From the Carbon Literacy Project (CLP), NorthEdge has become the world’s first private equity firm to gain Gold Carbon Literate Organisation (CLO) status.
The CLP provides firms with an awareness of the impacts of our everyday activities and the cost of climate change for our businesses and our planet. The organisation has been set up to help people to understand how to reduce emissions on an individual, community, and organisational basis.
The CLP was also recognised by the United Nations at the COP21 climate negotiations in 2015 as one of 100 ‘Transformative Actions Projects’ worldwide that could materially change the way we deal with climate change.
As part of its work towards the accreditation, NorthEdge invested in carbon literacy training for its entire team – with colleagues pledging to take accountability for reducing carbon emissions generated from their collective personal and business activities.
The firm has also used the training to support the delivery of its net zero plan, as well as encouraging 14 of its portfolio companies to take steps to build out their own – with a target set for all portfolio companies to have a net zero plan in place within the next 18 months.
NorthEdge is also dedicated to using the accreditation as a platform to drive positive change – not only across its business and portfolio, but also the wider industry. NorthEdge is aiming to encourage other private equity firms to take responsibility for the carbon emissions in their business and portfolios – collectively reducing Private Equity’s impact on the planet through the large network and sphere of influence the sector has.
The Gold CLO accreditation follows NorthEdge’s recent win at the Real Deals ESG Awards, where it was recognised for its commitment to best practice in ESG amongst its peers and for driving positive change in the private equity space, and special recognition from BVCA at the Excellence in ESG Awards.
Lucie Mills, Partner, Value Creation & ESG at NorthEdge said: “We’re thrilled to be the first private equity firm to achieve gold CLO status, emphasising our commitment and efforts to create a positive change not only within our firm, but also our portfolio and the wider industry.
“Whilst it will take a collective effort over many years to achieve the global net zero goals, we want to use our reach and sphere of influence as investors to play a significant role in reducing the impact on our planet and supporting businesses to grow sustainably.
“We will use this accreditation as a call to action to drive further progress and continue to share ESG best practice with our network, our peers and our portfolio – collectively working towards achieving a more sustainable future through building better businesses.”
Phil Korbel, Co-Founder & Director of Advocacy at The Carbon Literacy Project said: “’The power of private equity to move the dial towards a safer climate is extraordinary. This doesn’t just refer to their influence on their portfolio but the signal it sends to any business seeking investment. The fact that NorthEdge has become the world’s first Gold Carbon Literate Organisation in the sector speaks volumes about its commitment and ambition to be a standard bearer for climate action in the business world.”
