Nick Stoop

Catch Nick on Do Radio: It's Not About Trees with John Lunn 19-25th January 2026.

Nick Stoop is the Founder of Pangaea Impact Investments, a purpose-led investment business focused on redesigning finance so it works for people, planet and long-term value creation.

Nick began his career in mainstream finance, including roles at BlackRock, before a personal discovery changed his direction: his own workplace pension was funding activities fundamentally misaligned with his environmental values. That realisation led him to question how capital is allocated, who gets a say, and why some of the most material climate impacts sit outside traditional decision-making frameworks.

Through Pangaea, Nick works to make impact investing the default, not the exception — particularly in workplace pensions, where he believes everyday savings can become one of the most powerful levers for systemic change. His approach goes beyond traditional ESG screening, focusing instead on positive impact, long-term resilience and transparency.

A lifelong lover of the outdoors, Nick brings a systems perspective to finance, arguing that climate risk, biodiversity loss and social inequality are not externalities but fundamental investment considerations. His work sits at the intersection of finance, sustainability and leadership, helping organisations align capital with the future they want to help create.

Nick is a regular speaker on sustainable finance, pensions and impact investing, and is committed to making complex financial systems more understandable, accountable and human.

Show Notes

In this episode of It’s Not About Trees, John speaks with Nick Stoop, Founder of Pangaea Impact Investments, about one of the most powerful — and least visible — levers in the transition to a sustainable economy: money, and specifically pensions.

Nick’s journey into impact investing began with a personal shock. While working in finance, he discovered that his own workplace pension was funding activities fundamentally misaligned with his environmental values. That moment prompted a deeper question: if our pensions shape the future economy, why are most people excluded from how those decisions are made?

Formerly at BlackRock, Nick went on to found Pangaea with the ambition of redesigning finance so that it works for people and planet by default, not as an optional add-on. In the conversation, he explains why traditional ESG screening is insufficient for the scale of change required, and why positive impact investing — actively backing solutions — is essential.

One of the most striking insights Nick shares is that, for many organisations, the carbon emissions embedded in their workplace pensions can be up to seven times greater than their direct operational emissions. It is a reminder that some of the most material climate impacts sit outside traditional reporting boundaries.

Using the programme’s weather metaphor, Nick describes a sobering forecast: planetary boundaries already breached, oceans absorbing unprecedented heat, and carbon emissions with consequences that stretch across centuries. Yet his outlook is not fatalistic. He points to falling green premiums, regulatory momentum, collaboration across finance, and cultural shifts — including the rise of B Corporations — as signals that change is possible.

Nick also outlines how Pangaea is building a “sustainable-by-default” workplace pension, designed to significantly reduce emissions without sacrificing returns. At its core, this is a conversation about responsibility, transparency, and how redesigning financial systems can unlock progress at scale.

Key Quotes

Favourite Book

The Old Man and the Sea — Ernest Hemingway

Favourite Song

Now We Are Free — Hans Zimmer (Gladiator)

Favourite Quote

“A society grows great when old people plant trees in whose shade they shall never sit.” — Greek proverb