Socially Responsible Investing: Skyline Clean Energy Fund

Investors are increasingly considering factors beyond just their return on investment when making investment choices. As behaviours shift toward climate change, social responsibility, and corporate governance practices, the attention toward “ESG” (Environmental, Social, Governance) funds is on the rise. According to the Responsible Investment Association, responsible investment assets grew from $2.1 trillion at the end of 2017 to $3.2 trillion as at the end of 2019.

Some investors are choosing to employ a socially responsible investing strategy in order to ensure that their investment decisions are socially and/or environmentally sustainable.

What is socially responsible investing?

Socially responsible investing largely involves choosing whether to invest in entities or not according to their ethical practices.

This evaluation may be based entirely on personal standards and beliefs; for example, an investor may choose not to invest in tobacco or firearms companies or those supporting these industries. This means the terms of what constitutes a socially responsible investment are varied according to each investor as an individual.

Aside from “screening out” potentially unethical entities, the investor may also employ a “screening in” strategy where they only choose to invest in entities with specific standards.

These may include:

• Passing a certain ESG standard or holding an ESG-related designation
• Taking measures to lower their carbon footprint and mitigate against climate change
• Facilitating philanthropic or charity work

Is Skyline Clean Energy Fund a socially responsible investment?

Skyline Clean Energy Fund (SCEF) is a portfolio of professionally-maintained clean energy-producing assets across Ontario, making it a sustainable investment by nature. Solar energy is one of the fastest-growing sources of electricity in Canada¹, according to Natural Resources Canada’s Renewable Energy Facts page.

The energy produced by these assets is sold to the electricity grid at set pricing, as determined within long-term government contracts on each asset. Thus, SCEF’s revenue collection is simple and predictable—and it has seen year-over-year portfolio growth since its inception in 2018.

SCEF exists in order to support, and invest in, sustainable ways to meet the rising need for energy in Canada. It looks at a variety of clean energy investment opportunities, such as:

• Transactive/community solar, where power is produced and consumed locally – helping electricity customers have more choice and control over where their power is coming from
• Biogas – helping in both waste reduction and clean energy generation
• Combined solar and battery storage – helping to optimize the electricity grid so that it can better handle the electricity needs of tomorrow

SCEF is owned and operated by Skyline Group of Companies (Skyline). Skyline³ has received numerous awards for its environmental stewardship, community initiatives, and corporate culture. The hiring, management, and corporate governance practices for SCEF’s management and service teams are housed within Skyline.

It is ultimately up to each investor to make their own decision about whether Skyline Clean Energy Fund constitutes a socially responsible investment. However, we believe that an investment in SCEF is an investment in the future of Canada’s clean energy industry, allowing SCEF to continue to grow its participation in serving the growing energy needs of Canadians. SCEF is available to Accredited Investors only.

Rob Stein
President, Skyline Energy

Rob is responsible for the operational and financial performance of Skyline Clean Energy Fund’s clean energy asset portfolio, including overseeing acquisitions/dispositions, financial budgets, implementing and monitoring capital expenditure projects, and monitoring the assets’ functionality. With extensive experience in evaluating, building, maintaining, and selling renewable energy assets, his well-rounded knowledge of the solar energy industry is an invaluable asset to the Skyline Energy team.

¹ https://www.nrcan.gc.ca/science-data/data-analysis/energy-data-analysis/energy-facts/renewable-energy-facts/20069
² MW/DC: Megawatt of direct current energy; a unit measurement of the output of power.
³ Skyline, or Skyline Group of Companies, is an umbrella term used to generally refer to all associated entities.