- Invest Europe releases inaugural report tracking industry progress on themes including environmental impact, female participation and combating corruption
- 659 firms, 2,100 funds and 5,895 companies captured
- 77% of surveyed firms had ESG processes, women occupied – on average – 28% of portfolio company board seats
Invest Europe, the association representing Europe’s private equity, venture capital and infrastructure sectors, as well as their investors, today published its inaugural Environmental, Social, Governance (ESG) Key Performance Indicator report, the first study into European private equity and venture capital fund managers’ contribution to themes including environmental impact, female participation in the workforce, and combatting corruption.
The online publication entitled ‘ESG KPI Report: Managing what you measure‘ digs into the issues that really matter to investors, policymakers and the public at large, underlining private equity and venture capital’s attention to climate change, as well as sustainable and responsible investment. Over time, the study will grow to become the benchmark for the European industry’s effort on ESG metrics.
- The ESG KPI report includes data from 659 European private equity and venture capital firms on 2,100 funds and 5,895 companies, based on measurements taken in 2021. Given the level of response the data is not representative of the European industry as a whole yet.
- The findings show that 77% of firms had ESG investment and portfolio management processes, including 90% of buyout firms, demonstrating clear and established industry-wide focus on ESG. Some 31% of portfolio companies had an Environmental Management System in place, 56% of those responding stating they were externally certified.
- Women on average held 38% of full-time equivalent roles at companies in the study and occupied on average 28% of board seats. Furthermore, on governance issues, some seven out of 10 companies had anti-bribery and corruption policies in place.
ESG KPI Report: Managing what you measure is part of an extensive programme by Invest Europe to help members address climate change, as well as key social and governance issues, and transparently show their progress. It goes hand-in-hand with the association’s ESG Reporting Guidelines to set the standard on ESG disclosures to investors and regulators, and joins an extensive library of essential materials that include our ESG Due Diligence guide and Climate Change Guide. The workstream reflects the growing headline risk of weak ESG credentials, and the opportunity for firms and companies with a strong ESG focus to outperform.
Eric de Montgolfier, CEO of Invest Europe, commented:
“Tackling climate change and standing strong on responsible investment themes, such as diversity and zero tolerance to corruption, are among the greatest responsibilities facing the European private equity and venture capital industry.“
“Managing what you measure is an important step for fund managers to track and improve their performance on critical ESG issues.”
“Every journey starts with a decisive step. Managing ESG requires effort, and we recognise that the industry has more to do. However, in time, ESG measurement and reporting will be as routine as tracking financial metrics.”
Invest Europe’s ESG KPI report is the result of collaboration with national associations involved in the European Data Cooperative. The KPIs used were based on metrics currently being used by private equity and venture capital firms across Europe. The data gathered includes specific indicators on scope 1-3 greenhouse gas emissions, the proportion of renewable energy consumption by companies, board seats held by independent directors, and cybersecurity and data privacy measures, among others.
To download and read the ESG KPI Report: Managing what you measure, please click here.
Invest Europe releases inaugural report tracking industry progress on themes including environmental impact, female participation and combating corruption