Merger brings together two European leaders in venture capital ESG

The demand for ESG in venture capital is growing. Now two of Europe's leading organisations in the area are joining forces to strengthen their guidance to the industry.

VentureESG and ESG_VC announced a merger they say will help them drive meaningful integration of ESG (environment, social, governance) principles among European venture capital firms and startups.

“Our work has long been complimentary: Two community-led non-profits, with a shared mission of driving ESG adoption across the venture ecosystem,” the two organisations say in a statement. “By pooling our expertise and resources, we will strengthen the quality and depth of our guidance to the industry.”

VentureESG co-founder Hannah Leach and ESG_VC president Henry Philipson both acknowledged that it had become difficult for their clients to tell them apart.

“Having healthily jostled alongside Henry and ESG_VC for the last few years, facing the ‘but how are you different?’ question from the community time and time again, we finally decided we were stronger joining forces,” Leach writes on LinkedIn.

"Mission will not change"

In his own post, Philipson adds: “Having grown up alongside one another (and answered endless questions of "which one are you?!"), we felt it was the right time to bring together ESG_VC and VentureESG.

“Our mission and activity will not change: we remain committed to enabling early-stage companies and their investors to understand and improve their ESG performance.”

The merger will take effect immediately, with the new organisation keeping the name Venture ESG. Their core activities will remain the same, focusing on providing insights, resources and training for embedding ESG within companies and organisations.

ESG has become an increasingly hot topic in the business world in recent years, with some observers saying VCs have been slower than the wider finance industry in adopting such principles.

The two organisations say the merger will allow them to “support the entire VC value chain under one roof” by providing better coordination between VCs, founders and limited partners.

“As the ESG integration matures, the necessary next step is greater harmonisation and standardisation,” their statement says. “By speaking with one voice, we will bring greater clarity and direction to a field that can often feel opaque.”