Jonathan Maxwell, founder and chief executive of Sustainable Development Capital (SDCL), has been named Net zero champion of the year in this year's Sustainable Company Awards, as judges recognise his significant contribution to the energy efficiency and clean energy movement.

Maxwell has led the charge of the London-headquartered fund manager's global investment activities since its founding in 2007. To date, SDCL manages $2.5 billion in assets.

At the beginning of the year, Maxwell led the firm's partnership with French firm Schneider Electric, creating a subscription-led 'energy-as-a-service' initiative across the UK and Ireland.

The 'strategic partnership' will focus on data centres, business parks, industrial sites and universities, with Schneider Electric providing energy efficiency technologies, digital tools and microgrid solutions.

This comes as the investor is focused on rolling out "tried and tested energy efficiency technologies" for supporting the growth of data centres, Maxwell told Environmental Finance.

"Our recent partnership with Schneider Electric is a great example of how we can provide decentralised power solutions to companies across the UK and Ireland, primarily focusing on servicing heavy energy users such as data centres, business parks, industrial sites and universities, at the point of use," he said.

Last year, the firm sold a 24.9% minority shareholding to General Atlantic's BeyondNetZero fund, the $3.5 billion climate growth fund of the private equity giant. The investment is set to build SDCL's operating capabilities to drive its next phase of expansion.

Launched in late 2023, Maxwell developed the £100 million ($134.7 million) London Efficient and Decentralised Generation of Energy Fund (EDGE) alongside the Mayor's Greater London Authority, which fronted £50 million, matched by SDCL.

The London-centric fund will invest a minimum of £10 million into projects, targeting low-carbon transportation and decentralised on-site generation within large public buildings such as hospitals, data centres and educational institutions. Read more here.

The fund is a "novel energy efficiency-focused partnership with the Greater London Authority to support London's 2030 net-zero target", Maxwell explained.

"Something that I'm particularly proud of over the past 12 months is our continued collaboration with governments and public authorities on the importance of energy efficiency," he added.

The fund is currently sourcing its first investments and aims to deploy capital by the second half of 2026.

In December 2024, SDCL closed an investment of $28 million for a duo of 'waste-to-energy' poultry projects in the US, an investment made via its €650 million Global Energy Transition Fund, which closed in November 2023.

The 15-year fund, which invests in on-site generation and clean energy in Europe and the US, secured commitments from M&G Investments, HALTRA, The Ireland Strategic Investment Fund, ReturnToWorkSA and the Buildings Union Superannuation Scheme of Queensland, plus a €125 million commitment from the European Investment Fund.

Maxwell's work also includes chairing the SDCL Efficiency Income Trust, believed to be the first London-listed fund focused exclusively on energy efficiency. The trust covers retail, data centres, healthcare, industrial and commercial sectors.

It has been awarded the London Stock Exchange's Green Economy Mark, recognising that 50-100% of total annual revenues are generated by products and services contributing to the global green economy.

Providing thought leadership on the challenges and opportunities for investing in energy efficiency, Maxwell is a prominent voice for promoting investing in clean energy in the UK, focusing on how the finance sector can work with policymakers and government to achieve net-zero targets.

"With this in mind, efficiency should be the lens through which all clean energy decisions are viewed. If an application, fossil or otherwise, is expensive for the energy service it delivers, or if it fails to convert a primary energy fuel source into useful energy efficiently, governments and businesses should simply not do it," Maxwell explained.

"Generally speaking, private equity and corporate businesses are more likely to implement energy efficiency measures in a bid to save money – and SDCL is seeing demand for proven, scalable solutions to reduce energy waste, and the hope is that this demand continues to increase as time goes on."

The CEO previously told Environmental Finance that the UK is unlikely to meet its 'clean power superpower' ambitions, with the government's current policy agenda. Instead, he said the claim, which promises to invest in clean homegrown power and end national exposure to the fossil fuel markets, should be based on targets set in "realism".

Read more on the interview here.

He also published his book 'The Edge' in 2023, aligning science on climate change to energy security, the environment and the economy.