HSBC and Google Cloud to boost ESG solutions

February 8, 2024

HSBC and Google Cloud have announced a strategic partnership aimed at advancing climate mitigation and resilience efforts.

The collaboration between HSBC and Google Cloud is driven by a shared vision to harness the power of technology and finance to combat climate change, according to FF News.

As part of the union, HSBC is set to support companies in the Google Cloud Ready – Sustainability (GCR-Sustainability) programme.

This will see HSBC’s specialist climate tech finance team work alongside the GCR programme’s incumbents to explore venture debt financing options, facilitating access to capital for climate-focused initiatives.

GCR-Sustainability is a certification initiative designed for companies providing solutions on Google Cloud.

These solutions aim to support customers in various endeavors, including reducing carbon emissions, improving sustainability within supply chains, and leveraging ESG data to identify climate-related risks.

Global banking and financial services firm HSBC is committed to deploying $1bn of climate tech finance. As part of this ambition, it will look to deploy $1 billion in climate technology finance and foster connections with its customer base.

Throughout the partnership, Google Cloud is committed to increasing the number of companies that are members in the GRC programme.

Natalie Blyth, Global Head of Commercial Banking Sustainability at HSBC, commented, “A step change is needed to scale up the new technologies that will play a critical role in supporting global decarbonisation. Partnerships and innovative financing solutions are key, especially during a period when investment in climate tech startups has fallen. By combining financing support, cloud technologies and connectivity to partners across our combined footprints, we will help climate tech vendors accelerate their growth, and develop the solutions we urgently need at scale.”

Justin Keeble, Managing Director for Global Sustainability at Google Cloud, added, “The scale of climate challenge requires a global ecosystem of technology providers bringing solutions that drive impact. This is why we launched our Google Cloud Ready – Sustainability ecosystem which – one year in – includes leading climate tech companies. Many of these partners need access to finance and we are excited to partner with HSBC to support firms key to climate action.”

The partnership kicks off with HSBC providing a venture debt financing package to LevelTen Energy, a company validated by GCR-Sustainability.

LevelTen Energy specialises in renewable transaction infrastructure, catering to buyers, sellers, advisors, and financiers within the clean energy sector.

Ross Trenary, Chief Financial Officer of LevelTen, stated, “We are proud to be a GCR-Sustainability-validated company and are looking forward to working closely with the team at HSBC. This venture debt package will enable us to scale our platform, which provides transaction infrastructure for carbon-free energy buyers, sellers and financiers. HSBC’s global reach aligns with our international presence, while giving us opportunities to connect with HSBC clients that are looking to achieve sustainability goals.”

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