Impact
As pure-play impact investors, ThomasLloyd deliberately and intentionally sets out to have a positive social and environmental impact through its investments.
We are committed to regularly measuring and reporting this performance. Our annual Impact Reports draw on real-life experience and evidence.
Our approach to ESG
Environmental, social and governance (ESG) considerations are integral to the Company’s overarching investment objective. Robust and effective ESG policies and processes are a prudent risk management tool that improve the financial performance of the Company while reducing risks.
TLEI is an impact fund with a core impact objective to accelerate the transition to net zero through investments, building and operating a diversified portfolio of sustainable renewable energy assets in South and Southeast Asia.
- As a dedicated impact investor, TLEI’s Investment Manager, ThomasLloyd, only invests responsibly, with the objective of contributing to environmental and social progress
- ESG factors are integrated throughout the investment process and the monitoring and oversight of investments
- The TLEI Board is mindful of investors’ responsibilities to society as a whole and it shares ThomasLloyd’s belief that ESG considerations can have a material impact on the value of the Company’s underlying assets, its social licence to operate and therefore on investors’ capital
- TLEI has established a dedicated and fully independent ESG Committee to reinforce the importance placed on ensuring the highest standards of ESG investment and serve to foster a culture of responsibility and transparency
We measure direct impact against the following four UN SDGs:
TLEI and the Investment Manager’s alignment with the UN’s Sustainable Development Goals
The Sustainable Development Goals were adopted by all United Nations member states in 2015 to support the vision of achieving a sustainable future for everyone in a medium-term time horizon. The 17 objectives are interrelated and present global challenges such as the eradication of poverty, the fight against climate change, peace and prosperity for all, education, women’s equality, environmental protection and sustainable urban development.
Therefore, the TLEI strategy is focused on increasing the direct impact the Company can have on addressing SDGs 7,8,11 and 13 as well as advancing the impact on the others as described below.
Affordable and clean energy
The Investment Manager has been at the forefront of European investment into renewable energy projects in fast-growing and emerging markets in Asia. SDG 7 is a key focal point of the Investment Manager whose aim is to provide financing to drive the transformation to clean energy, making it available to all where it is needed the most.
More than a decade ago, the Investment Manager saw the global need to replace thermal powered power plants with renewable energy plants.
The TLEI investment strategy follows this, with continued investment in a number of different renewable technologies in a growing number of countries to counteract the significant number of people still using power made from polluting fuels or who don’t have access to power.
The NISPI and SolarArise assets represent 314 MWp in installed capacity and 514 MWp of potential capacity including plants which are construction-ready with an agreed PPA. TLEI’s investment portion of this is 133 MWp and 219 MWp respectively.
Decent work and economic growth
The investment portfolio provides new and continuing opportunities for work that is productive, secure, fair and equal. Sustainable poverty reduction is driven by increasing such opportunities.
400 new full-time jobs have been generated by NISPI and SolarArise in total, with TLEI’s investment portion of this being 169 new full-time jobs
Both investments have policies and procedures in place in relation to working standards and conditions, inclusion and diversity, health and safety and the prohibition of child or slave labour.
Compliance with these is reviewed quarterly with the target of an annual audit for year-end 2022.
Sustainable cities and communities
More than half the world’s populations now live in urban areas and this figure is expected to continue to rise. Often urban habitation is coupled with extreme poverty and increased pollution, therefore the provision of sustainable and affordable renewable energy is fundamental to reducing these with the goal of one day eliminating them.
NISPI and SolarArise, as well as the investment pipeline, are entities or platforms dedicated to the provision of new renewable energy sources to power sustainable cities and communities now and in the future.
Climate action
TLEI and the Investment Manager is committed to making a difference and contributing to the drive for a sustainable low-carbon future to fight against climate change.
TLEI’s investment strategy is solely focused on investing in renewable energy, primarily preconstruction or construction-ready projects which means that TLEI, with the Investment Manager, is creating real and new renewable energy sources, providing more people with a renewable energy supply and new competition to heavily polluting thermal power plants.
NISPI and SolarArise have avoided 95,799 CO₂e tonnes in aggregate in the three-months ended 31 March 2022 and TLEI’s investment portion of this is 40,838 CO₂e tonnes. This is equivalent to more than 82,500 cars, or 35,196 cars respectively.
TLEI believes the investment portfolio and pipeline are aligned with the European Union taxonomy for mitigating climate change.
No poverty
TLEI believes that sustainable poverty reduction can be driven by increasing the opportunities for work and one of our direct SDGs is Decent work and economic growth.
In the last year the ThomasLloyd Foundation has donated in India and the Philippines to programs aimed at alleviating the consequences of the COVID-19 pandemic which has increased the risk of poverty and exclusion.
Zero hunger
The Investment Manager is helping combat social exclusion through the donations of essential goods where they are needed the most.
The Investment Manager has also made donations to programs to provide school meals to those in need during the COVID-19 pandemic.
Good health and well-being
SDG 3 seeks to guarantee a healthy life and promote well-being for all ages, a goal whose importance has only been amplified due to the COVID-19 pandemic.
Access to health and well-being is a human right yet inequality acts to prevent access to healthcare and appropriate care. The investment portfolio entities all have health and safety policies and procedures and safety and lost time incident reports are monitored continuously.
Quality education
Education is a means for transforming society and achieving economic mobility. COVID-19 impacted the provision of face-to-face learning globally and may have negatively impacted the progress which has been made over the last decade to increasing access to education and increasing school enrolment numbers.
TLEI is committed to promoting inclusive, equitable and quality education through the efforts of the Investment Manager and investment portfolio entities. Such activities include the donation of solar panels to schools to provide electricity to support lighting and computer-based learning.
Gender equality
TLEI is committed to promoting gender equality and other diversification both in the Company itself and also across its investment portfolio.
TLEI’s Board is 50% female as is the Investment Manager’s. The Investment Manager also reports on company-wide gender diversity and assesses diversity and equality reporting from the investment portfolio.
Clean water and sanitation
While water usage at the investment portfolio entity level is not significant, TLEI is committed to the optimisation of water usage whilst also being committed to the reduction of pollution and waste.
The construction and operation of TLEI’s current and future renewable energy power plants should contribute to the reduction of conventional thermal generation plants which will in turn lead to the significant reduction of water consumption.
Industry, innovation and infrastructure
The investment in renewable energy will promote inclusive and sustainable industrialisation, which is a driver of employment and growth.
NISPI and SolarArise generated 104,000 MWh of clean energy in the first quarter of 2022, with TLEI’s portion representing 44,258 MWh, which is used to power factories, schools and urban homes as well as rural areas that had previously not been supplied.
Reduced inequalities
TLEI contributes to society by creating wealth and promoting economic and social development.
The Investment Manager and investment portfolio entities also promote effective equality between the genders in access to employment, training, promotion and working conditions. They also seek to provide support to workers with different abilities, facilitating labour integration and fostering diversity and social inclusion of vulnerable groups.
Responsible consumption and production
Both the Company and the Investment Manager aim to consume materials efficiently, where applicable. The Investment Manager is committed to using local energy sources and purchases from local suppliers.
The Investment Manager has set themselves a target that by mid-2023, at least 70% of their suppliers will have sustainable standards and policies.
Life on land
The investment portfolio entities operate a “Do-no-Harm” policy, whereby they always seek to protect, restore and promote the sustainable use of land and the ecosystems in which they operate.
The aim is to halt land degradation and biodiversity loss. The investment portfolio entities carry out biodiversity surveys prior to initiating a project.
Peace, justice and strong institutions
TLEI has a strong framework of governance which is founded on the best practices of good management, transparency and ethics, with the aim of creating value for shareholders and other stakeholders alike.
The Company has zero tolerance towards corruption, fraud, bribery and unethical behaviour, as does the Investment Manager.
Both TLEI and our key suppliers operate a whistleblowing process which provides a route for reporting activity which is irregular or contravenes the Code of Conduct. As part of the investment decision-making process, TLEI and the Investment Manager assess ESG factors and criteria in equal measure to financial, legal and technical requirements.
Partnerships for the goals
The Investment Manager, is a signatory, participant, partner or supporter of a number of initiatives, bodies or programs which have been set up to promote transformation needed to address the challenges posed by the SDGs.
The Investment Manager, for more than a decade, has actively participated in the promotion of transformational actions.
The Investment Manager, has set themselves a target that by mid-2023, at least 70% of their suppliers will have sustainable standards and policies.
Case study: Our impact in India
To evidence and quantify impact, we focus on the direct and indirect employment effect, and use internationally accepted conventions on CO₂ mitigation. We also map socio-economic outcomes to the United Nations’ seventeen Sustainable Development Goals.
Using very conservative assumptions, we estimate a 2-4x increase in local employment since entering the Indian market in 2018. This comes in addition to the direct employment in the construction and operation of the solar plants.
The impact opportunity is maximised through an investment process, which conforms to the highest standard of ESG practice.
Impact reports
Our evidence-based approach
We have been collecting empirical data to demonstrate the positive impact of all our investments in Asian sustainable infrastructure since 2013. Metrics include:
