Plus, AP7 and KBI join forces to improve water impact metrics, and Tikehau launches new impact fund targeting small decarbonisation projects
The European Investment Bank (EIB) has approved €791m of new renewable energy, health and water investments, alongside support for rural and urban development.
According to EIB’s president Werner Hoyer, the investments will “help Europe to meet the social, economic and security challenges posed by the war in Ukraine”.
In addition, EIB has confirmed that €668m of the EIB’s Ukraine Solidarity Urgent Response has been fully disbursed.
“Russia is waging a ruthless and illegal war in Ukraine, with atrocities carried out against innocent civilians. We cannot allow ourselves to be paralysed by horror, but must continue to work tirelessly to provide further support for Ukraine and its neighbouring countries welcoming millions of refugees. We have already disbursed €668 million to the Ukraine, with more to follow”, said Hoyer.
The EIB has also announced a €4bn programme for 2022 and 2023 to help cities and regions in the EU address urgent investment needs and meet the challenges of welcoming and integrating refugees from Ukraine.
AP7 and KBI join forces on water impact metrics
Swedish national pension fund Sjunde AP-fonden (AP7) and Dublin-based KBI Global Investors (KBIGI) have just published a report on their collaboration to improve impact measurement in listed water equities.
The report is the result of years of collaboration between the two organisations, which started in 2018 when AP7 appointed KBIGI to manage its ‘Green Impact Equity Mandate’, investing in the firm’s water strategy.
Announcing the publication of the report, Johan Florén, head of ESG at AP7, said: “When we started our collaboration with KBIGI, we agreed to work together to further develop methods and metrics for the measurement of impact. After three years of work, it is time to summarise the lessons we have drawn so far.”
Catherine Cahill, senior portfolio manager on KBIGI’s water strategy, and author of the report, added: “We broadened our analysis to take a more holistic view of the companies, as opposed to focusing on their business activities alone and now look at both the company’s footprint [how it conducts itself] as well as its handprint [its products and service offering to the end user]”
Tikehau’s new impact fund to target small decarbonisation projects
Tikehau Capital has launched an impact fund within its private equity business focused on investment in green assets. The fund’s first closing reached more than €100 million.
The Paris-based alternative asset management group said the fund supports companies promoting decarbonising solutions or engaged in ambitious decarbonisation plans.
The fund, classified under Article 9 of the EU’s Sustainable Finance Disclosure Regulation (SFDR) framework, aims to improve the energy efficiency of industrial sites and buildings, promote low-carbon mobility, and support circular economy projects and clean energy generation, as well as sustainable agriculture.
As such, Tikehau sees the fund as part of the drive to accelerate the adoption of green assets in the real economy and will contribute to accelerating the adoption of the EU Fit For 55 and REPowerEU plans.
In March, Tikehau was selected to manage a €100 million impact private debt mandate on behalf of Pensioenfonds Detailhandel, the Dutch pension fund for the retail sector.
