UK-based lender HSBC has partnered with Google Cloud to advance climate mitigation and resilience through the Google Cloud Ready-Sustainability (GCR-Sustainability) programme.
The collaboration aims to provide financing and support for companies in the GCR-Sustainability, a validation programme that provides solutions on Google Cloud.
The programme helps customers achieve goals including carbon emission reduction, increased sustainability in value chains, and processing of ESG data to help identify climate risks.
Google Cloud will introduce companies under the GCR-Sustainability programme to HSBC’s specialist climate tech finance team to explore venture debt financing options.
Google Cloud global sustainability managing director Justin Keeble said: “The scale of climate challenge requires a global ecosystem of technology providers bringing solutions that drive impact.
“This is why we launched our Google Cloud Ready – Sustainability ecosystem which, one year in, includes leading climate tech companies.
“Many of these partners need access to finance and we are excited to partner with HSBC to support firms key to climate action.”
Under the partnership, Google Cloud will continue to increase the number of partners in the GCR-Sustainability programme over the coming two years.
HSBC will seek financing for GCR-Sustainability companies, as part of its strategy to deploy $1bn of climate tech finance, along with connections with HSBC’s customers.
As part of the partnership, HSBC is offering a venture debt financing package to GCR-Sustainability-validated company LevelTen Energy.
LevelTen Energy is engaged in providing renewable transaction infrastructure for buyers, sellers, advisors, and financiers in the clean energy economy.
LevelTen chief financial officer Ross Trenary said: “We are proud to be a GCR-Sustainability-validated company and are looking forward to working closely with the team at HSBC.
“This venture debt package will enable us to scale our platform, which provides transaction infrastructure for carbon-free energy buyers, sellers and financiers.
“HSBC’s global reach aligns with our international presence while giving us opportunities to connect with HSBC clients that are looking to achieve sustainability goals.”
The UK lender said that the partnership builds on the launch of its HSBC credit risk advisory tool on Google Cloud.
Also, the partnership follows HSBC’s announcement to deploy $1bn of financing to early-stage climate tech companies and introduce the HSBC Innovation Banking.
HSBC Innovation Banking is a specialised banking proposition designed to support a wide range of businesses and their investors.
HSBC commercial banking sustainability global head Natalie Blyth said: “A step change is needed to scale up the new technologies that will play a critical role in supporting global decarbonisation.
“Partnerships and innovative financing solutions are key, especially during a period when investment in climate tech startups has fallen.
“By combining financing support, cloud technologies and connectivity to partners across our combined footprints, we will help climate tech vendors accelerate their growth, and develop the solutions we urgently need at scale.”
