Newcore Capital - 2024 impact report review
Newcore Capital’s impact report is one of the very best I’ve read. What I love most is how robust and intentional their approach to impact is, how it is integrated into every layer of their business.
I also love how progressive their approach is to financial management, an industry which has huge power and yet where there are many examples of dubious behaviour and ethics, resulting in huge negative consequences.
👍🏻 Three things I like:
1. STRUCTURED, STRATEGIC APPROACH TO IMPACT
They have a theory of change and impact measurement approach aligned with this.
I like that they are looking at impact on three levels (asset, fund, management platform) and making sure what they’re doing at one level doesn’t undermine what they’re doing at another. They are ensuring all their plans and objectives are aligned.
2. IMPACT EMBEDDED IN WHAT THEY DO
They fund social infrastructure and look to reduce the environmental impact of the assets under their management. This includes investing in carbon reduction measures and having a tenant engagement plan for each asset to reduce emissions in use.
By impact being an integral part of what they are investing in they can have a far greater impact than if they just looked at their own operations.
3. THEIR APPROACH TO PAYING TAX
Newcore runs its funds onshore and so these fall under the UK tax regime. This means they are also contributing to investment in UK public services through the tax they pay. This bucks the trend in the financial industry where funds are often held offshore and using investment structures that minimise tax payable.
❓ Three questions it raises:
1. HOW DO THEY CREATE A CULTURE THAT BUCKS THE NORM?
How do they embed their values into their culture?
Their approach and objectives are very different to most of the financial sector. The people with the skills and experience they are looking for have quite possibly come from organisations very different cultures – because they’re really bucking the trend of their sector. What do they do to ensure their culture is truly different and that people don’t slip back into behaving in the ways they’re used to?
2. HOW HAVE THEY LINKED FINANCIAL BONUSES TO SUSTAINABILITY OBJECTIVES?
Each employee has sustainability objectives and their progress against these is kinked to their financial bonus.
Is this for everyone? How have they done this? How have they ensured that incentivisation is set up in a way that promotes the behaviours they want and doesn’t unintentionally encourage the wrong behaviours?
What can other businesses learn from them?
3. HOW ARE THEY DOING IT?!
How are they delivering everything that they are, plus tracking and reporting data in a robust way, with a team of only 17 people?! What can other businesses learn from them?
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You can read the report for yourself here and let me know what you think.
If you’re preparing to write your own impact report, you might find my FREE Impact Reporting Roadmap helpful: