Glenhawk, a challenger lender providing short-term real estate finance, has become the first bridging lender in the UK to achieve a carbon neutral certification from the Carbon Trust, which benchmarks companies’ emissions.
The certification covers Glenhawk’s scope 1 and 2 emissions footprint – direct emissions from its own activities and indirect emissions through its purchase of energy – which was calculated at three tonnes of CO2e. The company said the figure was low due to its renewable energy supply tariff in its offices as well as an absence of gas onsite. The company purchased 30 tonnes of carbon offsets.
The business is now working on measures to achieve neutrality of its scope 3 emissions, which cover sources such as business travel and employee commuting.
“The bigger picture is to be at the front of change in this sector, at the corporate level but also the impact that finance can have in the property sector,” said group treasurer Daron Kularatnam. “The property sector as a whole is a huge carbon emitter and it has to go through a huge upgrade process in terms of energy performance of homes. We see Glenhawk, as a short-term property lender, as serving a really important part of that journey.”
Kularatnam added that although larger financial institutions have embraced similar initiatives, few firms in the space Glenhawk works in have made such commitments. That will soon change, he hopes.
“Everyone is on a journey at a different timeline,” he said. “In short-term finance and bridging, we have not seen much noise coming out from the sector. We have a great thing going at Glenhawk because we have a business that is very much green at heart, led from our CEO at the top. It’s putting that strategy into place now… It’s the time for everyone to kick into action.”
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