Conscious Investment Management releases its annual Impact Report

At a glance:

• Conscious Investment Management (“CIM”) has over A$400 million of capital dedicated to impact via its managed funds.* To date CIM has made 11 investments across social and affordable housing, Specialised Disability Accommodation, distributed rooftop solar, carbon farming and social impact bonds.
• These investments have been made with the support of approximately 800 investors.
• CIM made two new investments in the 2023/24 year:
  1. A carbon farming investment made alongside environmental not-for-profit Greening Australia, delivering biodiversity and carbon sequestration outcomes via native plantings; and
  2. A Specialist Disability Accommodation investment which involved financing the acquisition of 42 dwellings made alongside existing partner, Liverty Housing, delivering housing outcomes for people with disability and complex care needs.
• During the year, CIM became a Signatory to the Operating Principles for Impact Management and was a finalist at the Australian Impact Investment Awards for Impact Asset Manager of the year. The CIM Impact Fund was also awarded the highest rating, Sustainability Plus, under RIAA’s new sustainability ratings system.

View the Impact Report here.

Watch the summary video here.

Dedicated impact investment fund manager, Conscious Investment Management (“CIM”), today released its annual Impact Report which shares details of its investment activities and portfolio impact performance for the 2023/24 year.

Approximately 800 investors have supported CIM to invest over A$400 million of capital to impact via CIM’s managed funds, delivering measurable social and environmental impact outcomes. Impact outcomes aim to align with specific UN Sustainable Development Goals under three impact themes: Environment and Climate, Health and Education, and Social Infrastructure.

Investments to date have been made across social and affordable housing, Specialist Disability Accommodation, distributed rooftop solar, carbon farming and social impact bonds. These investments have been made alongside CIM’s Impact Partners, who are values aligned organisations (typically not-for-profits) with operating experience and a frontline understanding of the needs of the end beneficiaries and systems that each investment aims to support.

CIM made two new investments throughout the year which are described in this year’s Impact Report. First, CIM has continued to expand its investments in carbon farming, most recently partnering with environmental not-for-profit, Greening Australia to finance the acquisition of land which will be used to develop environmental planting projects. The first investment by the partnership saw Greening Australia use CIM financing to acquire a 750-hectare property in Southern NSW, on which Greening Australia will plant ~140,000 trees over the next two years. The land will be protected as a biodiversity reserve for at least 100-years, providing habitat for threatened fauna and flora species in the region for generations to come. Secondly, a Specialist Disability Accommodation investment made alongside CIM’s existing partner, Liverty Housing, which involved financing the acquisition of 42 apartments, which will house people with disability and complex care needs.

This year’s report also details CIM’s Theory of Change and includes lessons learned about investing into emerging asset classes, which extends CIM’s ongoing commitment to measure, manage and report investment outcomes transparently. The report also includes interviews with CIM’s Impact Partners, stories about people being supported at its assets and details of its reconciliation journey.

Matthew Tominc, Chief Investment Officer, said, “We’re really proud of the impact described in this year’s Impact Report. In addition to providing an overview of the impact our investor capital and partnerships are having, this year’s report also shares our lessons learned about investing into emerging asset classes.

We are often early movers into new sectors and are working to find innovative ways to use capital to solve complex systemic problems – issues like climate change, housing and reconciliation. All investments have impact risks, alongside their financial risks, and we have tried to transparently communicate these and our lessons learned, alongside the positives in this report.”

Today, assets financed by CIM's investors have provided 270 new social and affordable homes, 114 Specialist Disability Accommodation apartments, 62 distributed rooftop solar assets and two carbon farming investments (which combined aim to sequester 570,000 tonnes of CO2). Through social impact bond arrangements, investor capital has supported close to 350 vulnerable children and their families through challenging times in the education and out-of-home care systems.

^{* As at 30 September 2024, and includes value of both deployed and committed capital of all CIM managed funds.}