S2G Ventures Announces Impact Measurement & Management Approach to Strengthen Positive Outcomes & Enhance Risk Assessment

Firm publishes Impact Playbook to guide companies in measuring and managing the impact of their products or services

CHICAGO, May 8, 2023 /PRNewswire/ -- S2G Ventures ("S2G"), a leading multi-stage investment firm focused on the food, agriculture, ocean, and clean energy markets, has announced its approach to Impact Measurement & Management (IMM). S2G's IMM approach centers around generating information about the impact of a company's products and services, as well as its business operations to inform management decisions.

S2G has been steadily developing its IMM approach over the past two years and views it as core to providing value for its portfolio companies. The purpose of this approach is to leverage information about the impact of the firm's work to improve decision-making and engage with others around creating long-lasting, positive, and meaningful change for people and the planet.

S2G is advancing three core IMM practices that are applicable regardless of sector or stage of company:

1. Design & plan for impact: identifying impact aims, key learning questions and IMM plans
2. Measure & evaluate impact: collect, document and interpret information to measure and understand impact
3. Learn from impact: use data and insights to inform decision-making and influence others

As S2G works with new and existing portfolio companies, it will increase its use of IMM in order to be more intentional about supporting its portfolio in measuring and reporting their impact. Underlying this commitment is the premise that measuring and managing a company's impact on people and planet will enhance its success in the market and deepen its long-term social and environmental outcomes.

"We believe our strategy, our portfolio, and our stakeholders need to be in the vanguard of shifting Impact Measurement and Management from a lagging indicator of performance or compliance to a critical driver of competitive advantage and increased market share," said Sanjeev Krishnan, senior managing director and chief investment officer at S2G Ventures. "This shift will take new thinking and potentially new innovation."

The approach directly reflects S2G's strategy to be more holistic in its ability to underwrite and deliver value as markets continue to evolve and as volatility becomes the new normal. As a result, S2G will be regularly measuring and assessing the positive and negative impacts of its portfolio to better understand how it can unlock greater returns and drive systemic change. S2G has aligned its approach to IMM with leading principles and standards in the investment industry, including the United Nations Sustainable Development Goals, Operating Principles for Impact Management, SASB Standards, Principles for Responsible Investing and more.

In alignment with this approach, S2G has developed and introduced to its portfolio community an Impact Playbook to help companies think through and plan for how to measure and manage the impact of their products/services and the factors that are most relevant to their operations. S2G is now making this Playbook publicly available to benefit companies and investors outside of the S2G community.

"S2G strongly believes that measuring and managing a company's impact on people and planet will enhance its success in the market and deepen its long-term social and environmental outcomes," said Joanna Cohen, head of Impact Measurement & Management at Builders Vision. "Impact measurement creates the most business value when it is directly embedded in the decision-making cycles of an organization. For S2G, this means integrating these practices into the investment process using a cross-team approach along the way."

Through ongoing industry engagement, S2G aims to contribute to emerging and evolving standards in the IMM space. Most recently, S2G was announced as a founding member of the Venture Climate Alliance (VCA), a group of leading investment firms committed to achieving a rapid, global transition to net zero or negative greenhouse emissions by 2050 or earlier. S2G's IMM team is actively contributing to VCA's Methodology Working Group to develop a rigorous, consensus-based framework and toolkit for use by member firms and others.

S2G team members are also active in other industry-leading membership organizations that are working to bring more authenticity and integrity to IMM, including the Global Impact Investing Network (GIIN), Impact Capital Managers, Impact Frontiers, 1000 Ocean Startups and the Food, Nutrition and Health Investor Coalition.

As a value-add investor, S2G is committed to continually strengthening and refining its internal IMM capabilities in service of supporting its portfolio and pursuing its vision for a humane and healthy planet. The firm will evolve its IMM approach as it collects feedback from S2G staff, portfolio companies and peers, and will continue to share the learnings out publicly. 

To learn more about S2G Ventures or to speak to its investment team, please visit https://www.s2gventures.com.

About S2G Ventures:
S2G Ventures, the direct investment team of Builders Vision, partners with entrepreneurs who are working on solutions to some of the world's greatest challenges across the food, agriculture, oceans, and clean energy markets. We provide capital, mentorship, and value-added resources to companies pursuing innovative market-based solutions that generate positive social, environmental, and financial returns. We provide our partners with flexible capital solutions that can range from seed and venture funding through growth equity to debt and infrastructure financing. For more information about S2G, visit s2gventures.com, tune-in to our podcast, or connect with us on LinkedIn.

Media Contact:
Ally Dunne
[email protected]

SOURCE S2G Ventures