The Westly Group, one of the world’s leading sustainability-focused venture capital firms, has issued its 2021 Annual ESG Report. This year’s report expanded on the ESG data collection with a particular focus on measuring greenhouse gas (GHG) financed emissions, a deep dive on gender & race/ethnicity metrics across their portfolio companies, and an overview of diversity initiatives they are leading. Key highlights from this year’s report include:
- Committing to measuring GHG emissions across portfolio companies and creating a roadmap to net zero financed emissions
- Spearheading diversity initiatives to improve gender and race/ethnicity representation in the VC landscape
- Aligning with key industry partners to drive greater adoption of ESG in the VC asset class
“We believe that implementing responsible investment practices and collecting ESG data will help create long-term multi-stakeholder value and create a competitive advantage for both portfolio companies and venture firms. As a data-driven organization, the goal of this year’s report is to bring transparency to our environmental, social, and governance reporting and create a baseline to improve on in coming years.” Steve Westly, Founding & Managing Partner
The Westly Group has established partnerships with leading groups helping to standardize ESG frameworks for VC. They joined the steering committee for VentureESG and signed as a signatory to the Principles for Responsible Investing, an UN-supported organization that promotes sustainable investment by incorporating environmental, social, and governance practices.
Additionally, The Westly Group has 17 investors from the world’s leading energy, mobility, insurance, and industrial technology companies that have committed to achieving net zero carbon emissions.