Blackstone Credit launched a sustainable resources platform that will focus on investing in and lending to renewable energy companies and those supporting the energy transition. This initiative will bring together Blackstone Credit’s scale and expertise in providing private credit in the energy transition marketplace with the firm’s ESG and portfolio operations capabilities to deliver value by providing new solutions and sources of capital to companies driving the broader energy transition. The sustainable resources credit platform will fit alongside the firm’s existing private equity, energy and infrastructure strategies that are investing in companies that support the energy transition and climate change solutions.
Robert Horn, who has been with Blackstone Credit since its founding, will lead the new platform as global head of the sustainable resources group for Blackstone Credit. Simon Hayden also joined the firm from EIG as a senior managing director in London and leader of the firm’s sustainable resources activities in Europe.
The sustainable resources platform includes more than 30 investment professionals across North America and Europe, supported by the portfolio operations teams at Blackstone. The platform will also leverage the firm’s ESG expertise, bringing ESG professionals into the investment process. Newly hired global head of ESG for Blackstone, Jean Rogers, the founder of the sustainability accounting standards board, and Rita Mangalick, head of ESG for Blackstone Credit, will advise investment teams, oversee ESG diligence and support other initiatives for the platform.
The platform will invest across the credit spectrum in investment grade credit, non-investment grade credit, preferred and convertible securities. It will focus on a range of sectors, including residential solar and home efficiency; renewable electricity generation and storage; products, services, technologies and natural resources that enable the energy transition; decarbonized transportation; sustainability linked loans; green financings that fund environmental projects; and other energy infrastructure investments.
“The launch of this platform demonstrates our conviction in the investment opportunities presented by the energy transition. Companies globally are shifting to meet this demand,” Jon Gray, president and COO of Blackstone, said. “We believe private capital is essential to supporting decarbonization goals and our scale allows us to play a major role.”
“Blackstone Credit’s unmatched scale is being unleashed to support companies that are driving the energy transition,” Dwight Scott, global head of Blackstone Credit, said. “We are excited to launch this dedicated financing platform to build on the over $15 billion that Blackstone has committed since 2019 in investments that we believe are consistent with the broader energy transition.”
“We believe large scale and flexible capital are essential to funding decarbonization,” Horn said. “We look forward to providing efficient capital and Blackstone’s expertise to companies across a range of sectors that we believe are driving this important transition.”
“I am delighted to join the world class team at Blackstone Credit and drive its European activities in sustainable resources,” Hayden said.
