Greater Manchester is the place where the UK’s largest regional Financial Services sector meets with the most ambitious Net Zero plans in the UK.
Whether you are looking to future-proof your business with a sustainable set-up or are considering investing in an innovative eco-conscious initiative that will have a greater impact upon the wider sector or economy, Manchester is the place to do it.
Roots in Ethical Finance
It is not by accident socially conscious businesses are turning their attention towards Manchester. Ethical finance was born in the city, where the world’s first ethical bank - The Co-op Bank – was founded to enable a fairer, greener, more prosperous place, by real people with a real desire to challenge the status quo.
Headquartered in the city-centre, the bank’s founding principles has trailblazed the growth of financial cooperatives across the world - a model which has grown into other sectors with countless businesses following Manchester’s lead.
A Greener Financial Future
Committed to becoming carbon neutral in 2038, Manchester is contributing to the UK’s vision to be a global leader in decarbonising the economy. A city of innovation, it is where banks, mortgage lenders, and insurance firms alike mobilise financial resources whilst focusing on their ethical ambitions.
Playing a leading role in developing low carbon solutions for Green Finance; The Greater Manchester Environment Fund (GMEF) is the UK’s first regional environmental impact fund which aims to generate over £100m of Green Finance funding and investment – and Manchester’s Bee Network enables businesses to take steps towards reducing their carbon emissions with green connectivity across the city-region whilst offering outstanding quality of life for employees.
It’s why international businesses like Vanguard, Wahed Invest, and Valloop recently opened new offices in the region – each seeing the benefit of becoming the cohort to drive forward the UK’s first green finance cluster.
Greener Together
Today, whilst Manchester is known for its social values, circular economy, diverse workforce, and disruptive, creative innovators, the buzz of its finance sector is driven by collaboration; its supportive ecosystem sees cross-sector opportunities from the city-region’s multipliers and networks like Pro-Manchester, and the Greater Manchester Green Steering Group to popular events like the Greater Manchester Green Finance Summit.
Meanwhile the strategic partnership of Greater Manchester’s Combined Authority and Green Finance Institute - the UK and Europe’s principal forum for innovation in green finance – brings together financial institutions, corporates, policymakers, academics, philanthropists, and civil society experts to design sector-specific solutions that channel capital towards an environmentally sustainable economy.
The partnership accelerates the transition towards an environmentally sustainable and resilient economy by catalysing investment in net zero and nature positive outcomes. The collab will upgrade 60,000 homes and pilot Property Linked Finance, Local Climate Bonds and Green Mortgages whilst providing practical and innovative green finance solutions to residents.
Leading Green
Working with our ecosystem towards a goal of becoming the green finance hub of the UK, Manchester is headed by civic leaders seeking to engage with businesses with similar visions, shared policy, and values.
Sustainable decisions and budgets are managed quickly through our devolved government’s 5-year environmental plan, which demonstrates the city-region’s commitment to green finance with space for everyone, where ideas can take shape, and conversations lead to action.
Green Finance Ecosystem Report
In partnership with Omdia, MIDAS are co-producing a report mapping and evaluating the current Green Finance products and services across Greater Manchester, opportunities for further development of this sub sector of finance, and the business case for further inward investment by Financial Services and Fintech into the region.
This independent research will be framed within the Greater Manchester Strategy, to highlight opportunities which nurture our Green Finance cluster and enable a more sustainable today and tomorrow for people, place, and planet. It will provide an independent assessment of the market activity offered across Greater Manchester for Financial Services business (incl Venture Capital, Private Equity, Legal and Insurance) and FinTechs or new market entrants looking to develop their business in the Green Finance space.
In Manchester, whether talking green finance or financing green; moves big and small are making a greater difference.
To receive a copy of our 2024 Green Finance Ecosystem report, complete the FORM below and the report will arrive in your inbox upon its release.
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