ESG: An impactful quarter

We’re halfway through 2024 and in the past six months our portfolio companies have made significant impact through their environmental, social and governance (ESG) practices. Here’s a snapshot of progress made in the past quarter.

ELE Advanced Technologies: Providing a holistic ESG offering 

Manufacturer ELE Advanced Technologies knows that investment in its people is just as important as investing in materials, R&D and technology. CEO David Stanley talked about this and how employers can make wellbeing a priority in The Manufacturer. David also discussed how, while ELE has made progress with its wellbeing journey, there is still work to be done and he pledged that the business will continue to invest in colleagues’ wellbeing.

In addition to investing in its people, ELE has also made progress with its environmental commitments. The company announced that it had achieved its initial Scope 1 and 2 emissions  objectives and is now working towards its Scope 3 emissions targets. ELE reduced Scope 1 and 2 emissions by 80% by minimising energy usage and sourcing energy from renewable sources, including onsite solar generation. It’s now working to achieve a further 25% reduction across the rest of its supply chain by the end of 2024.

 BCIS: Celebrating environmental commitment

 Costs and data provider BCIS was recognised for its commitment to decarbonising the built environment sector at this year’s Engineering Matters Awards. BCIS was awarded the Net Zero Champion Gold Award – recognising its leading role in the development of the Built Environment Carbon Database, a programme designed to become the main source of carbon estimating and benchmarking for the construction industry.

Kerv: Using technology for good

London-based cloud and digital services provider Kerv is using technology for good with its newly created sustainability portal on its website. The pages host Kerv’s first impact report, its sustainability manifesto and its Carbon Reduction Plan. This new portal allows Kerv to remain transparent with its ESG progress and celebrate the progress made as it continues to make strides in leveraging technology to do right by people and the planet.

 Portfolio update

 This quarter, our portfolio companies Croud, Lomond and The Edwin Group were listed as three of the best 100 ‘Big Organisations’ to work for in The Sunday Times Best Places to Work 2023, recognising the hard work these businesses do to improve employee experience and wellbeing.

We also hosted a roundtable for HR teams at our portfolio companies on ‘Effective recruitment, culture, onboarding and retention,’ alongside Talos360.

In addition to supporting our portfolio businesses with their individual priorities, we also continue to provide them with the resources and support needed to further develop their own ESG initiatives. This quarter we did this by hosting a portfolio webinar on how to calculate a carbon footprint and set science-based targets alongside John Rastrick and Caroline Linford from Flotilla and Andrew Payne from Headland.

We ended the quarter by investing in tech-enabled and ESG-focused water management consultancy Waterscan. Our investment will support Waterscan as it pursues a growth strategy underpinned by further investment in its technology and consultancy services.

Beyond the portfolio

Alongside our support of ESG initiatives across the portfolio, we’ve continued to expand our ESG offering through existing partnerships with charities and working with industry publications to promote the importance of ESG.

This quarter, LDC worked with The Prince’s Trust to launch the Enterprise Advance programme, a comprehensive package of support designed to increase the help available to young entrepreneurs as they navigate the early years of running their business. An extension of The Prince’s Trust’s Enterprise programme, Enterprise Advance will support young people across the country to launch their businesses by equipping them with the confidence, skills and funding they need to do so.

Our ESG Director, Alex Bexon, also moderated a panel discussion this quarter, focused on  accelerating the sustainable transition in private equity at the Real Deals Summit and also spoke on a panel with the theme of ‘The future of ESG’ at the BVCA ESG conference.

Elsewhere, LDC was shortlisted in the PE House of the Year: Mid-cap category at Real Deals ESG Awards and our London-based new business team volunteered at Horatio’s Garden, a charity that nurtures the wellbeing of people after a spinal injury.