Our journey
We’ve been creating climate conscious investments for over a decade. (In fact, in 2012 our founders were standing in a cold church hall in the Forest of Dean helping Nigel invest £20 in a new local wind turbine.) And we are proud to have stuck to our mission, as green investing has moved from obscure niche to the mainstream.
From small beginnings to a green finance leader
All businesses begin with a big idea. Ours was to transform the world of finance to make it easier for everyone - not just experienced investors - to get their money working for a greener future. No small target in 2011, when the only green investment options required thousands of pounds to get involved.
Our founders set about shaking up the stuffy world of financial services. When we launched in 2012, we became the first and only company to allow anyone to invest directly in green projects from just £5.
Today we have raised over £150m for pioneering green businesses and councils all over the country with some big achievements along the way, all with the help of thousands of investors. We’ve helped launch the UK tidal industry, backed innovative green projects in sectors ranging from renewable energy to sustainable forestry to waste management to EV charging, and created the first council investments seen in the UK for a generation.
We are proud to have been part of the charge that is changing financial services forever. We helped to put ethical investing on the map. Our campaigns, seen by millions, were talking to people about green investment years before green investment started to be talked about by central bankers and investment funds.
We have spent over a decade helping thousands of people mobilise their money for good. Our next decade, as we work with councils to help upgrade the infrastructure that runs the places we live, promises to be even more exciting.
An exciting future working with councils to deliver real climate projects
In our second decade, our approach is evolving. For now we are focussed on our pioneering council investments - a new way to create a stable long term income by investing in real climate projects around the country.
If the 2010s were the years of activism, we realised that the 2020s are all about delivery. If we want to reach our environmental targets we need to invest billions into our infrastructure. And that means working with the organisations which can really influence over a third of UK greenhouse gas emissions - councils.
But there was no way for people to connect with the councils who wanted to get on and get this essential work done. So we decided to do what we always do. When there is a problem with no solution, we created one. In 2020, we partnered with the University of Leeds to create our council climate investments. They are a powerful way to make a climate impact through a new low risk income investment option that is relevant to billions of pounds of our combined saving and investment nest eggs.
Our mission for the coming years is to see thousands more using their savings and investments to back real climate action in our towns, cities and countryside.