Why family offices are uniquely positioned to lead in impact investing

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From intention to collective action

Family offices are increasingly redefining their role in a world grappling with climate change, biodiversity loss, and social fragmentation. For many, the question is no longer whether capital should contribute to positive outcomes, but how to do so in a way that strengthens long-term value creation.

That shift is no longer anecdotal. Deloitte’s latest Family Office Insights Series shows that 46% of family offices globally are already engaged in sustainable investing, up from 42% in 2021, with Europe clearly leading the way at 57%. More importantly, the average portfolio allocation to sustainable investments is expected to grow from 17% today to 29% within five years – a projected 71% increase.

But leadership can’t be understood through number alone.

What matters is how family offices translate this momentum into better decisions, stronger portfolios, and real-world impact.

Source: Deloitte’s latest Family Office Insights Series

From momentum to method

At VP Capital, sustainable and impact investing are not treated as a separate allocation. They are fully integrated as part of an evolving investment philosophy focused on long-term resilience, learning, and stewardship.

Blink Impact shares this approach.

“Investing with and for impact is becoming mainstream. The real differentiator is whether family offices develop a robust strategy, impact goals, and decision-making processes for impact to become one of the decision drivers to steer capital intentionally – rather than relying on labels or assumptions.”

– Ana Pimenta, Chief Impact Strategist at Blink Impact

Deloitte’s research supports this shift in mindset. While 60% of family offices cite ‘doing good’ as a motivation, 50% also believe sustainable investments can deliver better returns and/or lower risk. Impact is increasingly seen as a strategic lens, not a concession.

Ana Pimenta, Chief Impact Strategist at Blink Impact

Why family offices can go further

Family offices are structurally well positioned to lead this evolution. Their intrinsic values and motivations, long time horizons, flexibility, and access to private markets allow them to invest where systemic change actually happens.

This is reflected in where sustainable capital is flowing. According to Deloitte, among family offices that invest sustainably, 64% focus on affordable and clean energy, 47% on climate action, and 27% on sustainable cities and communities. These are not short-term themes. They are system transitions that require patient capital and active engagement.

Learning together: from individual effort to peer collaboration

Despite growing engagement, Deloitte also highlights persistent barriers. Among family offices not yet investing sustainably, concerns include market immaturity (31%), limited access to opportunities (34%,) and lack of knowledge (19%). These are not individual shortcomings – they are ecosystem challenges.

That is why peer collaboration plays a central role in VP Capital’s approach. Through initiatives such as the Impact Round Table 2025, family offices come together to share experiences, test assumptions, and openly discuss what works and what doesn’t.

Blink Impact was an active participant in this exchange. “What we see again and again is that family offices face similar questions,” says Ana Pimenta. “Sharing experiences reduces friction and accelerates progress for everyone.”

One concrete outcome of this collaboration is the joint development of an Impact Toolbox, led by Blink Impact and other family offices. The aim is to share language and indicators for impact, provide tools that support steering across risk, return, and impact, and offer frameworks that can be adapted rather than rebuilt from scratch. “If every family office has to reinvent impact frameworks on its own, capital will move too slowly and will be used less efficiently,” Ana Pimenta explains.

By lowering complexity and increasing robustness and comparability, the toolbox is designed to help mobilise more capital towards impact efficiently and credibly.

A collective opportunity

Deloitte’s data makes one thing clear: sustainable investing is no longer a peripheral concern for family offices. With allocations set to rise sharply over the coming years, the question shifts from why to how well.

Family offices have rare assets: long-term capital, strategic freedom, and deeply rooted values. When combined with collaboration and shared infrastructure, these assets can reshape not only portfolios but also the broader investment ecosystem.

At VP Capital, we are committed to pursuing this collective path alongside peers like Blink Impact.

From momentum to method. From intention to action. Together.