ARTICLE

Announcing Energize's 2023 Annual Impact & ESG Report

How we’re approaching ESG and impact to drive sustainable growth

by:
Lauren Densham

Download Energize Capital's 2023 Impact & ESG Report here.

The Energize team is proud to present our 2023 Impact & ESG Report, an annual review of our impact and ESG approaches and performance across Energize’s firm and portfolio. This past year, we evolved from Energize Ventures to Energize Capital, signaling our expanded focus and deeper investment into mature markets. Our Impact & ESG efforts have grown alongside this shift, building on the foundation we’ve established since our first Impact & ESG report was published in 2021.

In 2023, we enhanced our strategies through new tools, processes, and collaborations. We joined the ESG Data Convergence Initiative (EDCI), adopted new software for improved ESG reporting, and engaged third-party experts to refine our impact calculations. We created custom ESG frameworks for our portfolio companies and continued our DEI working group, all the while staying true to our conviction that strong impact and ESG practices go hand-in-hand with strong business practices. As financial-first investors at the nexus of software and climate, Energize is proud to report that our investment approach continues to be aligned with strong impact returns.

Take a look at our news and highlights below.

Impact

As our portfolio has grown, so has our focus on transparency and accuracy in impact calculations. In 2023, we tracked both gross and net avoided emissions, reflecting both the total amount of avoided emissions our portfolio companies play a role in enabling (gross) and the estimated CO2 savings directly attributable to our portfolio companies’ software solutions (net).

  • Our portfolio helped enable 26.64 million MTCO2e(1)  in gross avoided carbon emissions. We estimate that 2.8 million MTCO2e(2) is directly attributable to our portfolio technologies (net).
  • When weighted by ownership share, our gross impact was more than 5,000x Energize’s total carbon footprint.

ESG

Energize reinforced its ESG tools and processes in 2023. We onboarded Metric ESG to enhance our reporting capabilities, expanded ESG data collection, and deepened our understanding of our Scope 3 carbon footprint, including financed emissions.

  • We surpassed gender parity in our investment team, with 75% of our overall team identifying as women or as members of underrepresented groups.
  • We maintained high standards for ESG across our portfolio companies, with 100% of reporting companies maintaining both data security and privacy policies as well as paid parental leave policies.
  • Our focus on value-add partnerships with our portfolio companies resulted in a net promoter score (NPS) of 83(3).

Looking Ahead

As narratives around ESG and impact evolve, at Energize we remain committed to our belief that strong business practices include taking care of our people, our partners, and our planet. As the need for climate solutions only deepens, we are proud to back the thinkers and innovators building the solutions toward a stronger, greener economy.

1) Represents "Net" Impact, non-ownership weighted
2) Represents "Gross" Impact, non-ownership weighted
3) On a scale of 1-100 likelihood to recommend to others. Internal study based on portfolio company CEO responses