Environmental, Social, and Governance (ESG) policy

Our mission is to accelerate and scale innovative technologies that address climate change and enhance resilience.

We seek to make impactful investments, creating value through partnerships with exceptional founders and corporations.

1. Introduction

Climate Tech Partners (CTP) core focus is to invest in early-stage climate tech companies that are tackling the challenges of climate change. This policy outlines our approach to integrating environmental, social, and governance (ESG) considerations into our investment process, portfolio management, and corporate governance. We believe that strong ESG practices contribute to long-term value creation for our investors and a positive impact on the planet.

2. Our Approach to ESG

  • Climate Positive Only:
    We only invest in companies whose core business model contributes positively to climate change, as defined in CTP’s Climate Assessment Policy. However, we want to ensure a broader sustainability mindset is engrained within the startups.
  • Early-Stage Integration:
    We aim to foster a culture of sustainability within our portfolio companies from the ground up. We recognise that early-stage startups have limited resources and competing demands, however we believe important to ensure the right focus from the start.
  • Governance Focus:
    We encourage high standards of transparency, accountability and stage-appropriate governance in our portfolio companies.
  • Continuous Improvement: We are committed to working with our portfolio companies to continuously improve their ESG practices. We support progressively building ESG requirements and reporting as companies grow.
  • Social Impact and Inclusion:
    • Diversity, Equity and Inclusion: We prioritise investing in companies that promote diversity, equity, and inclusion within their workforce and leadership. This includes gender, racial, and other forms of diversity.
    • Community Engagement: We support portfolio companies in engaging with and positively impacting the communities in which they operate. This includes fair labour practices, community involvement, and social responsibility.
    • Employee Well-being: We encourage companies to prioritise the well-being of their employees through fair wages, safe working conditions, and access to healthcare and other essential benefits.
  • Climate Risk and Resilience:
    • Risk Assessment: We require our portfolio companies to assess and mitigate risks associated with climate change, including physical risks (e.g., extreme weather events) and transitional risks (e.g., regulatory changes).
    • Resilience Strategies: Companies are encouraged to develop and implement strategies to enhance their resilience against climate-related risks. This includes diversifying supply chains, improving infrastructure, and adopting sustainable practices.
  • Stakeholder Engagement:
    • Stakeholder Identification: We encourage portfolio companies to identify and engage with key stakeholders, including employees, customers, suppliers, and local communities.
    • Transparent Communication: Companies should maintain transparent communication with stakeholders regarding their ESG practices, progress, and challenges. This includes regular updates and open channels for feedback.

3. Integration in the Investment Process

3.1. Deal Sourcing and Screening:

  • We negatively screen deal flow against our Excluded Investment List (see Appendix) and only select those that aligns with our climate positive goals.
  • Our early focus on areas of concerns followed by our due diligence questionnaire (DDQ) helps identify potential red flags related to ESG issues.

3.2 Due Diligence and Investment Decisions:

  • ESG factors are integrated into our due diligence and decision process, alongside traditional financial and business considerations. (See our Investment Process for additional information)
  • We assess the potential to contribute positively to climate change using company specific metrics aligned with their business mission as well as their broader environmental impact, including, where it is available, their carbon footprint, resource efficiency and other related metrics.
  • We evaluate the company’s current position and ambitions to progressively enhance their environmental sustainability, social responsibility and governance practices as the company grows in scale and has access to the necessary resources.

3.3 Portfolio Management and reporting:

  • We collaborate with our portfolio companies to develop and implement ESG frameworks and reporting structures aligned with startups of that stage and in those industries.
  • We track portfolio companies’ progress on metrics that have been agreed with them to align with their business and hold them accountable for their commitments.
  • We engage with portfolio companies, provide resources and support to ensure continuous improvement in their ESG practices and support them in setting and achieving progressively more ambitious ESG target.
  • We will provide ESG reporting to our investors as part of the annual report, aggregating relevant data from our portfolio companies.

4. Governance

  • The CTP board will oversee the implementation of this ESG Policy.
  • We will periodically review and update this policy to reflect best practices and emerging trends in ESG investing.

5. ESG Training and Education

  • Training Programs: We encourage training programs and provide resources to our portfolio companies to help them understand and implement best practices in ESG.
  • Continuous Learning: We promote continuous learning and improvement in ESG practices by sharing knowledge, case studies, and industry updates with our portfolio companies.
     

6. Transparency and Reporting

We are committed to transparency with our investors and stakeholders on our ESG approach and will make this policy available to them.

7. Disclaimer

This ESG Policy is a framework for our investment activities and may be subject to change. The final investment decision will be based on a comprehensive analysis of all relevant factors, including, but not limited to, ESG considerations.

Appendix: Excluded Investments List

CTP will not invest in companies whose operations or technology:

  • Are judged to unnecessarily harm people, planet or animals
  • Engage in the production, distribution, or sales of any illegal products or activities (including but not limited to use, sale or production of certain pesticides, chemicals, wastes or ozone depleting substances; displacement or resettlement of local or indigenous people; trade in hazardous materials; destruction of protected habitats, and certain activities involving endangered or protected wildlife or wildlife products).
  • Are involved in the supply or purchase of sanctioned products or goods to or from countries or regions subject to United Nations sanctions.
  • Manufacture, distribute or sell weapons, ammunition or their component parts which are principally intended for this purpose
  • Engage in the manufacturing of, or trading in, tobacco or have more than 5% of its revenue derived from the sale or manufacture of alcohol for human consumption.
  • Are judged to be not making genuine efforts to discharge their business responsibility for human rights (as set out by the UN Guiding Principles), such as by engaging in production or other activities directly or through their supply chain that are involved in forced labour, child labour, modern slavery, human trafficking, or other labour practices prohibited under law, or which contribute to the inhibition of human rights generally
  • Manufacture or sell pornography or engage in the business of prostitution.
  • Develop, provide or distribute AI or UAV technologies that involve applications of facial recognition for use by policing entities for the detention, arrest, apprehension, or investigation of an individual.
  • Mine or enrich uranium, or produce nuclear energy
  • Engage in production or other activities that expose populations, workers or the local environment to toxic substances, or chemicals that persist in the environment in the long term (such as PFAS).
  • Use live animals for scientific or experimental purposes, including the breeding of these animals for such purpose.
  • Produce unsustainable foods, or is intended to primarily be used in the production of unsustainable foods (such as palm oil or animal agriculture)
  • That is intended to primarily produce fuels using first generation feedstock, described by the EU
  • Renewable Energies Directive (but does not prohibit biomass agnostic technologies)
  • Log native forests, contribute to deforestation or otherwise unnecessarily negatively impact biodiversity or the environment
  • Be judged to seek to undermine the Paris Agreement in their mission, operations, business objectives or policy positions
  • Materially engage in the extraction, processing (including pipelines), or electricity generation from fossil fuels, whereby revenue from those activities exceeds respectively: coal 5%, oil 10%, or gas 33%, or combined fossil fuel revenue exceeds the most lenient relevant threshold.  
  • Produce technology for CCS (carbon capture and storage) or CCUS (carbon capture utilisation and storage) for specific use in fossil fuel extraction or fossil fuel energy generation, or geosequestration.  
     
    Principally is defined as earning a majority of revenue.
    If a company is pre revenue we will consider the business plan or model to examine forecast revenues to see if they breach the above thresholds.
     

Contact Info


Sydney
180 George Street, NSW 2000

Melbourne
Level 2, 31 Flinders Lane, VIC 3000

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