Collaboration, ESG and Legacy – a new chapter for the Highlands
On Wednesday this week, Highland business and community leaders came together online for Collaboration, ESG and Legacy, an online event hosted by Highland CIC as the first event in the Highland Renewables Network’s 2026programme.
Expertly chaired by Kate Hooper of Strategy Story, the session brought together Yvonne Crook, Chair of Highland CIC; Willie Cameron, Director of Highland CIC and Director of Cobbs Group; Innes Morgan, Director of Highland CIC and founder of Act with Purpose; Peter Kane, Co-founder of Kane Partner; and Ben Thorburn, Marketing Director at Wilderness Scotland.
With hundreds of renewable energy projects operational, planned or in development across the Highlands and with a projected £100bn investment in transformational projects, the region is in the midst of one of the most significant energy transformations in the UK. The scale of change presents enormous opportunity but also real responsibility.
The central question of the session was clear and compelling: how do we ensure that the green revolution unfolding across the Highlands truly gives back to the people and places at its heart?
As Highland CIC marks five years, the discussion reflected on what makes its approach different. At its core is a deliberate effort to connect two of the region’s most influential sectors: a long-established tourism economy and a rapidly expanding renewables industry. Historically, these sectors have largely operated in parallel. Highland CIC is working to bring them into active collaboration – not simply for networking, but to shape a new regional model where growth strengthens social and environmental investment.
For decades, parts of the tourism economy have operated on fragile foundations, creating environmental and community strain on infrastructure, housing and local services. At the same time, renewable energy investment is reshaping landscapes and local economies at pace. The opportunity now is alignment: ensuring that inward investment and economic expansion contribute to long-term social, environmental and economic resilience.
Several key themes emerged during the discussion. First, data matters. If communities are to influence priorities and measure impact, they need transparent, credible information. Evidence builds trust and ensures ESG moves beyond reporting into genuine accountability. Second, scale matters. The level of renewable investment flowing into the Highlands represents a once-in-a-generation opportunity. Thinking strategically – not project by project – opens the door to long-term community wealth-building mechanisms that endure beyond individual developments.
Innovation was another strong thread. Continuing to grow Highland CIC creates space to challenge traditional approaches and address sobering realities, including the fact that 9,500 children in the Highlands are currently living in poverty. The energy transition must address social outcomes as well as environmental ones. Collaboration, above all, was recognised as essential. Knowledge-sharing between developers, businesses and communities cannot be an afterthought; it needs to be embedded early and sustained over time. No single community, business or developer can address the scale of the challenges and the opportunity we face in the Highlands.
A significant focus of the conversation was moving beyond compliance-led ESG frameworks toward purpose-driven partnerships. One idea explored – this is happening was the potential creation of a Strategic or Solidarity Fund – a vehicle capable of attracting social and environmental investment at scale, ensuring renewable development leaves a measurable and lasting legacy for Highland communities. Importantly, this is not a finished model. Consultation and engagement will shape what comes next.
Recently, a major step was taken towards securing millions of pounds of long-term investment to support sustainable development in the Highlands, following the appointment of an expert steering group by Highland CIC to drive forward the next phase of the initiative.
The Highland Sustainable Investment Fund will focus on attracting both institutional and private investment into sustainable development projects across the region. The group will devise the most effective model for the Fund, ensuring stringent governance, an ambitious and effective operating model and pan-Highland representation.
The Fund is being designed to build on the unique collaboration between tourism and renewables and alongside a coordinated, place-based and long-term response to the opportunities and pressures associated with sustainable development during this transformational time in the Highlands.
Highland CIC is five years old and has become a platform for coordinated, community-led transformation. The challenges facing the Highlands are real. But so is the opportunity to design a regional economy that gives more than it takes.
Shared responsibility. Shared opportunity. Shared legacy.
This is the beginning of a new chapter for the Highlands – collaborative, inclusive and firmly rooted in place.
We invite businesses, groups, community trusts and all those who are stakeholders in the future of the Highlands to get in touch. There are lots of ways you and your organisation can get involved. To find out more about our events, workshops, projects, Highland Renewables Network sponsorship, becoming an Ambassador or to discuss how you feel we can work together. Please email info@highlandcic.org