Enviro Groups: Keep the Green in the Green Investment Bank

UK-based civil society and business groups have set 5 tests against which any prospective buyers of the Green Investment Bank will be assessed, calling on them to commit to measures that will ensure it continues to act and invest in the public interest.

The Green Investment Bank ‘Public Interest Prospectus’, launched today, sets out the 5 tests which any prospective owners must pass.

According to the Prospectus, potential buyers of the GIB should commit to maintaining the integrity of the GIB as a single, functioning institution; deploying at least GBP 4 billion of new GIB capital in the UK’s low carbon economy over 3 years; scaling up citizen finance; keeping the GIB at the forefront of the green infrastructure market; and ensuring best–in-class standards of governance and transparency.

The organisations behind the prospectus include Aldersgate Group, ClientEarth, E3G, Green Alliance, and Greenpeace UK.

“What has made the Green Investment Bank unique to date hasn’t just been its focus on green infrastructure but the fact that it has been a step ahead of the market, by supporting projects that weren’t attracting sufficient levels of private sector investment,” Nick Molho, Executive Director of Aldersgate Group, said.

”This focus on supporting novel projects, such as complex NHS energy efficiency schemes and offshore wind projects using cutting-edge technology, has allowed the bank to make a real difference by supporting innovation, accelerating cost reductions and delivering supply chain benefits to the UK. It is in the interest of both the future owners of the GIB and the UK public that funded its creation for the bank to retain its market strength in these areas and to continue to provide genuine added value to the UK’s green finance sector.”