We live in a world where climate change and energy costs directly impact people’s lives. Last year alone, flooding affected 32 million people globally, while British households continue to face energy bills higher than pre-2021 levels due to volatile fossil fuel prices.
At Nest, we try to understand how this can affect companies we invest in which are highly vulnerable to the green energy transition, and continuously explore how we can invest your employee’s savings in assets that will benefit from a transition to net zero, such as wind farms.
So far, we have invested almost £1.3 billion into renewable energy infrastructure. Part of how we have achieved this, is through our partnership with Octopus Energy Generation, one of the largest renewable energy investors in Europe.
Recently, our director of public and private markets, Rachel Farrell, hosted a conversation with Alex Brierley, co-head of Octopus Energy Generation, exploring the opportunities and challenges that come with investing in renewable energy.
Watch it below:
Speakers :
Rachel Farrell – Director of Public and Private Markets
Alex Brierley – Co-Head of Octopus Energy Generation
The slides from the webinar are available here: Octopus & Nest slides
After the webinar we received some additional questions, answers can be found below:
Q: How do you see us reducing our reliance on gas in the UK?
A: In the UK, gas is used for electricity production, heating, and in industries like manufacturing. To reduce reliance on gas, Octopus Energy Generation’s is focusing on:
- Building wind and solar farms to replace gas in electricity generation.
- Installing electric heat pumps for homes and businesses instead of gas boilers.
- Producing hydrogen from renewable electricity for industrial use.
The Sky fund is actively supporting all these initiatives.
Q: Can you talk to the work you do on the ‘S’ of ESG when you underwrite investments. So for example, job creation, community engagement, biodiversity matters etc
A: The Sky fund has a clear objective to promote a “just transition” by ensuring the benefits of the energy transition are distributed more equally. This commitment underpins Sky’s approach to addressing the “S” in ESG with tangible social benefits delivered through investments like Kensa and Deep Green:
- Kensa ground-source heat pumps: Reduced energy costs in social housing by up to 66%, increasing residents’ weekly disposable income by 40% and providing affordable warmth
- Deep Green’s innovation: Captures waste heat from data centres to warm public swimming pools, cutting gas use by 62% and reducing carbon emissions by 26 tonnes annually
Sky’s broader social commitments across its renewable energy assets include implementing community benefit funds, maintaining high health and safety standards, conducting human rights due diligence and promoting diversity and inclusion across its supply chain and creating jobs—particularly for local communities.
These investments demonstrate that innovative energy solutions and renewable energy assets can drive social equity, improve living standards, and build resilient communities.
