Our commitment to ESG
At VEKTOR Partners, we invest in the disruption of mobility, and ESG plays an important role as part of our strategy along two dimensions.
First, we believe that our investments can actively contribute to making the transportation of people and goods more sustainable.
Second, we are committed to being responsible investors along the entire investment value chain.
ESG policy
We have a dedicated ESG policy which permeates most aspects of what we do as responsible investors. We proactively identify areas where we can have an impact, set targets and have systems and procedures in place to monitor and independently evaluate both our progress as a firm and that of each of the companies in our portfolio.
We have identified four key goals from the 17 Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) promoted by the United Nations. We expect our portfolio companies to be able to consistently contribute towards at least one of them.
Our impact goals
- Road safety [UN SDG 3.6]
A significant number of people are injured or killed in the process of people or goods being moved from A to B. At VEKTOR Partners, we are excited by the opportunity to invest in technologies that reduce harmful incidents over time, on the level of the individual, vehicles or the environment in which they operate. - Pollution [UN SDG 3.9]
Global climate change is one of the main threats to humankind. We invest in mobility technologies that contribute positively to the world’s urgent need to reduce emissions and pollution affecting the health of urban populations and harming our planet in unprecedented ways. - Founder diversity [UN SDG 5]
Venture Capital funding still shows a strong bias toward male founders or founding teams. Female-led start-ups exhibit significant potential for future growth, given their relative under-representation. We value founder teams with a diverse composition, both in terms of gender and ethnicity. - Accessibility [UN SDG 11]
Transportation is a core pillar of economies and society around the world. As of today, many still lack access to affordable and sustainable transportation. We believe that technology can lower the barriers to entry and contribute to democratizing transport of people and goods around the world.
Unlocking potential in our portfolio companies
Our focus on the disruption of the global transportation sector provides us with a unique opportunity to make meaningful contributions to sustainability related goals with our portfolio companies. As part of our business building activities, we seek to help companies leverage their intrinsic potential to create value. The latter can take many forms, such as a broadening of their funding options, enhanced ability to access grants, a business plan with regards to regulatory risks, increasing the adoption appeal of their products and services, and in the B2B space enable them to become compliant partners in their customers’ value chains.
Commitment to article 8 of the SFDR
In accordance with Article 8 of the SFDR, we will seek to make all or the majority of our portfolio investments in companies that follow good governance practices and whose products or business contribute to promoting environmental or social objectives. Such considerations form part of our due diligence process prior to carrying out an investment in any target company.
Commitment to Principles of Responsible Investment
We are a signatory to the Principles of Responsible Investment. We also support broader initiatives fostering the proliferation of similar standards and consider international and industry standards and guidelines in our own processes and structures.
