Investment impacts
The pop-out pages below provide more detail on the impact of our investments:
Camco's Impact in 2022
Our Commitment
Geoff Sinclair - Managing Director, Camco
Camco exists to bring about a brighter future, today. Our work as a climate and impact fund manager is focused on catalysing investment into sustainable, clean and inclusive infrastructure and development in emerging markets. In doing so we are trying to make communities and their local environments more resilient to climate change while at the same time helping to avoid and reduce the greenhouse gas emissions that are causing climate change in the first place.
We understand that the best way to increase these critical investment flows is to convince investors that financing renewable energy and other forms of sustainable development have the potential to provide better risk-adjusted financial returns than more traditional investment options. Our unwavering belief in what we are doing certainly makes that challenge all the more simple.
This report is an evidence-based assessment of the impact Camco-managed funds have had as of 31 December 2022, and is our fourth Communication on Progress to the UN Global Compact.
As you will see, 2022 proved to be another eventful year for Camco as we looked to consolidate and extend the transformational impact we have been achieving through the UK government-funded Renewable Energy Performance Platform (REPP) while progressing the several other funds that we manage or are designing, and which are at different stages of development.
During 2022, we began fundraising for REPP 2, a private debt fund designed and managed by Camco that focuses on renewable energy investment in Africa. It is structured as a blended finance facility to ensure an appropriate risk and return profile to investors and aims to deliver significant climate, environmental, economic and gender impacts.
Fundraising for Spark Energy Services (Spark), the innovative USD 100m finance platform we created to support the deployment of captive clean power and energy efficiency in Africa’s C&I sector, advanced significantly in 2022 and, at the time of writing, is expected to close shortly. Meanwhile, Spark is continuing to deliver tangible impacts on the ground through our USD 3m seed facility, most notably with the completion of a 400kWp solar installation at one of Coca Cola's oldest bottling companies in Kenya, representing the platform’s largest funded installation to date.
Our blended finance platform for the Pacific, Transforming Island Development through Electrification and Sustainability (TIDES), is also progressing well with its USD 100m raise, with prospective first loss providers having appointed the Pacific Region Infrastructure Facility to carry out market level due diligence. We also assembled an advisory board of highly experienced industry experts to advise on the future direction of the platform and its ambition of providing flexible financing to local renewable energy developers to catalyse investment in zero-emissions projects.
We were particularly excited to announce in March 2022 that we were teaming up with Energy Peace Partners to manage the Peace Renewable Energy Credit (P-REC) Aggregation Facility to support renewable energy development in vulnerable African states, and then at COP27 that we had signed an MOU with UNIDO to ramp up investments in climate-resilient agriculture in Southern Africa. I look forward to updating you on the progress of these and all other Camco-managed funds this time next year.
Of course, developing and fundraising for new funds while keeping up with the commitments of existing mandates is never easy, and I am forever in awe at the spirit and determination of my Camco colleagues for getting the job done. I would like to end therefore with a quick word of thanks to this enormously committed and talented group of people that I am proud to work with, and whose steely resolve and dedication to improving the lives of others lies behind all of the impact detailed in this report.
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A Year in Review
2022 saw Camco enjoying another year of steady progress punctuated with some exciting milestones and achievements along the way. These are some of the highlights:
One million connections
In 2022, UK-funded REPP, managed by Camco, passed the major milestone of connecting more than one million people in Africa to electricity for the first time. The achievement was accomplished through REPP’s diverse portfolio of solar mini-grids, solar home systems and isolated grid projects (metro grids). By the end of the year, nearly 1.3 million people had been connected.
Bolstering health care in Lesotho
Six community-based clinics in Lesotho were connected to solar PV mini-grids in 2022 thanks to a REPP-funded project. The mini-grids include battery storage and provide the health centres with a clean and reliable source of energy around the clock.
Industry thought leadership and COP27
Camco played an active role at COP27, taking part in several side events and hosting four of our own to further some of the conference’s most significant conversations around climate finance and the role of the private sector in delivering climate action across Africa and beyond. We also teamed up with ESI Africa for the second year in running to deliver regular insights, commentary and interviews from on the ground at the climate talks, as well as providing additional updates and analysis via our social media networks. Find out more here.
Throughout the year, Camco’s staff continued to appear regularly as guest speakers and panellists at a wide range of important industry events, including at Green Climate Fund’s Global Programming Conference and Private Investment for Climate Conference and Alliance for Rural Electrification’s flagship Energy Access Investment Forum, among others. In December, Camco-managed REPP published a multi-stakeholder position paper setting out a series of recommendations on how to improve the bankability of Nigeria’s mini-grid policy and regulatory framework. Read it here.
Putting women in the spotlight
Camco co-organised two capacity building webinars in early 2022 that brought together a spectrum of specialists to explore today’s most pertinent gender and inclusivity issues in Africa and the Small Island Developing States (SIDS). Topics under discussion ranged from girls’ lack of education and the importance of mentoring to how to improve women’s safety in the workplace and the widespread need for better access to funding for female clean energy entrepreneurs.
Supporting renewable energy development in fragile states
Camco has partnered with Energy Peace Partners to manage the P-REC Aggregation Facility. The Facility is an impact-focused fund unlocking finance for new renewable energy projects in fragile, energy-poor countries in Africa by providing upfront P-REC revenue – a certified energy attribute - to project developers in exchange for the ownership of P-RECs generated by the project.
Building climate resilience in Madagascar
REPP-financed developer Lidera Green Power commissioned a 2.5MW solar PV plant near the city of Diego in Madagascar, which is one of the most world’s most severely affected countries by climate change. The project, which has already installed 5.3MW solar capacity at two other sites following REPP’s loan, is the first large-scale PV hybridisation of HFO plants in Madagascar and is contributing to the country’s energy security and climate resilience.
Teaming up with UNIDO to support climate-resilient agriculture
Camco is working with United Nations Industrial Development Organization (UNIDO) to develop our blended finance platform, Resilient Investment in Southern Africa (RISA), which is focused on climate change adaptation and building climate resilience within the region’s food and agriculture value chains. The two parties signed a Memorandum of Understanding at COP27 in November.
Industry experts advise on TIDES
In 2022, Camco established an advisory board made up of specialists with significant local and climate finance experience to provide direction on the future design of the blended finance platform for the Pacific. Also during the year, Camco’s TIDES team continued to progress the platform and establish an on-the-ground presence with the support of USD 200k design funding from Convergence and the Australian Government, while PRIF was appointed by prospective first loss providers to conduct market level due diligence.
New hires
Camco welcomed four new joiners in 2022, including investment director Brian Lukera Wambani, whose wealth of expertise and experience working across a diverse array of investment and financial roles in East Africa is exceptional and convinced us that he was the ideal candidate for the role during an eagerly contested recruitment process. Meet the team.
Industry recognition
In 2022, Camco was featured in ImpactAssets 50™, the world's best known database listing fund managers who have consistently demonstrated a commitment to delivering social and environmental impact. The listing is recognition of Camco’s work as a leading climate and impact fund manager in emerging markets.
2022 Impact Highlights
Camco's realised and expected cumulative impact
Further impact and ESG indicators are provided later in the report under Creating Sustainable Value.
Impact Approach
Camco is a climate and impact fund manager leading the transition in emerging markets.
Intentionality
We invest in activities that primarily contribute to the mitigation of and adaptation to climate change, and promote inclusive, resilient and sustainable development. These investments have the additional co-benefits of providing jobs, improving livelihoods, reducing air pollution, promoting gender equity and mobilising climate finance, which are elaborated on in the later section.
Camco’s sustainable investment objectives
Specifically, REPP, Spark and TIDES are each aligned with the environmental objectives of Article 9 of the Sustainable Finance Directive Regulation (SFDR) and EU Taxonomy Regulation on climate change mitigation and adaptation.
Responsible investing
We engage in responsible investment that incorporates environmental, social and governance (ESG) factors into investment decisions to better manage risk and generate sustainable, long-term returns for all stakeholders.
All investment activities carried out by Camco are governed by our own policies and procedures, as well as those applying to the third-party funds that Camco manages.
Camco's investment approach:
Find out more about our impact approach in the following pop-out pages:
Invest responsibly
Environmental and social safeguarding
Camco applies the following principles to the portfolio companies it invests in through the funds and platforms it manages:
- Sustainability: All portfolio companies must incorporate environmental and social (E&S) considerations into their project designs through project- or investee-specific E&S impact assessments (ESIAs) and E&S management systems (ESMSs), as per Camco’s Environmental and Social Safeguards Policy.
- Do no significant harm: Any financed activity must not cause significant harm to any of the following objectives: climate change mitigation, climate change adaptation, sustainable use and protection of water and marine resources, transition to a circular economy, pollution prevention and control, and protection and restoration of biodiversity and ecosystems.
- IFC’s mitigation hierarchy: The hierarchy is a planning and management approach for addressing risks and impacts to workers, affected communities and the environment. The hierarchy must be followed in the order of avoidance first, then minimisation, restoration and, finally, offsetting.
- Fit for purpose: All portfolio companies must adopt a risk-based approach to ensure that E&S requirements and processes are commensurate with the level of risk and nature of the projects.
- Stakeholder engagement: Stakeholder engagement and information disclosure are essential for designing and implementing sound and sustainable projects and programmes. All portfolio companies must establish and implement an ongoing stakeholder engagement plan that provides women and men with equal opportunity to take an active part, as well as a suitable grievance mechanism.
- Gender equality: All portfolio companies must adopt a gender-sensitive approach that identifies social risks and impacts and links corresponding gender risk management measures to the activity-level gender action plans. All portfolio companies are required to establish zero-tolerance policy on discrimination, gender-based violence and harassment. Read more about Camco’ approach to diversity here.
- Human rights: All portfolio companies must design and operate their businesses in a manner that promotes, protects and fulfils universal human rights as recognised by the United Nations, and must respect workers’ rights in line with the ILO Declaration on Fundamental Principles and Rights at Work, prohibiting forced, compulsory and child labour.
- Indigenous Peoples: The design and implementation of investees’ activities must be guided by the rights and responsibilities set forth in the United Nations Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples.
Camco has established an effective environmental and social management system (ESMS) that is implemented across the company and supervised by senior management, the Sustainable Business Committee and the Board of Directors. All investee companies supported by Camco are required to not only meet host-country legislation, but also comply with the International Finance Corporation (IFC)’s Environmental and Social Performance Standards and the sustainability principles advocated by the UN Global Compact. This is ensured through training and capacity building provided to investee companies and through direct support.
As a result, Camco ensures through its due diligence, training, monitoring and review processes that:
- environmental, social, ethics, integrity and risk screening and due diligence are carried out on all investees prior to funding;
- environmental and social impact assessments (ESIA) for projects fulfil the required standards; and
- each investee establishes and implements its ESMS and monitors it on an ongoing basis.
In addition, we only invest in projects and companies where negative E&S impacts can be satisfactorily mitigated within reasonable timescales, and only projects categorised low or medium risk (categories C/I-3 and B/I-2, respectively, according to IFC’s E&S categorisation) are eligible for our support
Elements of an ESMS
Principles of governance
Camco’s approach to governance is grounded in our commitment to integrity, accountability and transparency. In support of this, we have established sound internal controls and structures to effectively implement, manage and report on the impact and outcomes of the funds we manage. We also monitor the fitness of the environmental, social and governance (ESG) process through periodic monitoring reports and annual reviews.
Camco ensures awareness and understanding of its policies and procedures among employees and investees through regular internal training. Investees’ compliance with the polices is ensured through periodic monitoring and reporting of key performance indicators, their performance against their ESMSs and parameters identified in their gender action plans, and policy training. Camco’s Board of Directors and committees are provided with quarterly updates on progress made towards climate and impact targets, and fund-specific performance fees are tied to their targets.
Roles and responsibilities explained
- Camco’s Board of Directors (Board) sets our strategy and reviews its implementation, including in regard to ESG and performance of Camco’s contractual obligations. It also oversees the investment strategy, which is informed by climate and impact-related opportunities. The Board has three standing subcommittees:
The Sustainable Business Committee works to monitor the social, ethical and sustainability performance of Camco and its subsidiaries and funds under management and makes recommendations to the Board in relation to how such performance can be improved. The Sustainable Business Committee ensures disclosure is aligned with UN Global Compact and the Task Force on Climate-Related Financial Disclosures (TCFD) and conducts reviews of Camco’s impact reporting.
The Audit and Risk Committee oversees and reports to the Board on all of Camco’s audit and risk matters, including climate risk. This is to ensure the independence and effectiveness of internal and external audit and risk functions, as well as to vet the company’s approach to risk management and the integrity of its financial and narrative statements.
The Culture, People and Remuneration Committee reviews and makes recommendations in relation to Camco’s culture and personnel management.
- The Camco Investment Committee considers and recommends investments, oversees monitoring and portfolio management, and signs off due diligence and annual reviews, including climate risk assessments.
- Camco’s senior management recommends our strategy to the Board and manages its implementation.
Functions
- Risk: Ensures that all investments are in line with Camco’s Risk Management Policy and Procedures and its Risk Appetite Statement. Responsible for ongoing monitoring, review, reporting and evaluation of the efficacy of risk mitigating actions already implemented to manage risk at the level of individual transactions as well as at a portfolio level within each fund.
- Impact: Ensures that all investments are in line with Camco’s Environmental and Social Safeguarding Policy and aligned to the company’s impact objectives. Responsible for the environmental and social due diligence of investments, as well as assessment, monitoring, reviewing, reporting and evaluating the climate and sustainable development impacts of investments.
- Legal: Responsible for managing legal risk within the Camco group through providing transaction support, corporate governance and legal advice, and carrying out legal due diligence and know-your-client procedures of all transactions prior to investing. Ensures compliance with Camco’s polices, and the individual funds’ reporting and audit requirements.
- Investment and portfolio management: Responsible for originating and investing in a sustainable, low-carbon future in line with Camco’s investment strategy.
Camco’s ESG governance structure
How we measure and manage impact
Camco’s approach to impact management and monitoring is grounded in the Five Dimensions of Impact and the Ten Principles of UN Global Compact in the areas of human rights, labour, environment and anti-corruption, as well as the UN Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) and their underlying targets.
Impact management, measurement of impact and ESG performance, and reporting requirements are all embedded in Camco’s operations and legal agreements. Each of them responds to the Five Dimensions of Impact, which are:
- what the intended outcome is
- who experiences it
- how much of the outcome is experienced
- the contribution of Camco-managed funds to that outcome, and
- the risk that the impact doesn’t happen as planned.
The achieved outcomes and their debt are presented under section Creating Sustainable Value.
The methodology and performance indicators are aligned with our own vision and the impact goals of our investors, as well as the following standards in particular:
- International Finance Corporation Performance Standards
- IRIS+ metrics
- The Five Dimensions of Impact
- UN Global Compact’s Ten Principles
- UN SDGs
- World Economic Forum’s Towards Common Metrics and Consistent Reporting of Sustainable Value Creation
- Task Force on Climate-Related Financial Disclosures
Successful monitoring requires collaboration with investee companies, which Camco actively encourages by:
- Training investee companies in our impact and ESG monitoring and evaluation requirements and procedures at the time of signing a term sheet;
- Agreeing on a monitoring plan as part of the ESMS (to be part of the investee’s obligations pursuant to its Support Agreement) with each investee; and
- Collecting impact performance and ESG data and supporting documents on a periodic basis, as agreed with each investee.
Investee reporting is based on objective, self-reported data on performance indicators by investees, such as number of customers connected to electricity, kWh electricity generated, and number of jobs created by gender and skill level. All investees undergo an annual review to verify performance and the implementation status of their ESMS, as well as their compliance with local laws and regulations. The performance indicators reported and presented in the sections below are grouped together according to the following four principles:
- Principles of governance
- Impacts on people
- Impacts on planet
- Impacts on prosperity
Camco's alignment with reporting indicators:
How me manage climate risk
Camco’s enterprise risk management approach is embedded in its Risk Management Policy and Framework, which is overseen by the Board through its Audit and Risk Committee. The Head of Risk manages the day-to-day implementation of the Policy. This Policy identifies four main categories of risk: strategic, business, financial and operational risk. Climate change and environmental and social risk considerations are incorporated into strategic, business and operational risk assessments, as is the potential for climate risks to translate into financial risk for Camco or for the funds which it manages.
The Risk Management Policy and Framework defines climate risk as a “wide range of risks associated with physical changes in the climate, resulting in further impacts to people and communities, infrastructure and equipment, investment performance and the potential for reputational damage to Camco and its investors”.
Camco considers the following elements when addressing climate change risk:
- The potential for negative environmental and social impacts, which may be aggravated by climate change, resulting in the need for further adaptation measures to strengthen the resilience of people and communities; and
- The potential for negative impacts on physical infrastructure, including:
• optimal performance characteristics, which may be compromised by changes in average climate or climate extremes; and
• damage to infrastructure due to increases in the frequency and/or severity of extreme events (e.g., fire, floods, extreme high or low temperatures); and
• changing seasonal climate and variability, resulting in changes to resource availability (e.g., changes in average rainfall or seasonality may impact hydropower plants, rendering them unviable in extreme cases).
- The potential for increased risk of climate change-induced conflict in jurisdictions where Camco investments are located.
The exposure to transitional climate risks including policy risk, technology risk, market risk and reputational risk are anticipated to be relatively immaterial as Camco is an impact investor and all its investments are aligned with the net zero agenda.
We see growth opportunities in the climate finance sector and anticipate increased capital availability as more investors move away from fossil fuel-based investments towards lower-carbon asset classes.
Funding committed by technology type
Portfolio by asset class
Like any infrastructure investments, renewable energy investments remain exposed to physical climate risk. Camco’s exposure to physical climate risk is summarised in the tables below.
In 2022, all active Camco-managed investments were in Africa. The continent’s contribution to greenhouse gas emissions has been among the lowest of all continents, yet it is already experiencing widespread climate-related losses and damages. As climate change leads to higher temperatures and greater temperature extremes in Africa, the efficiency of solar photovoltaic equipment is expected to decrease due to the impact that hotter conditions have on the operational effectiveness of crystalline silicon and thin film modules, while prolonged exposure to heat also causes the accelerated ageing of materials.
Other key impacts of climate change include reduced water resources and more frequent severe droughts impacting hydro resources. All these identified impacts may lead to decreased revenue. Furthermore, increased flooding events, fires and extreme weather events are anticipated to cause damage to infrastructure, increasing capital expenditure and/or increased operational and maintenance expenses. See our country-specific breakdown of Camco’s investments in the Prosperity section for more.
The table shows the key climate hazards and climate change impacts identified in Sub-Saharan Africa and includes Camco’s assessment of the likelihood of each of these hazards, the expected severity of the impacts and Camco’s overall risk score across our investment portfolio.
Camco has also identified a renewable energy investment pipeline in the Pacific region. Key climate hazards and climate change impacts and their likelihood of occurrence is identified in the table below.
The impacts of climate change may decrease the revenue from investments due to decreased production capacity, increased capital expenditure, and/or increased operational and maintenance expenses. However, the assessment of such risks or related costs is generally included in 1) environmental and social impact assessments (aggravated risk due to climate change), 2) resource availability studies and 3) actions to mitigate risk, such as operational insurance cover. Our country risk assessment process incorporates an assessment of the risk of further conflict as a result of climate change.
Creating Sustainable Value
Sustainability underpins everything we do and strive for at Camco.
Through its management of REPP, Camco is working to stimulate the development of a vibrant, networked and viable market for small and distributed renewable energy projects in African countries. Such a market is fundamental to helping to ensure access to affordable, reliable and sustainable energy for all of the nearly 600 million people still living without electricity in West, Central, East and Southern Africa and for taking urgent climate action. The region accounts for approximately 80% of all people currently without energy access in the world.
Similarly, commercial and industrial (C&I) businesses operating in Africa face major energy challenges that make it difficult to run their businesses profitably and sustainably. The Spark facility targets the efficient deployment of capital for renewable energy and energy efficiency project implementation in Africa’s C&I sector. This requires the execution of many small deals without introducing unnecessary financial risk, which it does by partnering with - and building the capacity of - suitable project developers.
The table below shows the cumulative impacts that have been realised by Camco-managed funds and climate change mitigation projects since the company’s inception in 1989, as well as expected impact based on committed funding.
Fund-specific targets
The table and investments impacts data below refer to fund-specific impact targets and results for REPP, Spark and TIDES.
The expected cost effectiveness of the mitigation actions over all three funds’ combined lifetime is:
- 95,996 tCO2e avoided per mUSD invested; and
- 29,947 tCO2e avoided per mUSD of total project cost; and
- 64,011 beneficiaries per mUSD invested; and
- 14,586 beneficiaries per mUSD of total project cost.
Planet
Building a net zero world
Camco protects the planet through investment in clean energy technologies that mitigate greenhouse gas emissions and support the implementation of countries’ climate change and energy policies and their Nationally Determined Contributions (NDCs) to the Paris Agreement. The table below provides an overview of our realised impact on the planet through Camco-managed funds REPP and Spark, calculated on a cumulative basis since 2016. All data presented in the table is based on investees’ self-measured and reported data. Camco reviews the data on a quarterly basis and verifies the data through annual investee reviews. Subject to the results of the reviews, an onsite audit or external verification may be conducted. In 2022, two onsite audits where commissioned.
The table below shows aggregate net GHG emission reductions and other realised impact on the planet through REPP and Spark relative to baseline.
Camco invests in mitigation activities which mainly avoid greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions through renewable energy and energy efficiency. As a result, total emissions mitigated through Camco-supported projects in 2022 was 51,732 tonnes of carbon dioxide equivalent (tCO2e). This was calculated in line with the GHG Protocol methodology, the Clean Development Methodologies AMS.I.A, AMS.D and AMS.I. L and the guidance provided by Partnership for Carbon Accounting.
The type of portfolio companies Camco supports typically do not generate any scope 1 or 2 emissions. However, off-grid solar projects may require diesel back-up generation as a buffer, especially because of seasonality, which results in scope 1 emissions. In 2022, total emissions from diesel back-up generation across all projects was 207 tCO2e, with 4% of electricity generated by solar mini-grid companies coming from diesel back up on average.
Additionality
Impact from REPP projects is not attributed proportionately to the amount of REPP’s investment since these projects are additional and would otherwise not have occurred. REPP’s funding is therefore critical for helping to realise viable projects and de-risking the investment to attract additional funding and to stimulate sectoral development. In the case of Spark investments, 100% of funding is provided by the facility and hence no attribution is required. You can read more about the barriers faced by small-scale renewable energy projects in Africa in the latest REPP annual report.
All projects in sensitive areas have management plans to minimise and manage any environmental and ecological damage, which are likely to improve the condition of the sites prior to project implementation.
People
Inclusion increases resilience
By financing affordable clean energy solutions, Camco works towards to a future that is smarter, healthier and safer.
Contribution to beneficiaries
Camco takes responsibility and due regard for the impacts that its funding may have on local communities and individuals.
The beneficiaries of Camco-managed funds are people, communities and businesses in underserved markets that will gain access to a reliable source of clean electricity where, prior to the intervention provided, they often either had no supply of electricity or the supply was unreliable. At the customer level, renewable energy projects also offer multiple environmental and social co-benefits contributing towards the achievement of different SDGs. Find out more in the Camco’s contribution to the SDGs section.
Other beneficiaries are the investees themselves (i.e., private sector developers of small-scale renewable energy projects) and energy services companies, which benefit from markets seeded by Camco-managed funds.
Health and safety impacts through REPP and Spark
In 2022, the overall occupational health and safety (OHS) performance of investee companies was generally good. A total of 50 OHS injuries were recorded over the year, of which all were minor, with all injured employees having recovered and returned to work.
Enabling change
Through the funds it manages, Camco is supporting the development of a sustainable, inclusive, low-carbon future by mobilising private and public sector finance and providing capacity building and training. Similarly, through these funds it creates decent job and income generation opportunities, and promotes gender equality and inclusion.
To date, Camco, has dedicated 46% of all funds invested through AUM to women-owned and/or led businesses in accordance with the 2X Challenge’s gender lens investment criteria.
2X Challenge’s gender lens investment criteria for power sector
Investees’ contribution to prosperity
Govern well
In 2022, we continued to educate Camco’s investee companies in sustainable corporate governance through our policy and process onboarding.
The main governance indicators our investees measure and report on are presented in the table below.
Camco
The pop-out pages below provide details on Camco's own operations:
The Camco team
As an employer, Camco is committed to providing a safe working environment, as well as fair employment practices and providing for the health and wellbeing of its team members. Similarly, it requires its investees to establish health and safety policies and procedures and a grievance mechanism.
As a company, we strive to achieve diversity in the workforce, not only because it better reflects the markets in which Camco does business, but because it leads to better business results and a more interesting and enjoyable working environment. Currently, 38% of our team members are women and 41% are from Black, Asian and Minority Ethnic (BAME) groups, to use the UK government’s classification of these different racial and ethnic groups. 41% are based in emerging markets. Meet the team.
Each year, Camco conducts a staff survey on the quality of work life and how to improve the company’s working culture. The Making Camco Better survey has had an overall participation rate of 100% and shown that the vast majority (>90%) of employees are satisfied with their job, find their work meaningful and that they enjoy the company culture.
To ensure employee representation at the Board level, an Employee Director is elected periodically.
Our annual pay gap analysis shows that Camco has successfully embedded the principle of equal pay for equal work.
The table below summarises performance indicators related to the health, safety and security of Camco employees.
Camco's carbon footprint in 2022
We have been measuring and reporting Camco’s carbon footprint since 2019 in accordance with the Greenhouse Gas Protocol’s GHG Inventory Reporting guidance. We do not have any scope 1 emissions and in 2021 and 2022 no scope 2 emissions were generated since the electricity we used was purchased from renewable sources. Therefore, the only emissions that were generated in 2022 were in scope 3, as follows:
Camco’s scope 3 intensity ratio is 3.39 metric tCO2e per full-time employee, demonstrating a 45% decline from the base year’s estimate (2019), due to reduced global travel of staff. In 2021 and 2022, Camco offset its carbon footprint with Gold Standard’s certified voluntary climate credits from projects with verified benefits to local communities and ecosystems.
Prosperity
Overview of Camco’s contribution to prosperity
Top investement deals in 2022
Finance committed by country
Camco's governance
Overview of Camco’s key sustainability actions to date:
The main governance indicators we measure and report for Camco:
Camco’s contribution to SDGs
Our work primarily aims to address the following Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs):
Targets 7.1 and 7.2
By investing in innovative renewable energy and energy efficiency solutions in emerging and developing markets, Camco contributes towards access to afforbale, reliable, sustainable and modern energy for all.
Targets 9.1 and 9.4
By investing in projects to upgrade and retrofit industries to make them sustainable and resource-use efficient as well as increase the adoption of clean and environmentally sound technologies, Camco is helping to build resilient infrastructure, promote inclusive and sustainable industrialisation and foster innovation.
Target 11.1
Makes cities and human settlements inclusive, safe, resilient and sustainable – by providing affordable, inclusive, sustainable and low-carbon energy services to communities.
Targets 13.1 and 13.2
By decoupling economic growth and carbon emissions, strengthening communities’ resilience and adaptive capacity to climate-related hazards and natural disasters, and supporting the implementation of countries’ climate policies, Camco is directly supporting efforts to undertake urgent action to combat climate change and its impacts.
Camco also contributes towards the following SDGs:
Targets 1.4 and 1.5
End poverty in all its forms everywhere – by providing first-time access to electricity, decent jobs and livelihood opportunities.
Target 3.4
Ensure healthy lives and promote well-being for all at all ages – by limiting pollutants through deployment of clean technologies.
Target 5.5
Achieve gender equality and empower all women and girls – gender equality and female empowerment is a crucial part of the solution to many central development challenges, including the clean energy transition. Camco invests in women-owned or managed businesses and actively promotes gender equality and social inclusion through our diversity action plans, both internally and through the projects we support.
Targets 8.4 and 8.5
Promote sustained, inclusive and sustainable economic growth, full and productive employment and decent work for all – by increasing the number of high quality, skilled jobs available and supporting business growth.
Target 17.3
Strengthen the means of implementation and revitalise the global partnership for sustainable development by mobilising private and public capital towards sustainable development in developing countries.
Partnerships
Bold and transformational steps are needed to shift the world onto a sustainable and resilient path. In recognition of this, we work in partnership with actors from the private, public and not-for-profit sectors to finance and implement clean energy projects, as well as to contribute to knowledge development and advocacy to strengthen the enabling environment for the implementation of the Paris Agreement and the 2030 Agenda.
Camco brings developers, financiers and risk mitigation providers together to successfully advance renewable energy development. During 2022, Camco-managed REPP continued to work successfully with its partners to help investees scale their operations and reach financial close. This included sharing the due diligence of several REPP transactions with our partners, allowing for a quicker investment process. Mobile Power, a REPP investee, has mobilised further funding from Beyond the Grid Fund and Innovative Fund UK. Following REPP’s investment, Energicity – a mini-grid developer in Sierra Leone - has secured further funding to roll out mini-grids in other countries in West Africa. By the end of 2022, REPP had mobilised USD 437m climate finance of which 34% came from private sources.
During 2022, Camco continued to actively engage with governments and industry associations to advocate for improvements in the enabling environment for renewable energy development. In partnership with the Africa Mini-grid Developers Association (AMDA) and the Nigeria Renewable Energy Association (REAN), Camco engaged with the energy regulator in Nigeria to successfully advocate for improvements in the mini-grid regulations, improving the bankability of the envisaged updated regulatory framework.
Camco continued to develop its understanding of the policy landscape in its target markets and ensure that its investments support national climate and sustainable development priorities. Through multiple public engagements at national and international forums, Camco continued to advocate for a stronger public-private collaboration and the strengthened role of the private sector as a partner for the implementation of national policy goals in developing and emerging markets. Through its Green Climate Fund-related activities, Camco continues to build strong partnerships with national policy makers and has secured national level support for its GCF applications from multiple countries, which further confirms the strong alignment of its work with national policy priorities.
The Camco-managed REPP fund is aligned with the 2X criteria for gender lens investing, with 46% of its funding invested to date to women-owned and led companies. We provide our investees with gender equality training and assist them in establishing gender action plans to improve gender equality within their operations and project implementation. REPP is also working in partnership with the 2X Collaborative to increase equitable climate finance flows through knowledge development and advocacy. In 2022, Camco worked with the 2X Collaborative to organise Africa and SIDS-focused online forums exploring how companies (and by extension, their funders) can better target women customers through distributed renewable energy business models and operations.