Helping to connect projects, investors and the Great Lakes community for the benefit of our environment.
The Platform
About the Platform
In collaboration with a multidisciplinary project team, the Conference of Great Lakes St. Lawrence Governors & Premiers has developed the Great Lakes Impact Investment Platform (the Platform) in order to promote environmentally sustainable economic growth in the Great Lakes States and Provinces.
This geographically-specific, impact-focused investment platform is innovative and among the first of its kind. Our cross-border platform represents an unprecedented model that can be applied to natural resources across the globe.
Working to create benefits for participants, investors and residents of the Great Lakes St. Lawrence region
The Platform features various investment products intended to deliver demonstrable impact and revitalize the region’s waters, while also aimed to generate competitive, market-based financial returns.
Environmental and Social Goals Include:
20% Reduction
of nutrient inputs to sensitive watersheds
10% Improvement
in energy efficiency for water utilities
10-15% Reduction
in emissions resulting from less energy use, sustainable forestry, and nutrient management
Four Themes of the Platform:
Forestry
Our platform offers an innovative opportunity across the forestry value chain, which is tied towards specific, watershed-based environmental goals. These focus areas include land conservation, sustainable timber production, carbon sequestration, water resources management, and recreation.
Smart Water Systems
The region’s diversified industry, along with its population of over 100 million people, depend on the Great Lakes and St. Lawrence for water supply and wastewater discharge. Within different investment strategies, smart water systems offer attractive benefits that moderate risk and generate long-term cash flows while improving efficiency and reducing waste.
Agriculture
Improving on-farm management of water represents a currently under-realized opportunity in the region and the Platform offers opportunities for sustainable agriculture production and agtech. “Smart Drains” satellite-based irrigation and, in some instances, conversion to regenerative production can reduce water withdrawals, energy use, and capital costs while improving crop yields or returns.
Energy
The Platform features a range of projects in energy that aim to improve efficiency and reduce emissions. Focus areas include high-efficiency equipment and technologies, renewable energy generation, storage, incentives to reduce energy use, and other opportunities.
Diverse investment opportunities exist in each theme and will be integrated into investment strategies that focus on the
Great Lakes St. Lawrence region.
Performance Metrics:
Platform projects may report annual or lifetime environmental performance.
The following impacts were reported for 2020 and 2021.
3,006,939
Tons of Carbon Reduced and Stored
35,653
Forest and Farm Land – Certified Acres
111,157,056
Kilowatts of Energy Saved
6,000
Pounds of Nutrients Reduced
5,440,531