Impact, additionality and ESRG
Impact is at the heart of what we do. We continuously measure and monitor the positive impact our investments are having for the UK, and how we are delivering value for money for the taxpayer.
The delivery of our strategy will be assessed against a triple bottom line:
- Impact: supporting government’s growth and clean energy missions
- Private finance mobilisation: crowding in significant private capital over time
- Financial return: generating a positive financial return for the taxpayer
It is essential that we have a positive impact, that we are additional, and that we are mindful of how we can contribute to wider benefits to society, the environment, and the world around us.
Through our investments - and partnering with the private sector and local government - our portfolio will:
- Drive more than £100 billion in finance by the end of our current strategic plan, 2031
- Create or support more than 200,000 jobs by 2050
- Save 500 million tonnes of carbon dioxide emissions by 2050
Additionality approach
We will continue to maximise additionality in our deals according to our investment principles, but with a new remit to go further in strengthening and accelerating investment in key sectors.
In simple terms, additionality is the extent to which, what happens because of our support, would not have happened otherwise. Ensuring we continue to be additional is how we will maximise our achievement against our strategic objectives, for example through crowding in investment, offering flexible financial products and accelerating project delivery. For each investment we are considering, we test and assess the extent to which impact would not have materialised without us, so we are confident we are delivering financial and non-financial value that would not otherwise be achieved.
Our private finance mobilisation
Our investments are long term and often extend beyond this strategy period. For all investments we quantify the private finance mobilised from the point we invest through to exit. As a result, we expect our overall private finance mobilised ratio to increase as our portfolio matures, reflecting when additional finance is raised during the holding period of our investments and then at exit.
Mobilisation is typically higher in mature sectors. In nascent sectors, where technologies are less proven and financial markets underdeveloped, crowding in occurs over a longer timeline which will extend into the 2030s or beyond and is often at a sector level. We will report on this through our evaluation and impact reporting.
Financing growth, powering change: our 2025 Impact Report
As of January 2026, we have deployed £8.4 billion – nearly a third of our capital – investing in over 70 companies, projects and local authorities across the UK. This is mobilising over £17 billion of private finance and creating or supporting nearly 70,000 jobs. From creating and supporting tens of thousands of jobs to boosting local economies, we are making a significant impact across the UK. Read about how we are doing this in our Impact Report (for the period up to October 2025).
How we measure impact, additionality and ESRG
We continuously measure and monitor the positive impact our investments are having for the UK, and how we are delivering value for money for the taxpayer. We assess every investment opportunity, including anticipated project impacts and the proportion of these impacts attributable to our investment. We have developed the following set of frameworks and guidance to help us measure and monitor these in our investments:
Impact Framework
Our Impact Framework sets out our approach to assessing impact, including the principles and pathways to achieving impact.
We make judgements based on a long-term, balanced view based on the best available evidence and assumptions.
Impact pathways show how our inputs and interventions can deliver the additional investment needed to deliver against our growth and clean energy missions.
ESRG Framework
We expect our customers’ strategies, governance, risks and disclosures to recognise ESRG and climate risks. Our ESRG Framework sets out how we identify, scrutinise and monitor risks and opportunities for each of our potential investments.
Climate-related risks and opportunities are also qualitatively assessed for every opportunity. Where an investment is primarily to support growth objectives, we ensure it does not do significant harm against our climate change objective.
Quickline Communications CFO Craig Fairey on working with the NWF
In August 2024 we announced a £125 million term loan and £100 million debt guarantee, alongside a £25 million term loan provided by Natwest to support Quickline Communication’s large-scale broadband expansion in Yorkshire and Lincolnshire.
Hear from Quickline Communications CFO Craig Fairey.
Cornish Metals CEO and Director Don Turvey and Chief Development Officer Fawzi Hanano talk about our investment
In January 2025 we announced a £28.6m direct equity investment into Cornish Metals Inc, to help finance the re-opening of Cornwall’s South Crofty tin mine, creating more than 300 direct local jobs.
Hear from CEO and Director Don Turvey and Chief Development Officer Fawzi Hanano.