Investing for impact

Localised Limited is a charitable company established by the Zero Waste Network to support the development of community enterprises across Aotearoa. When the tender for warehousing and distribution of material recovered from Auckland Council’s Inorganic Collection was released, Localised approached Ākina Foundation and secured $20,000 from its Foundation North-supported impact investment readiness programme. This assisted Localised with the necessary legal, accounting and administrative skills and competences required to respond to social procurement with Auckland Council. The story continues below…

Through impact investment, Foundation North aims to prudently leverage a portion of its investment portfolio to support its charitable mission - increasing equity, social inclusion and regenerative environments. As our primary vehicle for undertaking impact investment, we have progressed a $20m externally managed impact fund, Te Pae ki te Rangi, to implementation, with three investments made by 31 March 2022.

Having secured the Auckland Council contract, Localised now operates two Zero Waste Hubs in Wairau Valley and Glen Innes: receiving, processing and distributing material recovered from Auckland’s Inorganic Collection Service. Almost $2m in working capital was required to support mobilisation of the contract including employing staff, leasing and fitting out the sites. Localised decided to go to the investment market to seek an impact loan. In December 2021 they were successful in raising the capital needed with Te Pae ki te Rangi and Kiwibank co-lending the full amount.

The Foundation is the kaitiaki of the funds for the people in Auckland and Northland in perpetuity. As such, the Foundation has a financial as well as social responsibility to its stakeholders.

Stakeholders expect the Foundation to invest responsibly, including integrating Environmental, Social, and Governance (ESG) factors regarding the impact on society and planet into investment decision-making and ownership practices. As all investments create impact, the Foundation aims to minimise harm and seek positive impacts while generating wealth.

The Foundation strongly believes that climate change is an urgent global issue to address and supports actions to help deliver the goals of the Paris Agreement. As such, the Foundation targets the transition of its investments to achieve net zero portfolio greenhouse gas emissions by 2050 or sooner, with regular reviews for alignment with the target.

Read about our Investment Approach in full here.