VP Capital

𝑶𝒖𝒓 𝒏𝒆𝒙𝒕 𝒔𝒕𝒆𝒑𝒔 𝒕𝒐𝒘𝒂𝒓𝒅𝒔 𝑪𝑺𝑹𝑫 𝒄𝒐𝒎𝒑𝒍𝒊𝒂𝒏𝒄𝒆 The Corporate Sustainability Reporting Directive (CSRD) came into force earlier this year, requiring 50,000 European companies to provide insight into the impact of their activities on people and the environment in the upcoming years. While this brings additional reporting requirements, we believe it is a significant step towards a sustainable future. The directive enables companies to ‘speak the same language’, makes it easier to compare data and provides valuable insights and guidance. In recent years, we have proactively explored this topic and have taken initial steps to prepare ourselves for CSRD compliance. This year, under the guidance of Pantarein Publishing, we’ve conducted a 𝗱𝗼𝘂𝗯𝗹𝗲 𝗺𝗮𝘁𝗲𝗿𝗶𝗮𝗹𝗶𝘁𝘆 𝗮𝘀𝘀𝗲𝘀𝘀𝗺𝗲𝗻𝘁. This process involved evaluating: ●  Impact materiality: the impact of our activities on people and/or the environment. ●  Financial materiality: the financial risks and opportunities related to external developments, such as climate change. As part of this assessment, we surveyed our stakeholders about Impacts, Risks and Opportunities (IROs) related to our family office’s activities and our financially consolidated companies. Fortunately, most of the topics that were ultimately deemed material were already on our radar, such as our validated science-based targets for reducing our carbon footprint and our commitment to using our business as a force for good as a B Corp certified family office. We continue to move forward on this journey, by developing our related action plan to become CSRD compliant by 2026. Read more about the double materiality assessment and other insights in our latest Progress Report: https://lnkd.in/eZYPhvYM #csrd #familyoffice #progressreport #drivenbyimpact #vpcapital

𝑴𝒐𝒗𝒊𝒏𝒈 𝒘𝒊𝒕𝒉 𝒐𝒖𝒓 𝑩𝒆𝒍𝒈𝒊𝒖𝒎 𝒐𝒇𝒇𝒊𝒄𝒆 𝒕𝒐 𝒂 𝒏𝒆𝒘 𝒔𝒖𝒔𝒕𝒂𝒊𝒏𝒂𝒃𝒍𝒆 𝒍𝒐𝒄𝒂𝒕𝒊𝒐𝒏 We’re delighted to announce that we’ve moved our BE office to a new, sustainable location on the first floor of the energy-neutral Kempus building in Turnhout. This exciting move is a natural step for us as we expand our team, and the new facility aligns well with our sustainable values and vision. Our new office environment, with its geothermal heating, 860 solar panels, innovative climate ceilings, and a circular company restaurant, reflects our commitment to sustainability and reduces our ecological footprint significantly. It also provides us with a comfortable setting to work more closely together, host guests, and hold events. The open, natural design and green surroundings offer a refreshing and inspiring backdrop for our daily work. We are thrilled to be working from this inspiring new premises in Turnhout and to keep accelerating our ambitious goals! #sustainability #impactfirst #energyneutral #newoffice #turnhout

Driving impactful change is something we can only achieve together. This is why we actively engage with our portfolio companies and funds, and exchange valuable insights and experiences with each other. Together we pursue the highest ESG standards, while their companies bring products and services to the market that contribute to solutions for societal and environmental issues within their sectors. Our latest Progress Report showcases the results of these efforts. This year, our impact assessment revealed that 45 out of 69 investments (including donations) scored 8 or higher, with six of them achieving a 10/10 Progress Score: 🏆 BYBORRE achieved a 10/10 for the first time. 🏆 SHIFT Invest, World Fund, and two EQT Life Sciences funds (LSP Dementia and LSP V) maintained their 10/10 scores from last year. 🏆 Accsys Technologies and Pymwymic have earned a 10/10 for the third consecutive year in a row! Congratulations for achieving this outstanding score! And of course, we congratulate all our other portfolio companies as well. We greatly appreciate the progress our portfolio companies and funds are making and are deeply thankful for their dedication and hard work. Your commitment is a source of inspiration and motivates us to continue advancing sustainable progress. We remain as committed as ever and look forward to being part of the efforts in the upcoming years, with a focus on our key challenges: preserving biodiversity, supporting our climate, and promoting social equality. Discover more about our overall progress in our Progress Report 2023: https://lnkd.in/eZYPhvYM #vpcapital #drivenbyimpact #progressreport #sustainableprogress

Every day, we depend on the Earth for water, food, wood, and land to produce and build. If everyone lived like the average European, we would have used up all the resources the Earth can give us within a year by 3 May. This means we would need three Earths to sustain our current lifestyle.   For the rest of the year, we deplete the natural capital, leading to deforestation, loss of biodiversity, decline in fish stocks, water shortages, air pollution and climate change. This results in extreme weather events such as droughts, floods and forest fires, leading to depletion of the Earth and the extinction of species. In the area of biodiversity in particular, we are living in an overshoot situation. 🌍 Today, 1 August, marks this year’s global #EarthOvershootDay. Unfortunately, the situation has not improved much. Earth Overshoot Day has arrived a day earlier than last year and is now five months earlier compared to 60 years ago. This means for the rest of the year, we will deplete the natural capital of our planet, again.   We keep placing a growing pressure on our planet’s resources and at VP Capital we are committed to halt this decline and aim for a positive impact through our activities and portfolio. We acknowledge the challenges our world is facing and the need for transformative shifts within the building blocks of our society. By investing in the necessary solutions, we strive for sustainable progress for generations to come.   To counteract the decline, or even make a positive contribution, we need to effectively use our capital, our knowledge, and our networks. Time to deepen knowledge. Time for action. #EarthOvershootDay #MoveTheDate #sustainability #drivenbyimpact

The significance of biodiversity as one of the planetary boundaries facing the highest rate of overshoot is evident. To address this, VP Capital is working with our portfolio and partners to reduce our biodiversity footprint, capitalize on positive biodiversity opportunities, and utilize our resources, knowledge, and networks.   With this in mind, we recently held a deep dive session on biodiversity with our investment committee. Astrid Leyssens from We Are Impact Collective led a productive session that provided valuable inspiration and reflection on the topic of biodiversity, our investment and philanthropy strategies and the work ahead.   The session began with an insightful presentation by habitats expert Michael Boschmans, who highlighted the critical role of various habitats in supporting biodiversity and the communities that depend on them. Michael emphasized the importance of whales in preserving biodiversity and maintaining the planet's balance. During their lifetimes, whales contribute significantly to carbon dioxide storage, and their excrement promotes the growth of phytoplankton. This, in turn, produces oxygen and absorbs carbon dioxide. Protecting whales is vital not just for their own survival but also for the wellbeing of our planet. Similarly, different habitats and species play essential roles in sustaining biodiversity and the overall health of our planet. But the question is… where to start?    After that, we were inspired by a compelling case study from Kickstart, presented by Tatiana Van Impe and Olivia Lefèvre, showcasing biodiversity initiatives that foster local collaboration.    Our colleague Jobien Laurijssen provided updates on the biodiversity efforts we’ve already taken, including the Biodiversity Pledge and our approach to engaging with our portfolio on this critical topic. Stay tuned – important work ahead!    Jan Leyssens shared diverse case studies on various biodiversity ventures, setting the stage for an interactive workshop to identify the most suitable initiatives for VP Capital.   And finally, we explored examples of other impact investors and funds to expand our understanding in this area. As we continue to explore and learn about these important topics and themes on our sustainability journey, we invite you to visit our website at www.vpcapital.eu for more insights or to share valuable information.  #biodiversity #impactinvesting #sustainability #deepdive #teamwork

𝑵𝒐𝒎𝒊𝒏𝒂𝒕𝒆𝒅 𝒇𝒐𝒓 𝒕𝒉𝒆 𝑾𝑰𝑭𝑺 𝑻𝒐𝒑 𝟓𝟎 𝑾𝒐𝒎𝒆𝒏 𝒊𝒏 𝑺𝒖𝒔𝒕𝒂𝒊𝒏𝒂𝒃𝒍𝒆 𝑭𝒊𝒏𝒂𝒏𝒄𝒆: 𝑶𝒖𝒓 𝒐𝒘𝒏 𝑴𝒂𝒓𝒊𝒋𝒆 𝑹𝒉𝒆𝒃𝒆𝒓𝒈𝒆𝒏 We are proud to announce that our Director of Impact & Communications Marije Rhebergen has been nominated for the longlist of the WIFS Top 50 Women in Sustainable Finance 2024. This is a Dutch list that recognizes women who are making substantial contributions to sustainability in the financial sector, showcasing their impact and positive influence in this area. Marije’s commitment to sustainable progress and positive impact are cornerstones of her career, and this nomination reflects her dedication and passion. She has become an invaluable member of our team, and together we are advancing our impact-first strategy by deepening our expertise in impact investments and sharing that knowledge with our network to foster more positive impact together. With a total of 167 nominations composing the longlist, we eagerly await the launch of the final list at the Dive In Festival on 25 September 2024, in Zeist.  This is the third year of the WIFS (the Netherlands) Top 50, and the second time VP Capital has been featured, following Astrid Leyssens' inclusion in the final list two years ago. This event will spotlight and celebrate the meaningful work of women advancing sustainability in the financial sector, inspiring further progress towards a more sustainable future. Read more about Marije’s recent nomination and how her dedication to sustainability has shaped her career, along with the impactful steps she and VP Capital are taking to drive positive change. Read the full interview here: https://lnkd.in/dQF537CK #WIFS #top50womeninsustainablefinance #changemakers #vpcapital #drivenbyimpact #sustainablefuture

𝑺𝒉𝒂𝒓𝒊𝒏𝒈 𝒊𝒏𝒔𝒊𝒈𝒉𝒕𝒔 𝒇𝒓𝒐𝒎 𝒐𝒖𝒓 𝒇𝒊𝒗𝒆-𝒚𝒆𝒂𝒓 𝒋𝒐𝒖𝒓𝒏𝒆𝒚 Sustainability and impact are two topics we have been interested in for a long time. After our previous five-year investment strategy concluded, we received the family's support to pivot towards sustainable solutions, aiming to inspire other family offices and investors to join us. Our objective was clear: to leverage our capital and network for sustainable progress, ensuring a secure future for generations to come. Since embarking on this journey in 2018, we have made significant strides. Our commitment to driving sustainable progress is reflected in our recently released Progress Report 2023. This report measures and documents our impact investment over the past year and the strategic period from 2019 to 2023. Here are some key results from the past five years’ work: ✅ Improved our Progress Score from 5.8/10 in 2018 to 7.9/10 in 2023, showcasing our positive impact on people and the planet. ✅ Increased our impact investments, resulting in 58% of our capital being invested in impactful ventures by the end of 2023, which is 13% above our target goal. ✅ Proudly became a member of the B-Corp community ✅ Achieved our goal of engaging with 90% of our portfolio on ESG and impact. As a family office, we are dedicated to addressing the urgent challenges faced by our planet today. To do this, we aim to drive meaningful, widespread change by openly sharing our goals, ambitions and lessons learned. We extend heartfelt thanks to all those who contributed to shaping this report and propelling our journey towards a sustainable future. Explore the full report at the link below 👇 #progressreport #drivenbyimpact #impactinvesting #familyoffice #sustainableprogress

𝑫𝒓𝒊𝒗𝒊𝒏𝒈 𝒈𝒓𝒆𝒆𝒏𝒕𝒆𝒄𝒉 𝒗𝒆𝒏𝒕𝒖𝒓𝒆𝒔 𝒇𝒐𝒓 𝒂 𝒄𝒍𝒊𝒎𝒂𝒕𝒆-𝒑𝒐𝒔𝒊𝒕𝒊𝒗𝒆, 𝒄𝒊𝒓𝒄𝒖𝒍𝒂𝒓 𝒂𝒏𝒅 𝒕𝒐𝒙𝒊𝒄𝒊𝒕𝒚-𝒇𝒓𝒆𝒆 𝒆𝒄𝒐𝒏𝒐𝒎𝒚 Innovative start-ups and scale-ups are the key to driving sustainable progress, yet they often struggle to access capital. Countless research inventions are never used on a large scale. As a family office with a long-term perspective, we are uniquely positioned to bridge this gap. That's why we are proud to participate in the first round of the BigCircle Ventures fund. The fund actively scouts promising greentech ventures and transforms them into successful enterprises aimed at addressing global climate and circularity challenges. All with the aim to have significant impact on reaching a climate-positive, circular and toxicity-free economy by 2050.   In the upcoming year, BigCircle Ventures aims to establish the first five of 30 intended greentech ventures and provide them with the necessary initial funding from this first round of the fund.   VP Capital’s involvement with BigCircle Ventures highlights our shared ambitions and offers significant potential to enhance our collective efforts to contribute to circular, net-zero and toxicity-free solutions.   Read the full press release in the link below. 👇   #bigcircleventures #vpcapital #drivenbyimpact #impactinvesting #sustainablefuture

𝑯𝒐𝒘 𝑫𝒐 𝑾𝒆 𝑭𝒆𝒆𝒅 𝒕𝒉𝒆 𝑭𝒖𝒕𝒖𝒓𝒆? This question was the focal point during the first day of the "Let's Meet in the Field" event, organised by Ardo and held on the fields of VP Landbouw, a direct participation of VP Capital. The focus of the day was to discuss the impact of climate change on the agricultural sector and explore the latest developments in sustainable and regenerative farming.    The day began with a warm welcome from Ardo, followed by an introduction to their vision and sustainability ambitions, with a particular emphasis on future-proof vegetable cultivation. Our colleague Jobien Laurijssen, Sustainability Manager at VP Capital, also spoke and shared some insights into VP Landbouw’s journey towards regenerative agriculture.   After the presentations, guests enjoyed a tour around the demonstration fields where they saw a variety of cover crops, innovative techniques for soil management and regenerative farming methods for crops like spinach, beans and carrots. This included a demonstration by Simon Brouwer de, Farm Manager at VP Landbouw. Some sustainable approaches to mechanical weeding and irrigation were also highlighted.    We would like to congratulate Ardo for organising such an engaging and inspiring event, and we are pleased that VP Landbouw could be part of it.    #ardo #vplandbouw #vpcapital #letsmeetinthefield #agriculture #sustainability #regenerativefarming

𝑪𝒂𝒏 𝒑𝒆𝒓𝒇𝒐𝒓𝒎𝒂𝒏𝒄𝒆 𝒂𝒏𝒅 𝒊𝒎𝒑𝒂𝒄𝒕 𝒈𝒐 𝒉𝒂𝒏𝒅 𝒊𝒏 𝒉𝒂𝒏𝒅? At VP Capital, we believe they can. Even better, we have witnessed this firsthand over the past few years and have been able to expand our positive impact. To further this mission, we recently welcomed the like-minded impact fund, Impact Expansion, to our portfolio. The fund aims to support a dozen profitable SMEs in the Benelux, France and across Western Europe, seeking €5 to €30 million of capital to accelerate their development and increase their impact. Impact Expansion’s theory of change has identified three sectors in Western Europe that require urgent solutions: the environment (renewable energy and energy efficiency), healthcare (prevention, mental health, and accessibility) and skill development and lifelong training (especially for segments of the population such as young people, people with disabilities, older people and minority groups). Impact Expansion's specific targets also align with various themes and solutions within our impact strategy, such as climate action, social equality and renewable energy. We are confident that their strategic approach complements our own and enhances our ability to drive meaningful change. Their commitment to addressing critical issues in these sectors makes them an ideal partner for us at VP Capital. We are happy to join other investors, including family offices, in fostering greater sustainable progress. Together, we can leverage our collective expertise and resources to create positive impact on society and the environment. Discover more about Impact Expansion and dive into the full press release at https://lnkd.in/g6npZvW9    #impactexpansion #vpcapital #familyoffice #impactfund #drivenbyimpact