The UK Green Investment Bank (GIB) has set up a special company to enforce its green mandate ahead of its upcoming sale to the private sector.
The Green Purposes Company has been set up as a special shareholder unit with voting powers to ensure that GIB remains legally obliged to invest in accordance with the green purposes currently set out in the bank’s articles of association.
The articles have already been amended at an extraordinary general meeting to allow the new company to be set up.
The Royal Society, ICAS and The Law Society of Scotland have also agreed to help GIB find individuals for a nominations committee that will select three permanent trustees of the special shareholder.
GIB said: “This process will ensure that the individuals on the nominations committee have been appointed independently and will be well equipped to select permanent trustees appropriately skilled in corporate governance, with knowledge of corporate law and with a sound understanding of environmental issues.”
GIB independent chair Lord Smith of Kelvin said: “The special share will provide a lock over our green purposes by an independent third party.
“It is important to note that the existing statutory protections over the green purposes will remain in place until the point at which the Special Share is implemented. There will be no gap.”
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