In brief: Reducing emissions benefits fundraising, says PE

Four-fifths of European PE professionals believe reducing portfolios' carbon emissions helps GPs fundraise, a Simon-Kucher & Partners survey found.

Tackling portfolio company emissions could help GPs on the fundraising trail. That’s according to a survey carried out by consultancy Simon-Kucher & Partners, which found that 78 percent of European PE professionals believe reducing their portfolio’s carbon emissions has had a positive impact on overall fundraising performance.

Of the 132 participants, 93 percent said emission reduction initiatives increased exit valuations, and 68 percent said they had a positive influence on multiple arbitrage. Two-thirds said it improves profitability.

The general rule is that the bigger the GP, the greater its level of climate impact engagement is, the report noted. Forty percent of players with AUM of €10 billion or above are very engaged, with another 50 percent indicating they were moderately engaged. As an exception to the rule, half of firms with less than €500 million also describe themselves as ‘very engaged’. When it comes to implementation, 98 percent of respondents expect to increase their focus on climate over the next two years, with more than half expecting to do so strongly.