Cleaning Up: Leadership in an Age of Climate Change

Jonathan Maxwell

Jonathan Maxwell Profile Photo

CEO / Sustainable Development Capital

Jonathan Maxwell is the CEO of Sustainable Development Capital (SDCL), an investment firm that set up the UK’s first listed investment trust investing exclusively in energy efficiency - Sustainable Energy Efficiency Income Trust (SEEIT). Jonathan chairs the Trust’s Investment Committee.

Jonathan has over two decades of experience in the financial sector – he spent early days of his career at HSBC Infrastructure and led the IPO process of HICL Infrastructure Company (formerly HSBC Infrastructure Company) – one of the biggest infrastructure funds listed on the London Stock Exchange.

In 2007 he founded Sustainable Development Capital (SDCL), a boutique investment firm specializing in clean energy, energy efficiency and decentralised energy infrastructure projects. He has led the company ever since as the CEO. Jonathan holds a degree in Modern History from Oxford University.

268
July 29, 2026

The Crisis Forcing An Energy Revolution | Ep268: Jonathan Maxwell

The UK is heavily exposed to global energy markets and has some of the highest electricity prices in Europe. At the same time, vast amounts of heat generated across industry and infrastructure go unused. Whether it should be called "waste" is a matter of debate, but could making better use of the energy we already produce be one of the biggest untapped opportunities in the energy transition? This week, Michael Liebreich is joined by Jonathan Maxwell, founder and CEO of SDCL, a specialist inve...
184
Nov. 6, 2024

The Biggest, Dirtiest Secret of the Energy Industry — Ep184: Jonathan Maxwell

Could we save billions by simply reducing energy waste? How can we power the vast, energy-hungry growth of AI without sacrificing climate goals? And is Europe doomed to high energy costs and deindustrialisation? This week on Cleaning Up, Michael Liebreich sits down with Jonathan Maxwell, CEO and founder of Sustainable Development Capital LLP (SDCL), for the third time on Cleaning Up. Jonathan shares his perspective on the urgent need to address energy efficiency and waste, drawing from the th...