Decisions regarding divestment: that’s not something VP Capital takes lightly. "But it is a precautionary measure when we sense that the management of a particular company is not, or insufficiently, engaged in sustainable change", says Guus van Puijenbroek, Director Strategic & Family Matters at VP Capital.
When we invest in a company that still has a long way to go in terms of sustainability, we give them five years to take substantial steps. “In doing so, it must be clear that management sees sustainability as a priority. We also help them on their way, which is our added value as an investor. For example, the consultancy firm that calculates our Progress Scores, helps our companies to create a roadmap for a five-year period. The roadmap contains concrete objectives and corresponding KPIs. The goal of that roadmap is to make our investment a frontrunner. For us, frontrunners are those companies that achieve a Progress Score of at least eight out of ten. That means a minimum of three out of five on impact (acts to avoid harm) and in that case five out of five on ESG (where they do noticeably better on ESG than their competitors) or four out of five on both impact and ESG. The scores are reviewed annually in consultation with the companies.”
