Five years of impact

On our fifth anniversary, we celebrate five years of impact and look ahead to our next phase of growth as part of Macquarie Asset Management.

In August 2017, Macquarie acquired the UK Government’s Green Investment Bank and combined it with Macquarie Capital’s renewables team to create one of the world’s largest teams of specialist green infrastructure developers and investors. As the Green Investment Group (GIG) our ambition was to maximise the potential of the world’s first dedicated green finance institution by transforming it into a global business. 

Over the course of just five years, we expanded into more than twenty-five markets across Europe, Asia Pacific and the Americas. From mature markets in Western Europe through to emerging markets such as India, Vietnam and the Philippines, we’ve invested or arranged over £10 bn into projects which have avoided over 1.4 million tonnes of carbon emissions (MTCO₂e) over the period¹.

We believe one of the biggest challenges in the global transition to net zero has not been access to capital, but in creating a pipeline of investible projects. That’s why we evolved our approach to become a developer, taking projects from dollar number one, through to electron number one.

However, to help deliver the unprecedented volume of green energy² that must be deployed over the course of this decade to meet net zero goals³, we knew we needed to do more, faster. We therefore shifted our focus from developing and investing into individual assets, to creating, acquiring and partnering with specialist development businesses.

Through this approach we aim to create some of the world’s leading renewable energy companies, including solar developers Cero Generation and Blueleaf Energy, and Corio Generation – home to one of the world’s largest offshore wind development portfolios. It’s an approach we’re also using to accelerate the deployment of new technologies which will drive deep-decarbonisation, such as hydrogen, battery-storage, and e-mobility. Between GIG and our portfolio companies we’re currently developing over 30 GW of new green energy projects which have the potential to power the equivalent of more than 23 million homes⁴.

As we continue to evolve, our mission remains unchanged – to accelerate the transition to net zero. At the heart of that mission sits our unique approach to green governance, impact measurement and reporting. From day one we’ve measured and reported on the positive green impact of our investments and activities with rigour and transparency, and we’re proud to continue this approach. Learn more about how we measure green impact.

Our next phase of our growth started in April 2022, when we joined Macquarie Asset Management, the world’s largest manager of infrastructure⁵. By operating as part of MAM we’re able to offer clients a significantly expanded range of green investment opportunities and mobilise even more institutional capital to accelerate the energy transition. With appetite for access to green energy investment opportunities continuing to grow, our ambition now is to become the first choice for institutional investors seeking to deploy capital into the sector.