Investing for a Sustainable Future: SSC invests in exciting new UK/Swedish start-up “GlobalTrust”

SSC invests in a new start-up data analytics business with offices in the UK and Sweden to address some of the most crucial environmental and social issues of the time. GlobalTrust will focus on supporting public policy and corporate social responsibility imperatives that are aligned with societies’ expectations and working towards a better and more sustainable planet.

This initiative is being led by SSC and is supported by the UK’s Satellite Applications Catapult – a government established not-for-profit company with its core mandate focused on promoting and enabling industrial growth in the space sector. On the Swedish side, the collaboration with Luleå University of Technology and the consultancy firm AFRY have been instrumental to form the prerequisites for the development, strongly supported by Region Norrbotten, Kiruna and Luleå communities as well as Sparbanken Norrbotten and Längmanska Företagsfonden.

Recent developments in satellite delivered earth observation including frequent revisits, ever higher resolution imagery and real-time analytics have shown that remote sensing technologies can play a critical role in monitoring and assessing the impact of corporate activities almost anywhere in the world. GlobalTrust shall combine the latest technologies and build upon the excellent market-facing work conducted by the Satellite Applications Catapult in the UK, by creating and operationally providing services in Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR), investor-focused intelligence (i.e. ESG metrics) as well as assisting public sector organizations create and deliver better public policy.

SSC’s CEO Stefan Gardefjord said: “GlobalTrust represents an exciting development for SSC, by providing a focus outside of its core space markets and into a wider range of sectors that have challenges that space technologies can help to solve. This venture therefore represents both the creation of a new business-line within the SSC group, but also supports and encourages growth in the need for high quality space capabilities in SSC’s traditional business activities”.

The Satellite Applications Catapult’s CEO Stuart Martin said: ”The Satellite Applications Catapult was created to stimulate and develop the space sector in the UK, and the formation of new businesses to achieve this goal is an important aspect of our work. GlobalTrust is the latest in a series of very high potential spin-outs from the Catapult, and its clear focus on tackling complex global issues and delivering lasting cultural change in the corporate world aligns strongly with our own vision. I look forward to seeing this new organization develop and deliver significant impact in our rapidly changing world.”

GlobalTrust’s CEO, Dr Richard Hilton said: “We believe that GlobalTrust has emerged right at the critical point when technology, corporate need and societal expectations have collided, and there is now a strong appetite to make positive changes. Therefore, an opportunity for an independent and trusted entity to serve this demand exists. It starts not with just a good idea but builds upon many decades of experience in the space sector and with the Environmental, Social and Governance (ESG) market. GlobalTrust is well placed to hit the ground running in both the UK and Sweden, and we look forward to launching this exciting business endeavor”.

GlobalTrust will begin trading in December 2020 from its UK office, with a Swedish office opening in 2021. Further development is planned as a collaborative effort between the UK and Swedish entities.

Read more about GlobalTrust: www.globaltrustgrp.com