University of Edinburgh's Sustainable Investment & Social Impact Initiatives
The fossil fuel divestment success story is just one of the stepping stones for the University of Edinburgh to achieve carbon neutrality by 2040. By aligning investment strategies to the carbon neutrality goal, the university demonstrates leadership in responsible investment and continues to create a positive social impact.
It also helps achieve the end goal by relocating investments from fossil fuel companies to cleaner and more sustainable alternatives. One big initiative run by the University of Edinburgh is its investment in Big Issue Invest which is a social investment organisation, branch of The Big Issue, one of the best-known social enterprises in the United Kingdom. Big Issue Invest offers both loans and investments to social enterprises, charities, and profit-with-purpose businesses.
The University of Edinburgh's pledge of £1.75 million to Big Issue Invest highlights its commitment to supporting organizations that tackle pressing social issues head-on. That's not all, the university has further committed £1 million to the Social Enterprise Investment Fund II (SEIF II), which is actively fueling the growth and sustainability of social enterprises. SEIF II offers financial support ranging from £250,000 to £3 million, empowering social ventures to scale their operations and maximize their impact.
Nigel Kershaw, Chair of Big Issue Group, introduces Big Issue Invest and explains how its philosophy and objectives are aligned with The People’s Trust
The growth impact fund is a £25m evergreen fund delivered by Big Issue Invest and UnLtd, and the university shows its support by investing £250,000. Recently the fund provided a further £500,000 in investment to two social purpose organisations, taking the Fund’s total investments made to £1m, and has also announced its 3rd round of investments helping social businesses grow.
Growth Impact Fund, an initiative by Big Issue Invest
The university further has shown its commitment by partnering with Big Issue Invest and other key partners to launch funds like 'Power up Scotland' which aims to develop early-stage social businesses through investment, business support, and cross-sector partnerships.
Social entrepreneurs gathered in Edinburgh to celebrate a significant £600,000 investment by Big Issue Invest (BII) into twelve Scottish social enterprises
As of January 2024, the University of Edinburgh has invested over £ 7 million in social impact funds. The divestment in fossil fuels has played an important role by redirecting funds towards these areas which has helped the university to accelerate the transition to a low-carbon economy.
Resources
The University of Edinburgh. (2020). Why the University of Edinburgh is investing £1.5m in social enterprises. [online] Available at: https://www.ed.ac.uk/sustainability/news/archived-news/2018/university-social-enterprise-investments [Accessed 27 Feb. 2024].
The Big Issue. (n.d.). About us. [online] Available at: https://www.bigissue.com/invest/about/.
Law, R. (2023). Social investment fund tackling UK social inequality hits the £1m mark with latest investments. [online] The Big Issue. Available at: https://www.bigissue.com/press-release/social-investment-fund-tackling-uk-social-inequality-hits-the-1m-mark-with-latest-investments/ [Accessed 27 Feb. 2024].
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