BackBy Christophe Bonnat, Head of ESG at Marguerite
Created in 2010 and backed by major European institutional investors, Marguerite’s primary focus has always been on investing in the construction and growth of infrastructure that mitigates climate change — a concept that, at the time, was considered highly innovative. This original DNA has allowed the company to evolve into a sustainable infrastructure investor that today — 15 years later — stands at the forefront of ESG practice.
The era of discovery
In 2010, ESG was the playground of passionate experts and visionary pioneers exploring the then-emerging world of social and environmental impact and mitigation practices. In the broader business community, however, ESG was often met with scepticism. Stakeholders financing infrastructure projects were rarely concerned, and regulations — such as Environmental Impact Assessments imposing ESG requirements on large projects — were seen mainly as unnecessary burdens complicating engineering and construction processes.
Marguerite began exploring the decarbonisation universe with its very first investment: an offshore wind farm in Belgium. We were among the first financial investors to enter this asset class, willing to assess its risks and recognise the long-term potential of large-scale renewable energy infrastructure.
It was only with the IPCC Fifth Assessment Report, released in 2014, that a real wake-up call reached the wider public. Even if few read the 4,000-page report, media coverage and NGO advocacy brought the findings into mainstream attention. The Paris COP21 in 2015 and the subsequent Paris Agreement were game-changers, triggering wide-scale sustainability policies and giving ESG the momentum it needed.
As public scrutiny of ESG issues grew, institutional investors began demanding that fund managers define and implement ESG policies. To help navigate this complex terrain, initiatives like UN PRI, GRESB, IIGCC, CDP, GRI, SBTi, TCFD and SASB emerged to provide standardised frameworks. Yet many investors initially struggled to understand the underlying concepts, terminology, and data requirements needed to complete increasingly detailed reports.
At this stage, ESG was still seen as a burden — but a necessary one. Some asset managers began exploring emerging sectors and asset classes to align with the evolving sustainability agenda.
Going centre-stage
The time when innovators designed their own ESG policies and metrics gradually gave way to regulation, particularly across the financial sector.
The introduction of the Sustainable Finance Disclosure Regulation (SFDR) in 2019, the European Taxonomy Regulation in 2020, and the Corporate Sustainability Reporting Directive (CSRD) in 2022 created a new era of structured ESG governance. These regulations aimed to curb greenwashing, ensure comparability, and encourage the market to take ESG seriously. However, they also introduced a long list of reporting obligations, complex data collection requirements, and the risk of losing sight of actual ESG objectives.
Despite being cumbersome, these developments have gradually embedded ESG considerations into the standard assessment of project risks, benefits, and investment decisions. Though often imperfectly tailored to the specificities of different sectors, the new regulatory frameworks have nonetheless acted as powerful catalysts — pushing companies and asset managers to adopt at least a baseline level of ESG integration.
Today, ESG reveals a dual character: a “dark side” marked by burdensome reporting and data demands, and a “bright side” where meaningful, targeted actions drive tangible impact on material issues.
At Marguerite, we have progressively enhanced our ESG policies and procedures, aiming to strike the right balance between responsible investment and achieving financial objectives. Our approach is rooted in double materiality — assessing both the impact of our investments on society and the environment, and the risks that climate change and societal shifts pose to our assets. This dual perspective informs our mitigation and adaptation strategies, embedded through rigorous due diligence and proactive asset management.
This has led us to exclude opportunities based on newly identified risks and to measure and improve the impacts of our portfolio companies. Over time, we have phased out higher-emission asset classes such as roads, airports, and gas networks, anticipating the global shift in priorities. Building on early investments in solar and wind, we have expanded into new subsectors such as biomass, biomethane, energy efficiency, and electric mobility — sectors that present lower ESG risks and greater positive sustainability impacts.
ESG adulthood
In recent years, we have observed a clear shift: more opportunities now disclose decarbonisation targets, and projects aligned with 2050 net-zero goals are driving the next generation of sustainable investments. We believe we are entering the era of ESG maturity.
An entire ecosystem of advisors, tools, and methodologies now supports companies and asset managers in risk analysis, performance monitoring, and action planning. Dedicated ESG teams have become standard in most organisations, bringing expertise and resources essential to responsible growth. While alignment with ESG targets can involve additional costs, investors increasingly recognise and value this commitment.
This does not imply sacrificing financial performance for the sake of a cleaner conscience. On the contrary, robust ESG analysis and mitigation — by selecting projects with low negative impact and strong resilience — offers long-term protection and enhances shareholder value. At the point of divestment, companies demonstrating strong ESG performance and risk management increasingly command a premium. ESG is no longer a niche concern nor a moral virtue above profit — it is a core component of sound, long-term investment analysis.
This is why we invest significant time engaging with portfolio companies to help them adopt best-in-class ESG practices that strengthen long-term performance. In particular, we ensure that they properly anticipate both physical climate risks — acute and chronic natural events — and transition risks, including regulatory, market, and behavioural shifts.
In line with this approach, Marguerite’s latest fund invests exclusively in Paris-aligned projects and companies on a credible path to net zero by 2050. Early investments under Marguerite III include sectors such as solar PV, EV charging, energy efficiency, and electric locomotives.
Thanks to our long-standing focus on sustainability, Marguerite’s investments have already contributed significantly to reducing GHG emissions, decarbonising the economy, and providing essential public services — from developing over 1.3 GW of renewable energy capacity to installing more than 1 million low-energy lighting points, building and operating 38,000 EV charging stations, and connecting 1.8 million FTTH clients.
Looking ahead
There is still room for improvement: better integration of biodiversity considerations, including robust impact measurement and mitigation; stronger efforts to address all forms of pollution; a clearer focus on meaningful, high-impact metrics over generic KPIs; improved anticipation of how climate change affects asset valuations; and a more comprehensive view of the full value chain, including multiple layers of indirect suppliers.
At the same time, long-term sustainability goals face increasing pressure from geopolitical tensions and economic competition. ESG regulations and incentives are sometimes criticised for slowing growth — as illustrated by the recent backlash in the United States following electoral shifts. Europe must therefore walk a fine line: championing the transition to a low-carbon economy through a pragmatic, results-driven approach that recognises the economy’s capacity to adapt.
At Marguerite, we firmly believe that fighting climate change, protecting the environment, and providing essential public services are not optional. We continue to lead ESG integration and innovation while strengthening Europe’s economy through sustainable and resilient infrastructure.