a member of the
BNP Paribas
banking group whose footprint spans 65 countries. In
Poland
, as a universal bank with a global reach, it provides services to retail customers and other segments including wealth management, microbusinesses, small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) and corporate banking. As it advocates green initiatives,
BNP Paribas
supports its clients in the transition to a low-carbon economy, endeavours to curtail the adverse impact of its operations on the natural environment and inspires clients to make good financial decisions. The bank has provided funding for more than 40 000 households to install photovoltaic panels. The bank also consistently pursues its strategy of financing businesses in
Poland
while also supporting investments of strategic importance to the country with a positive social, economic and environmental impact.
[Category: Banks, Paper/Forest Products, Food, Specialty Retail,
Packaged Foods & Meats
, Partnerships and Alliances]
Source:
McCain Foods Ltd
