Freshstream
Climate Impact & Sustainability Data (2023-2024)
Reporting Period: 2023-2024
Environmental Metrics
Renewable Energy Share:83% (average across portfolio in 2023-2024)
Carbon Intensity:Decreased by 36%
ESG Focus Areas
- Climate Change
- Diversity & Inclusion
- Governance
- Employee Well-being
- Supply Chain Sustainability
Environmental Achievements
- Carbon neutral as a GP since 2018 and on the portfolio level since 2021
- 60% of portfolio companies purchase 100% green energy (up from 33% last year)
- Retired 49 kilotonnes carbon credits
- Increased share of renewable energy by 38% on average across the portfolio
- Reduced Scope 1 and 2 emissions by 14 kilotonnes
- Decreased carbon intensity by 36%
- 100% renewable energy in London and Amsterdam offices
Social Achievements
- Implemented six new governance policies including anti-bribery & corruption, gifts, data protection
- Appointed an internal Diversity, Equity and Inclusion (DEI) Ambassador
- Euro Caps achieved B Corp certification
- MCR Group established a Green Team and appointed a DEI ambassador and a Women’s Club
- Improved average employee satisfaction scores (modest improvement)
Governance Achievements
- Improved Preqin ESG assessment score from 73% to 91%
- Improved PRI score by 20%
- Named leading GP (below £1bn AUM) in the BVCA’s 2024 Excellence in ESG Awards
- Shortlisted for the Real Deals ESG Awards 2024 for PE House of the Year: Mid-Cap
- Introduced new policies, such as anti-money laundering
Climate Goals & Targets
Long-term Goals:
- Net Zero emissions (various portfolio companies)
Medium-term Goals:
- Achieving Net Zero target by 2045 (M&J Evans)
- Developing a fuel & carbon emission dashboard to track fuel usage by construction site and identify areas emitting the most carbon (M&J Evans)
- Creating a carbon reduction strategy and ESG roadmap with targets and timelines (MCR)
Short-term Goals:
- Reducing greenhouse gas emissions (M&J Evans)
- Implementing business-wide Sustainability Road Map (M&J Evans)
- Increasing the number of sites that use cleaning products made from vegetables instead of chemicals (MCR)
Environmental Challenges
- Employee attrition increased for the majority of portfolio companies, driven by a tight labour market and higher cost of living
- Supply chain disruptions (implied in several portfolio company discussions)
- Maintaining current coffee supplies due to environmental pressures and climate change vulnerability (Euro Caps)
Mitigation Strategies
- Most portfolio companies introduced measures to increase employee satisfaction and retention
- Various initiatives to improve supply chain sustainability (detailed in individual portfolio company profiles)
- Transition to recyclable and compostable coffee capsules (Euro Caps)
- Increased use of recycled aluminium (Euro Caps)
Supply Chain Management
Responsible Procurement
- ESG supplier criteria (certifications)
- Ensuring all cotton used is BSCI approved (Euro Caps)
- Sourcing 100% of leather from Leather Working Group-rated tanneries (Radley)
Climate-Related Risks & Opportunities
Opportunities
- Development of energy-efficient products (various portfolio companies)
- Growth in renewable energy sector (Project Better Energy)
Reporting Standards
Frameworks Used: ESG Data Convergence Project, Preqin’s independent ESG score
Certifications: B Corp (Euro Caps)
Sustainable Products & Innovation
- Paper coffee capsule (Euro Caps)
- Recyclable aluminum Nespresso Compatible Capsules (Euro Caps)
- Industrial compostable capsule (Euro Caps)
- Eco-friendly cleaning practices (MCR Group)
- Electric fleet of vehicles (MCR Group)
- Next generation monitoring device with rechargeable power supply (DeterTech)
Awards & Recognition
- BVCA Excellence in ESG 2024 awards for GP below £1bn AUM
- Real Deals ESG awards 2024 for PE House of the Year: mid-cap
- Top Employer (Euro Caps)