“Doing well by doing good” – active ownership at the core of responsible investing with Evli Growth Partners

Evli Growth Partners (EGP) is a Helsinki-based venture capital fund, supporting the growth of some of the most beautiful European growth companies. At EGP sustainability is embedded across the whole investment lifecycle, from entry to exit and beyond. As one of its key climate initiatives, EGP has partnered with Compensate to actively support its portfolio companies in systematically tracking, reducing and ultimately offsetting their carbon emissions. As an active owner, EGP is committed to carbon neutrality by offsetting its portfolio’s carbon emissions in full.

Why is taking care of the climate and the environment important for Evli Growth Partners?

At Evli Growth Partners we uphold a strong mentality of “doing well by doing good”. We see sustainability and climate action as a key part of our ownership work and the growth support we provide our companies as active investors and board members. As we see it, impact and value often go hand in hand, reflected by the growing demand for sustainable alternatives to traditional products and services. Looking at our portfolio of European high-growth companies across industries, there are numerous examples of new innovative solutions ranging from refurbished electronics to e-scooters and eco-furniture. As we see it, it is often the most resilient, enduring business models that will fly – led by strongly impact-minded entrepreneurs.

What kind of impact-driven business models does EGP invest in? 

Looking at EGP’s portfolio, although the companies invested in range from hardware to software, across industries and markets, they do, however, have one thing in common – the strong drive for impact. Portfolio examples include Austrian Refurbed , a leading marketplace for refurbished electronics, with a strong mission to decrease carbon emissions of smartphones and other devices by 70%. Another example would be German e-scooter company Tier , the first fully carbon neutral micro-mobility company. Over the past year Tier has introduced initiatives such as swappable batteries, material reusage and recycling and green energy to change its fleet. As a third, Polish made-to-order furniture company Tylko is a great example of setting new standards in the way furniture is designed, sourced, produced and delivered – all with sustainability at the core. These are just a few examples and we look forward to discovering and introducing many new success cases to our portfolio.

How do you see the relevance of emissions tracking and offsetting for startups and scaleups?

As with any new, transformative initiatives, you must start somewhere. We believe that implementing sustainable ways of working from day one allows them to be truly embedded in the company’s DNA. As the company grows and matures, the impact (be it climate or social impact) evidently grows hand in hand. In order to drive these initiatives forward, we see it as the responsibility of investors as active owners to take a stance towards sustainability by pushing on climate targets and KPIs – for instance by the way of emissions tracking and offsetting.

Why did you choose Compensate as your offsetting partner?

For us Compensate offered the full package: closely supporting our companies all the way from emissions data gathering and advisory, evaluation and measurement and finally offsetting. So far the organization has showed high level of expertise and responsiveness to their clients’ specific needs. Finally, given the common uncertainties with compensation initiatives, we highly appreciate Compensate’s approach to overcompensation to ensure offset targets are met in full.

To read more about Evli Growth Partners visit egp.fi

To learn more about their sustainability initiatives visit egp.fi/sustainability