In August, the world’s sixth-largest global bank by assets under management (AUM), U.K.-based HSBC, announced that it would embark on a new joint venture with climate impact advisory firm Pollination Group.
The venture, HSBC Pollination Climate Asset Management, aims to become a multi-billion-dollar family of funds—in which HSBC will be the cornerstone investor—that will provide direct, large-scale opportunities for investing in “natural capital” assets in the private market.
The investment pipeline include sustainably-driven initiatives in areas like forestry, agriculture, clean air, water and aquaculture. While hot sectors like clean air, carbon reduction and industrial decarbonization, regenerative farming and agtech may be ESG followers, viewing the biosphere as a distinct asset class is a new approach. Some might even call it the next wave of ESG investing.
For this week’s podcast, Investable Universe spoke with Pollination Founding Partner Martijn Wilder, a pioneer in global climate law, and partner John Morton, former White House Senior Director for Energy and Climate Change at the National Security Council, for their perspectives on the HSBC collaboration, how to implement sustainable policies at scale, and investing in the original “real assets.”
Listen to the full episode here.