In brief: Apax conducts portfolio carbon footprinting

The firm will set net-zero targets for Fund IX and X portcos – but Apax has not yet laid out a total-portfolio net-zero target.

Apax Partners has started to measure the carbon footprint of its portfolio companies. The London-headquartered firm began the process last year and has appointed PwC to conduct the measurement, the firm said in its annual sustainable report, released last week.

Portfolio companies in Fund X ($11.8 billion; 2019-vintage) and Fund IX ($9.5 billion; 2016-vintage) will be footprinted for Scope 1, 2 and 3 carbon emissions. Apax will then set net-zero targets for these companies and develop net-zero pathways “including reduction targets and offsetting approaches for unavoidable emissions”, the report said. Apax has not announced a portfolio-wide net-zero target, however.

Several other private equity firms have revealed portfolio carbon emissions measurement projects, including Blackstone, Carlyle and Cinven. Greenhouse gas emissions footprint data is also one of the six metrics of the Data Convergence Project, so many of its members may soon follow suit with such announcements.