Environment

Hg’s carbon footprint

Hg has been certified as a CarbonNeutral® company since 2019 and we annually calculate and publicly report on our carbon footprint in line with the GHG Protocol. In the past three years we have offset our entire footprint by supporting the Acre Rainforest Protection project. Sourced by Climate Impact Partners (formerly Natural Capital Partners), the project prevents deforestation, saving large amounts of carbon release (approximately 360,000 tonnes a year) and promotes sustainable economic livelihoods in the Acre region of the Brazilian Amazon, a key habitat for several endangered and vulnerable species. In addition to the benefit of protecting the forest, the project supports many of the Sustainable Development Goals as defined by the UN and shown above.

Our most recent carbon footprint report is available to view on our website

Our most recent carbon footprint from 2020/21 was 87% lower than the previous year as the Covid pandemic brought about a sharp decrease in carbon emissions, mostly by the absence of business travel. As office emissions were also negligible, Hg introduced new categories of carbon emissions associated with home working and IT equipment, as we supported our employees with equipment needed at home. Going forward, the break from the traditional office model has helped us examine how we reduce our carbon footprint as the world goes back to normal again.

In 2021, we continued to make improvements to our offices, rolling out energy performance reviews and shifting to renewable energy for our London office. We are aiming to move all of our offices to renewable energy in 2022.

One Earth, One Future

The Nature Conservancy (TNC) Project in Africa is proudly supported by Nic Humphries, senior partner of Hg. To spread TNC’s important message across the Hg Family of employees and portfolio companies, we held a webinar and charitable giving campaign to help raise additional money for TNC’s critical mission: to conserve the lands and waters on which all life depends.

One of the world’s largest environmental organisations, TNC has been at work for more than 70 years, partnering with communities to create a world where people and nature thrive. Nic is a long-term supporter of TNC’s Scale Up Fund (SUF), which helps accelerate action by providing strategic capital injections, spurring additional investments in conservation projects. With its substantial return on investment, the SUF is a powerful financial tool for driving massive conservation outcomes.

TNC strategies focus on Land, Freshwater, Oceans and Climate. With habitat loss, land fragmentation, and human-wildlife conflict on the rise, land projects protect critical parcels and provide wildlife corridors, including over four million acres in Northern Tanzania alone. Driven by the idea that people and nature can—and must—coexist, TNC is convinced that, together, we can find a way forward.

We keep going because what is at stake is too valuable to lose. What’s at stake is more than climate, more than biodiversity. What’s at stake is us: the future of our planet, the legacy we leave to our children and their friends.”

Katharine Hayhoe

TNC’s chief scientist and a featured speaker in Hg’s webinar

Matt Brown

TNC’s global director of conservation

Nic’s support of this fund is a natural fit. His generosity and vision are helping to power tangible, transformative results. Here at TNC, we couldn’t be more excited about the potential his leadership represents as our partnership with Hg evolves.”

The Scale Up Fund at Work in Africa

One of the best places on the planet for immediate and sweeping conservation action is Africa, where the population is expected to more than double to 2.5 billion by 2050, putting ever-greater pressure on precious natural resources. Through projects like those below, the SUF is helping TNC support human progress, while also protecting the continent’s natural treasure.

Green Bonds: TNC is developing a green bonds strategy and exploring debt restructuring opportunities in Gabon, Angola, Kenya, and Zambia that will generate new resources for conservation.

Water Funds: An innovative tool that enables downstream water users to invest in upstream projects, a water fund benefits nature and communities. SUF investment helped is helping TNC replicate water funds in important watersheds across Africa.

Marine Planning: SUF support has helped TNC leverage more than US$12 million in public funding for planning and protection, in the WIO. The Blue Bond model pioneered in Seychelles is inspiring progress in Kenya, Gabon, Angola, and Tanzania.

Forest Protection: With its support of the African Forest Carbon Catalyst (AFCC), the SUF is helping to harness the power of trees to battle climate change by dramatically increasing the pipelin

I think about my children and their friends. I like to think they and their kids will all have a planet to live on. It’s pretty simple – if we don’t do something now, what kind of a legacy are we going to be leaving them?”

Nic Humphries

Hg Senior Partner