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Wealth management group Tilney Smith and Williamson visited Jersey’s new aggregate recycling plant to launch a new sustainable portfolio, which will see local financial advisers promote green investments to island clients.
While sustainable investing was previously about avoiding putting money into companies like those involved in arms manufacturing or tobacco, investors are now more concerned about actively assisting companies that will push forward eco initiatives, according to TS&W.
All investment decisions relating to the new portfolio will be made in Jersey, though TS&W says fund managers will be able to tap into the expertise of the firm’s UK-based sustainable portfolio manager Louie French, who runs the Tilney Sustainable Portfolio fund, which recently won Best ESG Strategy at the City of London Wealth Management Awards.
Matt Falla, TS&W Managing Director, said: “This is an incredibly exciting development for us in terms of providing sustainable financial solutions from Jersey. It is something that our industry here is working towards, supporting an environmentally and socially sustainable global economy. By launching and managing this new portfolio service from Jersey, we are making a clear statement about our intentions to do just that.”
To celebrate the launch of the service, Mr French came to the island last week to look around the new aggregate washing plant - the “kind of business we would invest in on a larger scale globally”, according to Mr French.
AAL Recycling has invested £3m into the new machinery which will produce high grade products from soil, stone and concrete waste, recycling up to 100%. The facility is able to supply 250 tons of concrete a week, and can produce sand and stone, negating the need for materials to be dug from natural resources or imported.
The company had been recycling 100,000 tons of waste a year, with the same amount ending up in landfill. It’s hoped the new machinery will now reduce significantly the amount of waste going into landfill.
Pictured: A view of the existing AAL recycling operation from the top of one of the new washing plant grading machines.
Mr French said: “I started in sustainable investing when ESG wasn’t a term that was widely recognised, and sustainable portfolios were decidedly niche. The concept of the circular economy is something which is sure to be discussed at COP26, and I’m hoping will also become a mainstream term.
"I’m delighted to see that Jersey has made a significant step in this direction already with the upgraded recycling facilities at La Collette.”
Making the grade - the future of recycling arrives in Jersey
Pictured top – left to right: Dean Layzell, Andrew Blake, Louie French, and Christopher Golding from TS&W, with Alan Langlois from AAL Recycling.
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