The importance of Environmental Social Governance (ESG) alongside technological innovation in the financial services space continues to have a place on the agenda of top-level managers. ESG has become a key performance indicator for many, with a company’s capacity to better the community it works within, as well as wider green issues, being a key consideration for outside investment and a draw to recruit the top talent. Wheelhouse Advisors are honoured to have received a nomination for the Best Advisory Firm ESG at this year’s HFM Service Provider Awards; we are incredibly proud of our partnership with Ecologi, helping them fulfil their goal to halve the world’s projected emissions by 2040. Congratulations also to our fellow nominees for their work in the ESG space.

Elliot Coad and Sam Jackson from Ecologi recently hosted a webinar with special guest Professor Brian Cox, who also opened the COP 24 summit. The webinar highlighted the varying degrees to which we care for the planet, referring to the permanent decline of deforestation and carbon offsetting projects, yet it is the direct impact of individuals, above litigation and government action, that can be the most decisive component in ESG. The message of the webinar was clear in highlighting the accountability we must place on ourselves to help make a difference.

Ecologi have planted 30.2 million trees in total and 23.7 million in 2021 alone. The result of this offsets 1 million verified tonnes of carbon emissions, the equivalent of 240,000 cars a year. Ecologi implement carbon saving initiatives across the globe, most recently developing the “Ecologi Platform”. This tech will enhance funding solutions, calculate real-time carbon footprints to inform strategic decision making and engage the mission with the rest of the world.

Brian Cox’s opening remarks, describing Mars as more like Earth than Earth itself was rather ominous but captured the imagination of his audience. It is humbling that in a universe with 20 billion earth-like planets, we are the only known life in the universe. This increased awareness of a need to do more for our planet has crept from the individual to the corporate. It is great that ESG has been introduced as part of the fabric of our regulatory landscape, urging the sector to do more. The focus from a regulatory point of view has developed alongside increasingly profitable ESG opportunities in the financial services sector. There has been steady growth in investments towards sustainable companies with innovative ESG solutions and strategies, as investors ride the wave of an ever-more conscientious world. All of this represents a good start and, hopefully, a future where the green-agenda feels less ‘fuzzy’, but is seen by the investment sector as delivering value across multiple measures. Wheelhouse Advisors would like to extend their thanks to Ecologi and Brian Cox for the webinar, and Ecologi for their continued work.