VentureESG

🌟 VentureESG - 2024 in Review & Looking Ahead to 2025 🌟 What a year it's been — with so many highlights: - Our global community grew to over 500 funds, with 160+ members, and 100 LPs. - We hosted 125 (!) events this year around the globe. - Our first-ever FRAME conference in London was a huge success and we're already looking forward to FRAME 2025. - Our largest impact: the harmonised reporting template we published with InvestEurope and the biggest European LPs! Looking ahead to 2025, we’re ready to keep the momentum going! - We’re doubling down on emerging markets continuing our partnerships with BII / FMO and GIZ. - The US is our biggest goal for 2025 — reach out if you are keen to connect and work with us. - We will build tools on AI, online trust and safety, carbon emissions, and board guidance in H1 alone. 💡 Want to see what we’ve accomplished and what’s next? Check out our full year-end recap here: https://lnkd.in/edMyg3JH Thanks for being part of this journey—we’re excited for another year of pushing ESG forward, together! 🚀

🌍 Calling all ESG leads at VC funds! We’re running a short, 8-question survey to understand how VC funds are integrating ESG into their internal fund operations. This follows our first survey two years ago, which shed light on where the industry stood. Now, we want to see how far we’ve come and what challenges remain. Take the 2-minute survey here 👉 https://lnkd.in/e7u66cqJ #VentureESG #ESGIntegration #VentureCapital

🇺🇸 Tales from New York: Geopolitics, AI, and the future of responsible investing. Our co-directors Hannah and Johannes recently spent time in the US. The trip showed us how complicated the landscape is for responsible investing, particularly when it comes to AI. Despite the momentum in Europe, the US is still grappling with progress in ESG, especially as geopolitical tensions rise. Key takeaways from our time in NYC: 🎯 Responsible AI is on the agenda—VCs, LPs, and founders are diving into solutions, but difficult questions remain: How do we address biases in AI? Who gets to decide what “truth” AI should reflect? 🎯 Asset owners have a major opportunity to drive change—yet many LPs are unsure how to push forward with governance and due diligence. 🎯 Geopolitical tensions are making responsible investing more urgent—regulation is playing catch-up, but some key voices could be silenced as fear around litigation grows. 🏔️ The biggest challenge? Despite interest, there is a sense of uncertainty in the air, with some stakeholders hesitant to fully commit due to political and regulatory risk. But with a clear focus on governance and stronger collaboration across sectors, there’s still hope for change. As we look to 2025, the question remains: Can the private sector lead the charge on responsible AI and investing in a way that balances innovation and accountability? Read more about our takeaways, from responsible AI to geopolitics, in our latest Medium post: https://lnkd.in/ewZE_RiE

📢 We’re hiring! VentureESG is looking for an Emerging Markets Lead to drive forward our efforts in integrating ESG into Venture Capital across Africa, Latin America, and Asia. You'll design ESG frameworks, deliver training and build a global VC and LP community with partners like British International Investment, FMO - Dutch entrepreneurial development bank and Deutsche Gesellschaft für Internationale Zusammenarbeit (GIZ) GmbH. If you have VC/startup experience in Emerging Markets and an interest for ESG, we’d love to hear from you! More details below - do apply and share! #esg #venturecapital #emergingmarkets

📄 BIG NEWS: ESG reporting harmonisation is finally here!! This template will land in (almost) all European startup inboxes in 2025! Moderated and facilitated by Invest Europe and us, a group of incredibly committed VC LPs - European Investment Fund (EIF), KfW Capital, Enterprise Ireland, Invest-NL, Tesi, Bpifrance, Sixth Swedish National Pension Fund - spent the last 9 months updating and harmonising the ESG Reporting Template. The three most important accomplishments: 📏 PROPORTIONALITY: the release actually includes three templates, for companies with <15, 15-250 and >250 FTE. As a result the reporting burden for early stage companies will decrease next year! 👓 SPECIFICITY: with every KPI, we asked: is this relevant for VCs and their portfolios? While certain regulatory requirements (e.g. SFDR's PAIs) are still not necessarily material, we mostly kicked questions out rather than added any. ⬆️ HARMONISATION: wherever possible, this template is aligned with both European regulation as well as EDCI and ESG_VC. One reporting to rule them all. The result: reporting (measurement) is easier and we can focus on the workout - which is where the real business case is! 🖥️ The template, which we expect to be used by a large number of major LPs for 2024/25 reporting, will also come with a machine-readable format (released as early as next week) to enable harmonisation across software platforms. We are doing a session together next Tuesday - let us know if you are interested in participating and if you have any questions. Read our joint press release here: https://shorturl.at/guHZl

We’ve just released the final VentureESG newsletter of 2024 — and what a year it has been, for us, for ESG, and, more importantly, for the world. As always, this edition pulls together resources and perspectives from our community of 550+ VCs and 100 LPs — a one-stop update on what has happened within both VentureESG and the broader ESG and responsible investing landscape in venture capital. We cover: 🔲 FRAME: a recap and plans for 2025 📚 Our latest research and resources on materiality, portfolio support, the E of ESG, and our ESG game. 🎤 Our recent events on US sentiment, AI governance, and SDR. ✍️ A preview what we have in store in the coming months: LP research, more AI resources, ESG for boards, Scope 3 measurement, and the growth of our APAC and Emerging Markets communities! 🗞️ A collection of news, upcoming events & interesting reads from us and the community. Read the full issue here: https://lnkd.in/eTBezWnb

🚀 Just Launched: Our New White Paper on Dynamic Materiality in Venture Capital ESG factors aren’t one-size-fits-all — they evolve as companies grow, shaped by industry, geography, and maturity. Our latest research, led by our research fellow Mikaela Murekian and supported by the British Business Bank, introduces three resources designed to support VCs: the Materiality Maturity Map and its companion whitepaper as well as a regulation map. Together, they offer practical steps for embedding ESG practices across early-stage startups, scaling companies, and mature organisations. Highlights: 💡 Key insights on the role of dynamic materiality 🔧  Practical guidance using VentureESG’s “Universe of Issues” 📈 A roadmap for aligning ESG with growth Discover how tailoring ESG priorities can unlock sustainable growth and resilience in the whitepaper below. - You can dive straight into the tool here: https://lnkd.in/e8ZryszJ - Find the concise guide for ESG compliance here: https://lnkd.in/e6K5A8N4

🌿 During our webinar last Tuesday on "Is ESG and DEI Dead in the US?", we were joined by three fantastic panelists, each bringing a different perspective to the debate — Matthew Sekol (Microsoft), Karen McCormick (Beringea) and Maximilian Meyer (J.P. Morgan). 🌎 During the session, we delved into the drivers of the ESG backlash in the US, what it means, whether it is a reflection of reality (with the recent PitchBook report suggesting perhaps not), what funds are actually doing, and whether this correction has been a long time coming. 🛠 The key takeaway is that we need a reframing of what ESG is to focus the conversation on material ESG issues: the real drivers of risk reduction and value creation. 📺 If you missed the session, you can watch it on our VentureESG Youtube Channel here: https://lnkd.in/e2pM_Pfh

🌱 Does ESG work for startups? YES, if you focus on the material issues! Some reading to end your week! Whether you manage a big corporate or a small startup, the 🔑 is to start with materiality—focusing on the environmental, social, and governance factors that truly impact your business financially. ❓ Why it matters for companies and investors alike -- For Startups: A material ESG focus builds resilience and long-term viability -- For VCs: Materiality-driven insights lead to better risk management and investment opportunities 💥 We’d love to hear your thoughts! What is the most difficult part when assessing material topics for your startup or a potential investment? Read more about how we think about this in our community in our (first) Maddyness piece: https://lnkd.in/euUPj9yQ

With ESG in public markets facing scrutiny, we’re left wondering how this translates to private markets and, specifically, VC.    🔎  In our upcoming public insights call, we’ll explore the evolving landscape of ESG in the US with expert insights from Matthew Sekol (Microsoft), Karen McCormick (Beringea), and Maximilian Meyer (J.P. Morgan). Whether you're an investor, startup founder, or just curious about how the responsible investing landscape in North America is shifting, we look forward to welcoming you. 📅 Join the conversation and register here: https://lnkd.in/eqWgyJtS