Being a Responsible and Sustainable Investor, and creating impact
Something happens when people come together. From the connections we make spring ideas. Fresh solutions to big problems, from how to improve global communications and heat our homes, to how to support businesses and drive the economy. And from solutions like these flow opportunities to create value.
We acknowledge that we are operating in a changing world, the winners of the past may no longer be the winners of the future. Constrained resources, rising pollution, climate change, globalisation and political and social instabilities are shifting the state of play and creating new challenges which require new solutions. This reality has now been captured and framed by the 17 UN Sustainable Development Goals, which depict the most pressing challenges we face today and present a call to action for both public and private markets to respond. We are mindful of this need in all our actions, and in particular in our commitment to being a responsible and sustainable investor.
Core to our commitment to being a sustainable and responsible investor is the integration of ESG issues into every strategy’s investment analysis and decision-making. Understanding ESG factors provides an additional layer of insight into the risks and opportunities affecting our investments and loans now, and in the future. It is critical for risk mitigation and when done well can enhance returns as well as preserve value for our investors. Furthermore, we run strategies which have the specific intent of creating positive measurable impact, including our Social Housing funds, our ventures investment solution the Impact EIS service, our management of the application and awards process of the UK Government’s Heat Networks Investment Project, and our new fund dedicated to Energy Efficiency investments.