Sustainability and Security

For years, sustainability and security were treated as separate priorities; one concerned with long-term stability, the other with protecting systems through surveillance, deterrence, and breakthrough tech. Investment rhetoric has now moved on.

Now, they are converging and it’s important to understand why. What connects them and makes both achievable, is resilience. Renewable energy systems and critical infrastructure are now assessed not only for their sustainability, but also for their capacity to contribute to a more resilient economy.

This shift matters for investors. Energy systems that rely on volatile imports are now viewed as national vulnerabilities. Supply chains covering long distances and with single points of failure are risks to both economies and governments.

Ageing infrastructure is seen not only as a growth barrier, but also as a potential point of coercion. All of this strengthens the investment case for assets that are clean, distributed, circular and locally grounded.

These assets are not just more sustainable. They are also more resilient.

Foresight is already deeply invested in these areas. Localised energy generation and robust grid infrastructure reduces dependence on imported fuels to provide energy security and strategic autonomy.

Afforestation and peatland restoration strengthens flood resilience and protects communities. Sustainable agriculture and water systems contribute to food and resource security. Circular solutions for materials and waste reduce exposure to fragile international supply chains. What starts with sustainability often also contributes to resilience, and resilience is increasingly part of the security architecture of modern economies. 

A country with robust renewable energy and resilient ecosystems is harder to pressure. It is more capable of absorbing shocks and quicker to recover from them. This logic is now informing the choices made by defence ministries, civil contingencies teams and national infrastructure bodies. As a result, many areas that once sat in the sustainability category are now being valued and funded as strategic capabilities.

In a fast changing and volatile world, resilience contributes to greater security. This is a particularly pressing issue in the UK and Europe. Intensifying geopolitical tensions and a withdrawal of security support from the US has forced many European states, including the UK, to reflect on their existing security arrangements with many now seeking to bolster their defence spending.

The re-industrialisation of defence systems, sovereign supply chains and dual-use technologies present a multi-decade investment opportunity which Foresight is well placed to support.

As public and private institutions seek partners and suppliers to deliver and protect resilient, sustainable and socially rooted infrastructure, there is growing demand for the skills and platforms we already deploy across our portfolio. Security, in this broader sense is a natural extension of it.

The investment case now rests not only on environmental outcomes and economic performance but also on the contribution these assets make to national stability and strategic independence.  Investing across a spectrum of resilience-building strategies affirms our commitment, beyond the capital we commit and the returns we anticipate, to the legacy we create.