Building a better future: ESG highlights from NGP Capital’s portfolio

At NGP Capital, we believe that integrating environmental, social, and governance (ESG) principles is not just a responsibility but also a strategic advantage.  As a venture firm, we have the opportunity to embed these principles across three levels of the venture ecosystem; first in how we run our internal operations, second in our diligence and selection process for new investments, and third in how we support and guide our portfolio companies.

Each year, we send out an ESG survey to our portfolio companies to benchmark our portfolio companies against the prior year’s performance. We are pleased to report that 72% of our portfolio companies completed this year’s survey, with our European investments leading the way at 100% participation. Following the completion of our third annual ESG survey, we wanted to share some of the highlights and takeaways from across the portfolio.

We are committed to fostering sustainable growth and ethical practices in the companies we invest in, ensuring they not only thrive financially but also contribute positively to society and the environment.- Bo Ilsoe, Managing Partner

Environmental

A large portion of our portfolio companies are new to carbon and waste tracking. Although this may be the area with the least participation, it is increasingly receiving more attention as our companies move towards greater awareness and tracking of their environmental footprint.

Social 

Portfolio companies place significant emphasis on employee well-being and training. While ethnic diversity is high due to the global nature of our investments, gender diversity—both within companies and on their Boards of Directors—remains an area of ongoing focus for improvement.

Governance

This area shows the highest results and continued improvement as companies continue to adopt policies and procedures to effectively govern their companies.    

ESG Leaders in our portfolio

The ESG report includes highlights on some of our portfolio companies that are setting a strong example of how to integrate ESG principles. These companies include:

Lime is the leading global micromobility provider with a strong commitment to operating an environmentally conscious business. In 2020 Lime committed to reaching net zero emissions by 2030.  They are well on their way as compared to their 2019 baseline. To date, they have reduced their emissions by 60% by committing to fully electric fleets and powering warehouses with renewable energy.

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Anybotics is an industrial robotics company whose robots improve workplace safety by reducing employee exposure to dangerous environments. The autonomous legged robots are deployed in hazardous work environments, increasing workplace safety and reducing employee exposure to hazardous work environments. 

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Shippeo is a multimodal transportation logistics provider. Shippeo’s product suite includes a carbon visibility tracking tool to help major shippers and carriers measure their carbon emissions and create actionable reduction plans.  Shippeo has also shown itself to be a leader in company governance, setting aggressive and actionable targets and goals across all three pillars of ESG for 2024. 

Our ESG commitment

At NGP Capital, our commitment to progress begins with how we manage our internal operations. ESG initiatives are led by an integrated team with representatives from our investment, finance, marketing, and operations teams.

Key efforts include measuring and offsetting our carbon footprint through the purchase of carbon offsets and providing training and education across our global team on topics such as unconscious bias and inclusive hiring practices. Recognizing the value of partnerships, we work closely with organizations such as FirstBoard.io, Inklusiiv, Venture ESG, Venture Forward, Neythri, and others to encourage diversity across the venture ecosystem. In 2023, NGP Capital became a UNPRI signatory, further establishing the measurement of ESG metrics and increasing accountability.

For more details on ESG progress at NGP and within our portfolio companies, dive into the full report.