Sustainable Ventures SEIS Impact Fund
SRI Style:
Sustainable Style
SDR Labelling:
Sustainability Impact label
Product:
VCT/EIS/SEIS
Fund Region:
UK
Fund Asset Type:
Equity
Launch Date:
31/01/2025
Last Amended:
Jul 2026
Dialshifter (
):
Fund/Portfolio Size:
£8.00m
(as at: 14/07/2026)
Total Screened Themed SRI Assets:
£20.00m
(as at: 30/06/2026)
Total Responsible Ownership Assets:
£20.00m
(as at: 30/06/2026)
Total Assets Under Management:
£20.00m
(as at: 30/06/2026)
Contact Us:
Objectives:
The Sustainable Ventures SEIS & EIS Impact funds target UK-based pre-seed or seed stage startups that are tackling key sustainability challenges. The funds seek IP-rich startups and spinouts that have the capacity to deliver venture scale returns and help all facets of industry to decarbonise. The investment thesis believes that material impact will go hand in hand with commercial scale so there is a focus on those technologies that have the potential to disrupt existing carbon-heavy energy systems and manufacturing or production processes. The funds have adopted the Sustainability Impact label under the FCA’s disclosure regime, which means they have a specific intention to deliver impact, whilst embedding impact assessment into the decision making process and obligating detailed post investment reporting of key impact metrics.
Sustainable, Responsible
&/or ESG Overview:
The funds target early-stage startups that can deliver venture scale financial returns and as a consequence of their commercial scale, have the potential to deliver meaningful decarbonisation impact in their industry. The funds consider technologies across energy, agri-tech, built environment, mobility and circular economy applications, but focus on startups that benefit from a strong suite of IP, often derived from academic research. Whilst AI is an important consideration for all companies that the funds back, the focus is on hard-tech/ manufacturing and advanced material applications that can deliver impact at scale. The funds also have a strong track-record of supporting underrepresented founders, with 65% of portfolio companies having at least 1 underrepresented founder. The companies backed by the fund are very early-stage, almost always pre-revenue at TRL5-7 and therefore the immediate aims of the funds are to deliver commercial products, with impact likely to be delivered when at scale.
Primary fund last amended:
Jul 2026
Information directly from fund manager.
Fund Filters
Sustainability - General
Has a significant focus on sustainability issues
Environmental - General
Has a policy or theme that relates to managing natural resources more efficiently. Strategies vary. See individual entry information.
Has a written policy or theme focused on waste management - typically to support or encouraging higher levels of recycling and better efficiency / reducing waste. Strategies vary.
Nature & Biodiversity
A significant focus on the investments that aim to take better care of the marine environment – both for wildlife and the people whose livelihoods directly depend on it.
Climate Change & Energy
Invest (or may invest) in clean / renewable energy companies and other assets. The proportion directly or indirectly invested in renewable energy may vary over time.
Has an energy efficiency theme - typically meaning that the manager is focused on investing in organisations that manage - or help others to manage - energy use more carefully and less wastefully - and so reduce greenhouse gas emissions.
Invest in renewable energy companies and / or companies where renewable energy is a significant part of their business. Strategies vary.
Has a policy or theme which sets out their position on investment in companies researching/developing hydrogen as an energy solution.
Social / Employment
Has a written diversity policy – where the manager will aim to select companies with a carefully considered, positive employment standards. This may cover a range of issues including gender, ethnicity, disability, beliefs and sexual orientation.
Meeting Peoples' Basic Needs
Has a theme that may direct investment towards newer forms of food such as plant based meat alternatives. May have one or many themes.
Has a responsible food production or agriculture theme or strand of investment. May have a single or many themes.
Governance & Management
Encourage the companies they invest in to have more diverse board structures (e.g. more women on boards)
Aim to encourage higher ESG standards through responsible ownership / stewardship / engagement /voting activity
Targeted Positive Investments
Invests >25% of their capital in companies where a major part of their business is focused on helping to address environmental or social challenges.
Invests >50% of their capital in companies where a major part of their business is focused on helping to address environmental or social challenges.
Impact Methodologies
Has policies that aim to help or support the delivery of positive social or environmental impacts (or societal/real world outcomes) by investing in companies they regard as beneficial to people and / or the planet. Strategies vary.
Aims to measure the positive real world environmental and / or social benefits that are associated with their investment strategy. Investments that aim to deliver positive impacts and measure those impacts may be referred to as 'Impact' - although impact measurement is not restricted to Impact investments. Strategies vary.
Investments which are specifically marketed as ‘Impact investments' and work to deliver both financial performance and specific, measurable positive, real world social and/or environmental benefits. Strategies vary.
Specifically sets out to help deliver positive environmental impacts, benefits or 'real world' outcomes.
Directs investment towards companies where a major part of their business is about solving environmental challenges. e.g. companies helping to address climate change.
Specifically sets out to invest in companies that are regarded as 'disrupting' existing business practices - typically through the development of innovative (sustainability aware) products and/or practices.
Aims to deliver positive environmental and or social impacts (real world benefits) through its engagement with investee assets
Invests more than 50% of capital in assets which are regarded as being significantly focused on providing solutions to environmental or social challenges. Strategies vary.
Policy explains the ways in which the manager believes things need to change in order to deliver a more sustainable future, which they are working to help achieve.
How The Fund/Portfolio Works
Has principle approach to apply positive or negative ethical, social and / or environmental screens. Strictly screened investments are likely to exclude more companies than other related options. Strategies vary.
Unscreened Assets & Cash
Holds between 70-79% of assets which align to the sustainability objectives; which are not being held purely for risk management purposes, such as derivatives and cash equivalent assets.
Holds between 80-89% of assets which align to the sustainability objectives; which are not being held purely for risk management purposes, such as derivatives and cash equivalent assets.
Holds at least 90% of assets which align to the sustainability objectives; which are not being held purely for risk management purposes, such as derivatives and cash equivalent assets.
Only invests in cash to aid the practical management (buying and selling) of assets and so do not use additional financial instruments.
All assets - except cash - meet the sustainability criteria published in strategy documentation.
Labels & Accreditations
Find options that have chosen to adopt one of the Financial Conduct Authority (FCA) SDR labels. Please note: there are a range of reasons why potentially relevant options may not use an SDR label eg. adopting a label may be work in progress, the manager may not yet be allowed to do so because of the product type, a manager may feel they are insufficiently aligned to SDR requirements.
Fund Management Company Information
About The Business
Find fund / asset management companies (or subsidiaries) that specialise in - or focus entirely on - investing in assets that are helping to deliver positive environmental and / or social impacts.
Find fund / asset managers that vote all* the shares they own at Annual General Meetings and Extraordinary General Meetings. A commitment to voting shares is a key indicator of 'responsible share ownership' demonstrating their support for or disagreement with management policy. (*situations can legitimately, occasionally occur where voting proves impossible, but in principle all shares should be voted.)
The leadership team of this fund / asset manager have performance targets linked to environmental goals.
Find fund / asset management companies that consider environmental, social and governance (ESG) issues when deciding whether or not to invest in a company for all / almost all of their funds and other assets. This is increasingly seen as part of sound risk management.
Finds organisations / fund managers that have an in-house (company wide) diversity improvement programme - meaning that they are working to ensure that within their own businesses they employ people from diverse backgrounds - often typically focused on ethnicity and/or sex.
Find fund / asset management companies that encourage the companies they invest in to have strong diversity, race, gender and other equality policies across all assets held, not simply screened or themed SRI/ESG funds. (ie Asset Management company wide).
Collaborations & Affiliations
Fund management entity is a member of the Investment Association https://www.theia.org/
Resources
Find fund / asset management companies that employ people to steer and support fund managers in voting shares at company AGM's and EGMs in ways that are consistent with encouraging higher ESG/sustainability standards.
Find fund / asset management companies that makes use of expert external research companies. This can help deliver specialist expertise and means resources are pooled with other investors.
Finds organisations / fund managers that have one or more ESG/sustainability experts on all investment teams or 'desks' (all asset types)
Accreditations
Find fund / asset managers that are signatories to the FRC UK Stewardship Code, which sets out a framework for constructive investor / investee relations where managers are encouraged to behave like responsible, typically longer term 'company owners'.
Engagement Approach
Find fund / asset management companies that regularly initiate or run industry wide (collaborative) investor projects aimed at raising environmental, social and governance standards amongst investee companies.
Fund / asset manager has a stewardship /responsible ownership strategy that involves working with fossil fuel companies on climate change related issues. See fund manager website for details.
Fund / asset manager has stewardship /responsible ownership strategy with involves encouraging investee asset to reduce plastic waste and pollution.
The fund / asset manager has a responsible ownership / stewardship strategy that focuses on biodiversity and nature issues relating to the assets they invest the aim of which will be to reduce harm and or deliver improvement. Strategies vary. https://tnfd.global
Fund / asset management company has a stewardship strategy in place which involves working to raise diversity, equality and inclusion standards across investee assets
Has a stewardship / responsible ownership strategy that encourages responsible supply chain - ie the managers will discuss environmental, social and governance issues with investee companies with the aim of raising standards
Working to address sustainability, ESG and related concerns around artificial intelligence.
Company Wide Exclusions
Find fund / asset management companies (not funds) that avoid investment in 'controversial weapons' across all of their funds and other investment vehicles.
Find fund / asset management companies that avoid investment in tobacco (manufacturing) companies across all their assets.
Find fund / asset management companies that avoid investment in fossil fuel companies (e.g. coal, oil and gas) across all of their funds. (and/ or other assets.)
This fund / asset manager has a strategy in place that will lead them to exit direct investments in the coal mining industry. Managers ability to do this may depend on the geographic regions in which they invest.
This fund / asset manager excludes direct investment in the coal mining industry. Managers ability to do this may depend on the geographic regions in which they invest.
Fund / asset management company excludes companies with fossil fuel reserves across all assets / funds
Fund / asset management company excludes assets with significant involvement in the nuclear industry - across all funds. Strategies vary.
Climate & Net Zero Transition
Fund / asset management organisations that have pledged to reduce their greenhouse gas emissions to ‘net zero’. Strategies vary - this area is changing rapidly.
Find fund / asset management companies that are working with the companies they invest in to encourage reductions in carbon dioxide and other greenhouse gas emissions.
Finds organisations / fund management companies that are in the process of working out how to make a ‘net zero commitment’ - meaning that when that is finalised they will have started the process of reducing their total greenhouse gas emissions to 'zero'.
See https://sciencebasedtargets.org/
Transparency
Find fund / asset management companies that will supply information about their sustainable and responsible investment activity on request.
Sustainable, Responsible &/or ESG Policy:
The funds effectively operate an impact stage gate – if companies cannot demonstrate potential decarbonisation impact, then they are excluded from consideration. The Funds’ objective is to invest in a diversified portfolio of start-ups with outsized growth potential, strong defensible IP and initial market traction with the aim of developing and scaling their innovative solutions to both generate financial returns for investors and make a substantial contribution to the EU Taxonomy’s Environmental Objectives.
The Funds’ sustainability objective is to enable the development and scaling of innovative solutions that address defined environmental challenges, by investing in early-stage companies aligned with one or more of the EU Taxonomy environmental objectives and supporting their progress towards delivering measurable positive environmental impact over time. For the purposes of the Sustainability Impact label, this objective is articulated by reference to six environmental sustainability themes aligned to the EU Taxonomy. The Funds seek to invest in companies whose core business activities, when scaled, have the potential to contribute positively to one or more of these environmental objectives.
The six objectives defined under the EU Taxonomy comprise:
- Climate change mitigation.
- Climate change adaptation.
- Sustainable use and protection of water and marine resources.
- Transition to a circular economy.
- Pollution prevention and control.
- Protection and restoration of biodiversity and ecosystems.
The Funds apply an ex-ante screening requirement such that all investments are assessed prior to investment for alignment with the sustainability objective. Alignment with the sustainability objective is determined by reference to the potential of the Investee Company, at scale, to make a significant contribution to one or more EU Taxonomy environmental objectives, and by an assessment of risks of significant environmental or social harm. Each assessment is documented in the investment paper and approved through the Investment Committee process.
These Funds will not invest in any business where:
- Contributing to one or more of the six sustainability objectives listed above is not central to their business model.
- Sustainable Ventures believes there is a risk that the operations of the company will cause significant harm to any of the other six objectives.
- The operations of the company may infringe on the Minimum Safeguards found in the European Union’s Sustainable Finance Framework.
Process:
Delivery of impact is fundamental to the investment thesis of the funds and therefore impact assessment is embedded in the due diligence process from day 1 and developed in the post-investment phase to maximise the chances of success. The potential for impact acts as an initial stage gate for the 2,000 opportunities screened each year, with a more detailed due diligence process undertaken for those opportunities with regarded as having the highest potential (impact and commercial).
For each sustainability theme, the Funds identify the intended positive environmental outcome relevant to the investee company's activities and assesses progress towards that outcome using company-specific impact indicators aligned to the relevant EU Taxonomy objective. Given the early-stage nature of portfolio companies, the selection and application of impact indicators is undertaken on a company-by-company basis and may evolve over time as products and services are developed, deployed and as reliable data becomes available. This process is led internally by the deal team, who must report on key findings and propose measurable metrics as part of the investment committee decision process. Ultimately the investment committee has the final decision making power, but is bound by the obligations and parameters outlined in the governing documents of the funds (which limit investments to those that meet the impact criteria noted above).
Once capital has been provided, the funds then provide active support to early-stage companies to develop, deploy and scale solutions intended to deliver positive environmental outcomes. These outcomes are expected to arise as portfolio companies’ products and services are adopted by customers, leading to measurable environmental improvements, such as reductions in greenhouse gas emissions or improved resource efficiency. The EU Taxonomy is used as an external reference framework to assess whether prospective portfolio companies have the potential, at scale, to make a significant contribution to defined environmental objectives, providing an objective and internationally recognised basis for linking the Fund’s sustainability objective to anticipated environmental outcomes. This support is led by the Investor Director, supported by the wider team.
In pursuing the sustainability objective, the Funds recognise that early-stage company strategies and products may evolve over time and that anticipated environmental or social benefits may not always be realised as expected, or indeed that negative environmental or social outcomes may arise as the business develops. Given the early-stage nature of the Fund's investments, companies may face governance, operational or supply-chain challenges that could give rise to environmental or social risks if not appropriately managed. The Funds manage emerging ESG risks through ongoing stewardship, including decisions on further funding and support. Where an investee ceases to be capable of delivering expected impact or where there is a significant negative outcome, the Fund does not commit to divestment but rather applies its existing escalation process.
FuturePlus is used as part of the Fund’s due-diligence process to identify ESG risks, capability gaps and stewardship priorities, and to inform the assessment of an Investee Company’s sustainability characteristics by reference to EU-Taxonomy-aligned objectives, rather than operating as mechanistic scoring or pass/fail criteria for investment eligibility. These scores are tracked and evaluated post-investment, and help to inform company level KPIs to ensure each has the characteristics that both later stage funders and potential customers are looking for, in terms of management of material environmental, social and governance (“ESG”) factors. This is done to help mitigate funding and adoption risk for each company as well as to work towards the Fund’s commitment to equity, diversity and inclusion both in its own operations and, to the extent this can be influenced, that of its Investee Companies.
Resources, Affiliations & Corporate Strategies:
We have significant internal sustainability expertise within the investment team and at investment committee level., augmented by collaborating with the Future+ team. The Board is ultimately responsible for delivering impact and for setting the overarching strategy, including allocation of resources. All team and board members receive regular impact training to support best practice and understand new trends within the impact field. The parent company itself has produced impact reports on a bi-yearly basis for a number of years and it goes to the heart of the whole organisation.
Dialshifter
‘This fund is helping to ‘shift the dial from brown to green’ by…’
...supporting startups that have the highest potential to decarbonise the energy and heavy manufacturing industries, which remain the main source of emissions and are in most need to new technologies to support their shift to net zero.
SDR Labelling:
Sustainability Impact label
Key Performance Indicators:
The EU taxonomy is used as the basis for developing Investee Company level KPIs, to help ensure that as they grow, they remain focused on clear sustainability objectives and develop strong ESG practices. The Funds use a defined combination of fund-level and portfolio company-specific key performance indicators (KPIs) to monitor and evidence progress towards its sustainability objective, reflecting the early-stage nature of its investments.
At the Fund level, KPIs are used to assess the Fund’s contribution to enabling sustainability impact, including the provision of capital, active stewardship, mentoring support and support for portfolio companies to strengthen ESG practices and progress towards commercial scale. These KPIs are intended to measure the effectiveness of the Fund’s role in enabling impact, rather than to represent realised environmental outcomes, which are largely likely to arise beyond the ownership period of these funds.
At the portfolio company level, impact KPIs are defined on a company-specific basis and aligned to the relevant EU Taxonomy environmental objective. Given the early-stage nature of many investments, such KPIs are typically applied once products or services are sufficiently developed and deployed for meaningful data to be available. The Fund does not aggregate company-level impact KPIs across the portfolio, recognising the heterogeneity of environmental objectives and impact pathways.
Fund KPIs
The goal of Sustainable Ventures activities is to help companies that are developing technology solutions to solve sustainability challenges to scale successfully. This enables Investee Companies to meet procurement criteria for larger customers and sources of follow-on funding, improving their likelihood of achieving commercial scale and allowing them to deliver more impact, whilst doing no significant harm.
The value of the non-financial mentoring support Sustainable Ventures provides to the Investee Companies is a key element of the Fund’s theory of change and is potentially a major differentiator with other less ‘hands on’ EIS funds. Therefore, the product level KPIs include:
- Hours of Tailored Mentoring Services Provided including ESG training.
- Total Funds Deployed – (GBP invested and additional funding raised).
- Speed of Scaling (Average % of valuation growth per annum).
- Sustainability readiness (Based on the improvement in their Future Plus score).
Company KPIs
As a condition of Investment, the Fund will agree a small number of KPIs with each Investee Company relating to the commercial and sustainability outcomes that they aim to achieve. Examples might include:
- Reduction in the CO2e emissions from production processes.
- Improved air quality and ventilation in buildings.
- Reduction in resource consumption and waste through digitisation, reuse of materials or increased availability and uptake of biomaterials.
- Increased availability of affordable low carbon energy and reduced dependency for homes on fossil fuels.
- More efficient use of scarce resources, in the development and delivery of products and services.
The Funds will support Investee Companies in setting appropriate key performance indicators, identifying and collecting the relevant data and reporting through the Future Plus platform. Given the early stage of many of these businesses, Investee Companies will be given up to 12 months from first Investment to have this reporting in place.
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SDR Literature:
Fund Holdings
| Fund Name | SRI Style | SDR Labelling | Product | Region | Asset Type | Launch Date | Last Amended |
|
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Sustainable Ventures SEIS Impact Fund |
Sustainable Style | Sustainability Impact label | VCT/EIS/SEIS | UK | Equity | 31/01/2025 | Jul 2026 | |
ObjectivesThe Sustainable Ventures SEIS & EIS Impact funds target UK-based pre-seed or seed stage startups that are tackling key sustainability challenges. The funds seek IP-rich startups and spinouts that have the capacity to deliver venture scale returns and help all facets of industry to decarbonise. The investment thesis believes that material impact will go hand in hand with commercial scale so there is a focus on those technologies that have the potential to disrupt existing carbon-heavy energy systems and manufacturing or production processes. The funds have adopted the Sustainability Impact label under the FCA’s disclosure regime, which means they have a specific intention to deliver impact, whilst embedding impact assessment into the decision making process and obligating detailed post investment reporting of key impact metrics. |
Fund/Portfolio Size: £8.00m (as at: 14/07/2026) Total Screened Themed SRI Assets: £20.00m (as at: 30/06/2026) Total Responsible Ownership Assets: £20.00m (as at: 30/06/2026) Total Assets Under Management: £20.00m (as at: 30/06/2026) Contact Us: investors@sustainableventures.co.uk |
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Sustainable, Responsible &/or ESG OverviewThe funds target early-stage startups that can deliver venture scale financial returns and as a consequence of their commercial scale, have the potential to deliver meaningful decarbonisation impact in their industry. The funds consider technologies across energy, agri-tech, built environment, mobility and circular economy applications, but focus on startups that benefit from a strong suite of IP, often derived from academic research. Whilst AI is an important consideration for all companies that the funds back, the focus is on hard-tech/ manufacturing and advanced material applications that can deliver impact at scale. The funds also have a strong track-record of supporting underrepresented founders, with 65% of portfolio companies having at least 1 underrepresented founder. The companies backed by the fund are very early-stage, almost always pre-revenue at TRL5-7 and therefore the immediate aims of the funds are to deliver commercial products, with impact likely to be delivered when at scale. |
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Primary fund last amended: Jul 2026 |
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Information received directly from Fund Manager |
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Fund FiltersSustainability - General
Sustainability focus
Has a significant focus on sustainability issues Environmental - General
Resource efficiency policy or theme
Has a policy or theme that relates to managing natural resources more efficiently. Strategies vary. See individual entry information.
Waste management policy or theme
Has a written policy or theme focused on waste management - typically to support or encouraging higher levels of recycling and better efficiency / reducing waste. Strategies vary. Nature & Biodiversity
Blue economy theme or focus
A significant focus on the investments that aim to take better care of the marine environment – both for wildlife and the people whose livelihoods directly depend on it. Climate Change & Energy
Clean / renewable energy theme or focus
Invest (or may invest) in clean / renewable energy companies and other assets. The proportion directly or indirectly invested in renewable energy may vary over time.
Energy efficiency theme
Has an energy efficiency theme - typically meaning that the manager is focused on investing in organisations that manage - or help others to manage - energy use more carefully and less wastefully - and so reduce greenhouse gas emissions.
Invests in clean energy / renewables
Invest in renewable energy companies and / or companies where renewable energy is a significant part of their business. Strategies vary.
Hydrogen policy or theme
Has a policy or theme which sets out their position on investment in companies researching/developing hydrogen as an energy solution. Social / Employment
Diversity, equality & inclusion Policy (product level)
Has a written diversity policy – where the manager will aim to select companies with a carefully considered, positive employment standards. This may cover a range of issues including gender, ethnicity, disability, beliefs and sexual orientation. Meeting Peoples' Basic Needs
Plant based / smart food production theme
Has a theme that may direct investment towards newer forms of food such as plant based meat alternatives. May have one or many themes.
Responsible food production or agriculture theme
Has a responsible food production or agriculture theme or strand of investment. May have a single or many themes. Governance & Management
Encourage board diversity e.g. gender
Encourage the companies they invest in to have more diverse board structures (e.g. more women on boards)
Encourage higher ESG standards through stewardship activity
Aim to encourage higher ESG standards through responsible ownership / stewardship / engagement /voting activity Targeted Positive Investments
Invests >25% in environmental / social solutions companies
Invests >25% of their capital in companies where a major part of their business is focused on helping to address environmental or social challenges.
Invests >50% of fund in environmental / social solutions companies
Invests >50% of their capital in companies where a major part of their business is focused on helping to address environmental or social challenges. Impact Methodologies
Aims to generate positive impacts (or 'outcomes')
Has policies that aim to help or support the delivery of positive social or environmental impacts (or societal/real world outcomes) by investing in companies they regard as beneficial to people and / or the planet. Strategies vary.
Measures positive impacts
Aims to measure the positive real world environmental and / or social benefits that are associated with their investment strategy. Investments that aim to deliver positive impacts and measure those impacts may be referred to as 'Impact' - although impact measurement is not restricted to Impact investments. Strategies vary.
Described as an ‘impact investment’
Investments which are specifically marketed as ‘Impact investments' and work to deliver both financial performance and specific, measurable positive, real world social and/or environmental benefits. Strategies vary.
Positive environmental impact theme
Specifically sets out to help deliver positive environmental impacts, benefits or 'real world' outcomes.
Invests in environmental solutions companies
Directs investment towards companies where a major part of their business is about solving environmental challenges. e.g. companies helping to address climate change.
Invests in sustainability / ESG disruptors
Specifically sets out to invest in companies that are regarded as 'disrupting' existing business practices - typically through the development of innovative (sustainability aware) products and/or practices.
Aim to deliver positive impacts through engagement
Aims to deliver positive environmental and or social impacts (real world benefits) through its engagement with investee assets
Over 50% in assets providing environmental or social ‘solutions’
Invests more than 50% of capital in assets which are regarded as being significantly focused on providing solutions to environmental or social challenges. Strategies vary.
Publish ‘Theory of Change’ explanation
Policy explains the ways in which the manager believes things need to change in order to deliver a more sustainable future, which they are working to help achieve. How The Fund/Portfolio Works
Strictly screened ethical investment
Has principle approach to apply positive or negative ethical, social and / or environmental screens. Strictly screened investments are likely to exclude more companies than other related options. Strategies vary. Unscreened Assets & Cash
Assets typically aligned to sustainability objectives 70 - 79%
Holds between 70-79% of assets which align to the sustainability objectives; which are not being held purely for risk management purposes, such as derivatives and cash equivalent assets.
Assets typically aligned to sustainability objectives 80 – 89%
Holds between 80-89% of assets which align to the sustainability objectives; which are not being held purely for risk management purposes, such as derivatives and cash equivalent assets.
Assets typically aligned to sustainability objectives > 90%
Holds at least 90% of assets which align to the sustainability objectives; which are not being held purely for risk management purposes, such as derivatives and cash equivalent assets.
No ‘diversifiers’ used other than cash
Only invests in cash to aid the practical management (buying and selling) of assets and so do not use additional financial instruments.
All assets (except cash) meet published sustainability criteria
All assets - except cash - meet the sustainability criteria published in strategy documentation. Labels & Accreditations
SDR Labelled
Find options that have chosen to adopt one of the Financial Conduct Authority (FCA) SDR labels. Please note: there are a range of reasons why potentially relevant options may not use an SDR label eg. adopting a label may be work in progress, the manager may not yet be allowed to do so because of the product type, a manager may feel they are insufficiently aligned to SDR requirements. Fund Management Company InformationAbout The Business
Specialist positive impact fund management company
Find fund / asset management companies (or subsidiaries) that specialise in - or focus entirely on - investing in assets that are helping to deliver positive environmental and / or social impacts.
Vote all* shares at AGMs / EGMs (AFM companywide)
Find fund / asset managers that vote all* the shares they own at Annual General Meetings and Extraordinary General Meetings. A commitment to voting shares is a key indicator of 'responsible share ownership' demonstrating their support for or disagreement with management policy. (*situations can legitimately, occasionally occur where voting proves impossible, but in principle all shares should be voted.)
Senior management KPIs include environmental goals (AFM companywide)
The leadership team of this fund / asset manager have performance targets linked to environmental goals.
Integrates ESG factors into all / most research (AFM companywide)
Find fund / asset management companies that consider environmental, social and governance (ESG) issues when deciding whether or not to invest in a company for all / almost all of their funds and other assets. This is increasingly seen as part of sound risk management.
In-house diversity improvement programme (AFM companywide)
Finds organisations / fund managers that have an in-house (company wide) diversity improvement programme - meaning that they are working to ensure that within their own businesses they employ people from diverse backgrounds - often typically focused on ethnicity and/or sex.
Diversity, equality & inclusion engagement policy (AFM companywide)
Find fund / asset management companies that encourage the companies they invest in to have strong diversity, race, gender and other equality policies across all assets held, not simply screened or themed SRI/ESG funds. (ie Asset Management company wide). Collaborations & Affiliations
Investment Association (IA) member
Fund management entity is a member of the Investment Association https://www.theia.org/ Resources
In-house responsible ownership / voting expertise
Find fund / asset management companies that employ people to steer and support fund managers in voting shares at company AGM's and EGMs in ways that are consistent with encouraging higher ESG/sustainability standards.
Use specialist ESG / SRI / sustainability research companies
Find fund / asset management companies that makes use of expert external research companies. This can help deliver specialist expertise and means resources are pooled with other investors.
ESG specialists on all investment desks (AFM companywide)
Finds organisations / fund managers that have one or more ESG/sustainability experts on all investment teams or 'desks' (all asset types) Accreditations
UK Stewardship Code signatory (AFM companywide)
Find fund / asset managers that are signatories to the FRC UK Stewardship Code, which sets out a framework for constructive investor / investee relations where managers are encouraged to behave like responsible, typically longer term 'company owners'. Engagement Approach
Regularly lead collaborative ESG initiatives (AFM companywide)
Find fund / asset management companies that regularly initiate or run industry wide (collaborative) investor projects aimed at raising environmental, social and governance standards amongst investee companies.
Engaging with fossil fuel companies on climate change
Fund / asset manager has a stewardship /responsible ownership strategy that involves working with fossil fuel companies on climate change related issues. See fund manager website for details.
Engaging to reduce plastics pollution / waste
Fund / asset manager has stewardship /responsible ownership strategy with involves encouraging investee asset to reduce plastic waste and pollution.
Engaging on biodiversity / nature issues
The fund / asset manager has a responsible ownership / stewardship strategy that focuses on biodiversity and nature issues relating to the assets they invest the aim of which will be to reduce harm and or deliver improvement. Strategies vary. https://tnfd.global
Engaging on diversity, equality & / or inclusion issues
Fund / asset management company has a stewardship strategy in place which involves working to raise diversity, equality and inclusion standards across investee assets
Engaging on responsible supply chain issues
Has a stewardship / responsible ownership strategy that encourages responsible supply chain - ie the managers will discuss environmental, social and governance issues with investee companies with the aim of raising standards
Engaging on the responsible use of AI
Working to address sustainability, ESG and related concerns around artificial intelligence. Company Wide Exclusions
Controversial weapons avoidance policy (AFM companywide)
Find fund / asset management companies (not funds) that avoid investment in 'controversial weapons' across all of their funds and other investment vehicles.
Tobacco avoidance policy (AFM companywide)
Find fund / asset management companies that avoid investment in tobacco (manufacturing) companies across all their assets.
Fossil fuel exclusion policy (AFM companywide)
Find fund / asset management companies that avoid investment in fossil fuel companies (e.g. coal, oil and gas) across all of their funds. (and/ or other assets.)
Coal divestment policy (AFM companywide)
This fund / asset manager has a strategy in place that will lead them to exit direct investments in the coal mining industry. Managers ability to do this may depend on the geographic regions in which they invest.
Coal exclusion policy (group wide coal mining exclusion policy)
This fund / asset manager excludes direct investment in the coal mining industry. Managers ability to do this may depend on the geographic regions in which they invest.
Do not invest in companies with fossil fuel reserves
Fund / asset management company excludes companies with fossil fuel reserves across all assets / funds
Nuclear exclusion policy (AFM companywide)
Fund / asset management company excludes assets with significant involvement in the nuclear industry - across all funds. Strategies vary. Climate & Net Zero Transition
Net Zero commitment (AFM companywide)
Fund / asset management organisations that have pledged to reduce their greenhouse gas emissions to ‘net zero’. Strategies vary - this area is changing rapidly.
Encourage carbon / greenhouse gas reduction (AFM companywide)
Find fund / asset management companies that are working with the companies they invest in to encourage reductions in carbon dioxide and other greenhouse gas emissions.
Working towards a ‘Net Zero’ commitment (AFM companywide)
Finds organisations / fund management companies that are in the process of working out how to make a ‘net zero commitment’ - meaning that when that is finalised they will have started the process of reducing their total greenhouse gas emissions to 'zero'.
Committed to SBTi / Science Based Targets Initiative
See https://sciencebasedtargets.org/ Transparency
Full stewardship / responsible ownership policy information available on request
Find fund / asset management companies that will supply information about their sustainable and responsible investment activity on request. Sustainable, Responsible &/or ESG Policy:The funds effectively operate an impact stage gate – if companies cannot demonstrate potential decarbonisation impact, then they are excluded from consideration. The Funds’ objective is to invest in a diversified portfolio of start-ups with outsized growth potential, strong defensible IP and initial market traction with the aim of developing and scaling their innovative solutions to both generate financial returns for investors and make a substantial contribution to the EU Taxonomy’s Environmental Objectives. The Funds’ sustainability objective is to enable the development and scaling of innovative solutions that address defined environmental challenges, by investing in early-stage companies aligned with one or more of the EU Taxonomy environmental objectives and supporting their progress towards delivering measurable positive environmental impact over time. For the purposes of the Sustainability Impact label, this objective is articulated by reference to six environmental sustainability themes aligned to the EU Taxonomy. The Funds seek to invest in companies whose core business activities, when scaled, have the potential to contribute positively to one or more of these environmental objectives. The six objectives defined under the EU Taxonomy comprise:
The Funds apply an ex-ante screening requirement such that all investments are assessed prior to investment for alignment with the sustainability objective. Alignment with the sustainability objective is determined by reference to the potential of the Investee Company, at scale, to make a significant contribution to one or more EU Taxonomy environmental objectives, and by an assessment of risks of significant environmental or social harm. Each assessment is documented in the investment paper and approved through the Investment Committee process. These Funds will not invest in any business where:
Process:Delivery of impact is fundamental to the investment thesis of the funds and therefore impact assessment is embedded in the due diligence process from day 1 and developed in the post-investment phase to maximise the chances of success. The potential for impact acts as an initial stage gate for the 2,000 opportunities screened each year, with a more detailed due diligence process undertaken for those opportunities with regarded as having the highest potential (impact and commercial). For each sustainability theme, the Funds identify the intended positive environmental outcome relevant to the investee company's activities and assesses progress towards that outcome using company-specific impact indicators aligned to the relevant EU Taxonomy objective. Given the early-stage nature of portfolio companies, the selection and application of impact indicators is undertaken on a company-by-company basis and may evolve over time as products and services are developed, deployed and as reliable data becomes available. This process is led internally by the deal team, who must report on key findings and propose measurable metrics as part of the investment committee decision process. Ultimately the investment committee has the final decision making power, but is bound by the obligations and parameters outlined in the governing documents of the funds (which limit investments to those that meet the impact criteria noted above). Once capital has been provided, the funds then provide active support to early-stage companies to develop, deploy and scale solutions intended to deliver positive environmental outcomes. These outcomes are expected to arise as portfolio companies’ products and services are adopted by customers, leading to measurable environmental improvements, such as reductions in greenhouse gas emissions or improved resource efficiency. The EU Taxonomy is used as an external reference framework to assess whether prospective portfolio companies have the potential, at scale, to make a significant contribution to defined environmental objectives, providing an objective and internationally recognised basis for linking the Fund’s sustainability objective to anticipated environmental outcomes. This support is led by the Investor Director, supported by the wider team. In pursuing the sustainability objective, the Funds recognise that early-stage company strategies and products may evolve over time and that anticipated environmental or social benefits may not always be realised as expected, or indeed that negative environmental or social outcomes may arise as the business develops. Given the early-stage nature of the Fund's investments, companies may face governance, operational or supply-chain challenges that could give rise to environmental or social risks if not appropriately managed. The Funds manage emerging ESG risks through ongoing stewardship, including decisions on further funding and support. Where an investee ceases to be capable of delivering expected impact or where there is a significant negative outcome, the Fund does not commit to divestment but rather applies its existing escalation process. FuturePlus is used as part of the Fund’s due-diligence process to identify ESG risks, capability gaps and stewardship priorities, and to inform the assessment of an Investee Company’s sustainability characteristics by reference to EU-Taxonomy-aligned objectives, rather than operating as mechanistic scoring or pass/fail criteria for investment eligibility. These scores are tracked and evaluated post-investment, and help to inform company level KPIs to ensure each has the characteristics that both later stage funders and potential customers are looking for, in terms of management of material environmental, social and governance (“ESG”) factors. This is done to help mitigate funding and adoption risk for each company as well as to work towards the Fund’s commitment to equity, diversity and inclusion both in its own operations and, to the extent this can be influenced, that of its Investee Companies. Resources, Affiliations & Corporate Strategies:We have significant internal sustainability expertise within the investment team and at investment committee level., augmented by collaborating with the Future+ team. The Board is ultimately responsible for delivering impact and for setting the overarching strategy, including allocation of resources. All team and board members receive regular impact training to support best practice and understand new trends within the impact field. The parent company itself has produced impact reports on a bi-yearly basis for a number of years and it goes to the heart of the whole organisation. Dialshifter (Fund)‘This fund is helping to ‘shift the dial from brown to green’ by…’ ...supporting startups that have the highest potential to decarbonise the energy and heavy manufacturing industries, which remain the main source of emissions and are in most need to new technologies to support their shift to net zero. Dialshifter (Corporate)‘Our organisation is helping to support the Paris Climate Agreement and the Race to Net Zero by…’ ...providing capital and support to be able to scale promising new technologies that ultimately can help to decarbonise all facets of our economy. This is the entire reason the company exists, with all activity geared towards maximising the chances of success for the founders we back. SDR Labelling:Sustainability Impact label Key Performance Indicators:
The EU taxonomy is used as the basis for developing Investee Company level KPIs, to help ensure that as they grow, they remain focused on clear sustainability objectives and develop strong ESG practices. The Funds use a defined combination of fund-level and portfolio company-specific key performance indicators (KPIs) to monitor and evidence progress towards its sustainability objective, reflecting the early-stage nature of its investments. At the Fund level, KPIs are used to assess the Fund’s contribution to enabling sustainability impact, including the provision of capital, active stewardship, mentoring support and support for portfolio companies to strengthen ESG practices and progress towards commercial scale. These KPIs are intended to measure the effectiveness of the Fund’s role in enabling impact, rather than to represent realised environmental outcomes, which are largely likely to arise beyond the ownership period of these funds. At the portfolio company level, impact KPIs are defined on a company-specific basis and aligned to the relevant EU Taxonomy environmental objective. Given the early-stage nature of many investments, such KPIs are typically applied once products or services are sufficiently developed and deployed for meaningful data to be available. The Fund does not aggregate company-level impact KPIs across the portfolio, recognising the heterogeneity of environmental objectives and impact pathways. Fund KPIs The goal of Sustainable Ventures activities is to help companies that are developing technology solutions to solve sustainability challenges to scale successfully. This enables Investee Companies to meet procurement criteria for larger customers and sources of follow-on funding, improving their likelihood of achieving commercial scale and allowing them to deliver more impact, whilst doing no significant harm. The value of the non-financial mentoring support Sustainable Ventures provides to the Investee Companies is a key element of the Fund’s theory of change and is potentially a major differentiator with other less ‘hands on’ EIS funds. Therefore, the product level KPIs include:
Company KPIs As a condition of Investment, the Fund will agree a small number of KPIs with each Investee Company relating to the commercial and sustainability outcomes that they aim to achieve. Examples might include:
The Funds will support Investee Companies in setting appropriate key performance indicators, identifying and collecting the relevant data and reporting through the Future Plus platform. Given the early stage of many of these businesses, Investee Companies will be given up to 12 months from first Investment to have this reporting in place.
SDR Literature:Fund Holdings |
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