Triodos Bank Wins ESG Award for Conservation Deal
Key Takeaways
- Triodos Bank UK bags Environmental, Social and Governance Deal of the Year award.
- The award recognises their £20.55 million loan to Oxygen Conservation.
- This loan supports land acquisition for large-scale conservation efforts in the UK.
Triodos Bank UK has been commended for its approach to sustainable finance. The bank secured the inaugural Environmental, Social and Governance Deal of the Year award at the 2024 Insider South West Dealmakers Awards.
This recognition underlines their £20.55 million loan provided to Oxygen Conservation in April 2023.
Financing the Future of Conservation
The loan empowered Oxygen Conservation to acquire 23,000 acres of land in Scotland and is believed to be the largest commercial debt package ever dedicated to conservation efforts in the UK.
A New Era for ESG Funding
The Insider South West Dealmakers Awards, organised by South West Business Insider, introduced the ESG category for the first time in 2024. This category celebrates transactions prioritising environmental and social impact. The judges hailed Triodos Bank's debt package as a true innovation, unlike anything previously experienced. They acknowledged the deal's potential to transform ESG financing in the future, thanks to its long-term vision and substantial size.
Collaboration for a Sustainable Future
Both Triodos Bank and Oxygen Conservation are well-established players in the South West region. Triodos Bank's UK headquarters are located in Bristol, while Oxygen Conservation is based in Exeter. This geographic proximity facilitated a strong partnership focused on environmental well-being.
Shared Vision, Shared Success
Simon Crichton, Head of Nature, Food and Resource at Triodos Bank UK, said: “We know the financial system has a critical role to play in supporting nature and reversing biodiversity loss and, just as we developed early financing for the renewable energy sector, we hope to now accelerate this learning in the natural capital field. Our loan to Oxygen Conservation is a strong example of what can be achieved when teams who share a vision work together and we are honoured to have this groundbreaking project recognised at a regional level.”
Oxygen Conservation: Protecting Nature for a Profit
Founded with a clear mission to combat climate change and biodiversity loss, Oxygen Conservation protects and improves natural assets. Their work generates positive economic returns as a consequence, not as the primary objective. The company aims to acquire and manage 2,50,000 acres of land dedicated to nature restoration by 2030.
Rich Stockdale, Managing Director of Oxygen Conservation, added: “It’s only by creating these types of funding packages and frameworks with respected financial institutions that people can have the confidence to allow private finance to flow into natural capital at scale - thereby funding the protection of the natural world. This deal has already changed the industry. It has increased confidence in the bankability of natural capital and therefore achieved exactly what we hoped by laying a foundation for the urgently needed natural capital economy.”
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Source: Triodos Bank
