In the evolving venture capital (VC) landscape, Environmental, Social, and Governance (ESG) considerations have become integral to Antler’s global ethos, positioning the firm as a sustainability leader. Two years ago, ESG and impact were peripheral concerns for VC firms. Today, these concepts have taken centre stage, redefining the industry, Antler’s Head of ESG and Impact Ros Bazany, speaks to Private Equity Wire about this process.
PEW: How are you integrating ESG considerations into your firm’s decision-making processes?
At Antler, we embrace the transformative power of sustainability, shaping business and society while optimizing risk-adjusted returns. Across 27 cities, we discover the most driven founders, enabling them to launch and scale companies, addressing pressing challenges. With a diverse ecosystem of 8,000+ founders, and 1000+ portfolio companies spanning 30 industries, we markedly impact the startup landscape.
Proactively integrating sustainability into our operations, culture, and stakeholder engagement, we leverage our scale to positively influence the broader VC ecosystem. As early-stage investors (pre-seed to series C), we instil awareness in founders about the significance of ESG and impact from the outset. Our due diligence process, surpassing industry norms, mitigates bias, and notably, 30% of our portfolio has at least one woman co-founder.
PEW: What steps are you taking to ensure ESG factors are effectively managed within portfolio companies?
We challenge sustainability misconceptions, recognising its critical role for startups to accelerate fundraising, fuel growth, enhance customer satisfaction, and boost workforce productivity.
Our investment process goes beyond financial metrics, actively integrating non-financial criteria into due diligence. Collaborating closely with portfolio companies from day zero, we embed sustainability into core operations through tailored learning blocks like workshops and industry engagement to drive sustained growth.
Portfolio terms reflect our end-to-end approach to sustainability as an ongoing commitment, supported by our proprietary sustainability health check—an annual assessment crafted for each company’s growth stage. It plays a crucial role in our monitoring process, providing founders with automated scores, personalised feedback, and recommendations for continual improvement.
PEW: Have regional differences in approaches to ESG impacted your firm? If yes, what strategies have you employed to navigate this complexity?
Navigating the dynamic ESG landscape, we recognise the impact of regional variations influenced by regulations, consumer sentiments, and investor expectations. Our global perspective uniquely positions us to observe and adapt to these nuances, contributing to the broader ESG discourse and potentially embedding sustainability into thousands of companies worldwide. Engagement with PRI, VentureESG, and ImpactVC ensures we stay informed and at the forefront of responsible investing.
Anticipating potential ESG support oversights amid regional regulatory differences, we open-sourced the Antler Sustainability Toolkit, offering founders valuable resources—best practices, advice, tools, and case studies.
Our commitment to diversity, inclusion, and climate action extends globally, evident in our annual report. Active participation in conferences, case studies, securing ESG and impact LP mandates, and industry recognition underlines our adaptive approach. Initiatives like endorsing the Responsible AI Commitments, partnerships with Beyond The Billion, pledging to create 300 women-founded companies by 2026, and DiversityVC, highlight Antler’s positive contributions to addressing global industry challenges.
PEW: What challenges and opportunities exist for firms in light of the current ESG regulatory frameworks for venture capital?
Venture capital’s journey to integrate sustainability has faced challenges—definition confusion in 2020, resource constraints in 2021, and industry uncertainties and resistance in 2022. By 2023, heightened vigilance and regulatory pressure reshaped its trajectory.
Today, we are at a critical intersection of VC and sustainability, driven by regulatory changes. Antler prioritises clarity over labels, understanding the transformative essence of ESG and impact. Sustainability is a roadmap for financial improvement, preparing companies for a resilient future. Approaching 2024, the VC ecosystem can reframe sustainability as a key differentiator for investors and founders.
Antler enables driven entrepreneurs in a world where sustainability is imperative, strategically weaving economic viability and responsible practices to maximise value creation.
For detailed reports and policies, visit Antler’s ESG and impact webpage. Antler systematically removes capital and network constraints for early-stage technology entrepreneurs by providing investments, co-founder matching, and extensive coaching.
Ros Bazany, Partner, Head of ESG and Impact, Antler – Ros is responsible for leading the overall strategy design and implementation of Antler’s ESG and impact proposition to deliver long-term value for Antler’s stakeholders. This includes oversight of firm level practices, founder engagement and investment decision making processes. Prior to this, she worked at the global asset manager Schroders for over a decade, working with institutional and retail clients across Europe and Asia. She started her career at the hedge fund BlueCrest and holds an MSc in Chemistry. She is based in Singapore and lives with her partner and two boys. Ros was listed as one of the 40 Rising Stars under the age of 40 by Venture Capital Journal in 2023.
