Leading alternative asset manager Morrison & Co will spearhead clean energy standards across Australian social and economic infrastructure assets, as part of its specialist AU$1 billion ‘green’ infrastructure fund.
Morrison & Co focuses on decarbonisation as a key investment strategy. It has been investing in renewable energy for more than 20 years and, through its new fund, will apply its decarbonisation and energy efficiency lens to a broader set of infrastructure assets to generate better long-term investment outcomes.
The Morrison & Co Growth Infrastructure Fund will acquire and develop a diverse range of essential assets, from hospitals to data centres, retirement and aged care accommodation to student housing and renewable energy.
Over time, the fund will look to progressively introduce internationally-recognised science-based targets to build a zero emissions portfolio. It will also draw on relevant Australian-based sustainability standards to set best-practice sustainability goals, including those of the Infrastructure Sustainability Council of Australia, the National Australian Built Environment Rating System and the Nationwide House Energy Rating Scheme.
The implementation of ambitious energy and emissions goals across the fund’s portfolio will include the adoption of a wide range of benchmarking tools.
Methodologies such as Infrastructure Sustainability Council of Australia (ISCA) ratings for economic infrastructure and renewable energy assets, NABERS, NaThERS, GRESB and Green Star ratings for built environment assets will be used to set best-practice sustainability goals.
The CEFC is investing AU$150 million in the Morrison & Co Growth Infrastructure Fund, which will acquire and manage a range of assets where there is potential for significant improvements in their energy efficiency profile.