July 17 – Today, we’re publishing our fifth Sustainability Report, highlighting the progress we’ve made in 2025 towards our 2030 sustainability targets across both Verdane and our portfolio companies.
We set ambitious 2030 targets because we believe businesses that improve their impact on people and the planet will outperform their peers over the long term. In a future where carbon is priced accurately, businesses with lower carbon emissions will be more competitive. More diverse leadership teams and engaged employees will also make better decisions and build stronger businesses.
This conviction underpins our ambition to be the preferred growth partner to ambitious companies that will thrive in a sustainable world.
Our 2030 targets
Respect the planet
- 60% reduction in portfolio GHG intensity per million euros of revenue from a 2021 baseline.
- Net zero scope 1 and 2 for Verdane operations by 2030, and a 65% reduction in scope 3 GHG intensity per FTE from a 2022 baseline.
Be the best place to work, for everyone
- 40% of board and management roles held by people from underrepresented backgrounds, and an average portfolio eNPS of +30.
- 50% of external partner recruitment shortlists and 50% of other recruits from underrepresented backgrounds at Verdane, and an internal eNPS of +50.
Create secure and responsible companies
- 100% of portfolio companies with key governance policies and cybersecurity maturity measures in place.
- 100% of Verdane employees trained in our code of conduct.
Our progress in 2025
We are proud to share the progress made by both Verdane and our portfolio companies in 2025. Below are a few highlights from across our portfolio. To see the full picture, including progress across Verdane’s own operations, read our full Sustainability Report.
Reduction in portfolio GHG emissions intensity since 2021 baseline
31%
Yearon year reduction in portfolio GHG emissions intensity
23%
Companies with a Code of Conduct in place
89%
Underrepresented groups in portfolio management
27%
Portfolio Employee Net Promoter Score (eNPS)
+24
Learn more about our 2040 Test
Sustainability is not only something we track after we invest. It shapes which companies we choose to invest in from the start.
The 2040 Test is Verdane’s proprietary investment screening framework. Every potential investment is assessed against a set of questions about what the world will look like in 2040: higher carbon taxes, evolving regulation, shifting consumer preferences and the increasing pricing of externalities. If a company is unlikely to thrive under those conditions, we do not invest.
This is how our sustainability conviction translates into action at the point of the investment decision, not as an afterthought.
To learn more about how Verdane thinks about sustainable investments, read the full Sustainability Report 2025
About Verdane
Verdane is a specialist growth buyout investment firm that partners with tech-enabled and sustainable businesses that help to digitalise and decarbonise the European economy. The flexible mandates of Verdane funds allow it to invest as a majority or minority control investor, replacement or growth capital, in single companies or in portfolios of companies.
Verdane has raised €10 billion in capital and its funds have made more than 200 investments in fast-growing businesses since 2003. Verdane’s team of over 180 investment professionals and operating experts is based out of Berlin, Copenhagen, London, Helsinki, Munich, Oslo and Stockholm and combines deep sector expertise with long-standing local networks and presence in core European markets.
Verdane is also a certified B Corporation, one of the most ambitious sustainability accreditations globally. The firm only backs businesses that pass its 2040 Test, which indicates whether the company can thrive in a more sustainable future economy.
Verdane is partly owned by the Verdane Foundation, which is focused on two areas: climate change and more equitable and inclusive local communities.
More info: www.verdane.com
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