Excellence in Impact

Entries opened on 23 June 2023 and closed on 12 September 2023.

The firms recognised were selected in September by an independent judging panel and presented at the BVCA Summit on 5 October 2023.

The judges will be looking for intention of creating and evidence of achieving positive environmental and/or social impact alongside financial return. Submissions should be able to demonstrate good impact practices for measuring, managing, and reporting impact, with a focus on continuous improvement.

The judging panel will consider all submissions against the following criteria in addition to individual criteria set for each category outlined below.

• Evidence of a clear intention to tackle an environmental and/or social challenge that is embedded at the firm level, including why it is important to the firm and the existence of any policy/reporting.
• Regularity and depth of post-acquisition / funding engagement with portfolio companies / GPs on the impact thesis, including overall impact performance.
• Evidence of impact reporting to LPs / investors or other stakeholders (formal or informal), and alignment with a recognised reporting framework and/or initiatives.
• Demonstrate how the focus on impact has led to value creation and financial returns.

Entries opened on 23 June 2023 and closed on 12 September 2023.

The firms recognised were selected in September by an independent judging panel and presented at the BVCA Summit on 5 October 2023.

The judges will be looking for evidence of best practice over the last 12 months. This could include one (or more) of the following:

This could include one (or more) of the following:

• Clear articulation of your impact goals and objectives, and how this is incorporated into your strategy.
• How impact is incorporated within your origination and due diligence practices.
• How the firm has enhanced and developed its overall impact measurement framework during the year, either the first-time adoption of a framework or further development an existing framework.
• Engagement across your portfolio on measuring impact and improving performance of portfolio companies on environmental and/or social impact metrics.
• How impact is incorporated into the value creation plan, within origination, portfolio engagement, or exit phase.
• How the firm has worked with LPs to integrate impact within reporting.
• If relevant, give evidence of how you are engaging in systemic change in relation to impact within the private capital industry.
• Please provide examples of how your specific involvement/active ownership of portfolio companies made decisive contributions to creating impact.

The submission should give details of the development or engagement which has taken place, covering how and why the GP has taken action, and what the outcome has been. The judges will be looking for a clear explanation of the GP’s rationale, commitment to impact, linkage to investment strategy, and why the outcome has been positive.

The submission should be 500-1000 words and can be made via our online entry form. Your submission may be accompanied by one or two relevant supporting documents if referred to in the submission, but please keep these concise. These can be uploaded to your entry via the online form.

The firms recognised were selected in September by an independent judging panel and presented at the BVCA Summit on 5 October 2023.

The judges will be looking for evidence of best practice in impact integration and engagement by LPs over the last 12 months.

This could include one (or more) of the following:

• Clear articulation of your impact goals and objectives, and how this is incorporated into your fund selection and due diligence.
• How the firm has enhanced and developed its overall impact framework to reflect social and/or environmental impact during the year, either the first-time adoption of a framework, or the refreshing of an existing framework.
• How the firm has engaged with GPs to manage and measure impact.
• Specific engagement by the LP with one or more managers to address any impact-related risks or opportunities.
• If relevant, give evidence of how you are engaging in systemic change in relation to impact within the private capital industry.

The submission should give details of the development or engagement which has taken place, covering how and why the LP has acted, and what the outcome has been. The judges will be looking for a clear explanation of the LP’s rationale, commitment to impact, linkage to investment strategy, and why the outcome has been positive.

The submission should 500-1000 words and can be made via our online entry form. Your submission may be accompanied by one or two relevant supporting documents, of maximum 3 pages each, if referred to in the submission, but please keep these concise. These can be uploaded to your entry via the online form.

The firms recognised were selected in September by an independent judging panel and presented at the BVCA Summit on 5 October 2023.

This category seeks to recognise portfolio companies that have demonstrated good practice in creating a positive environmental and/or social impact in their day-to-day business and have been supported by their investors to do so. This category is to open to any portfolio company with a UK presence which is currently backed by a BVCA member (or which was backed at some point during the last 12 months and has now been exited).