Impact Insights: Validating our Committment
We are delighted to share some insights that validate the strategic alignment of our practices with industry best practices.
Blue Mark, a subsidiary launched by our impact consulting partner (Tideline) to provide independent impact verification, recently collaborated with CASE at Duke University to publish a report titled “Impact Due Diligence and Management for Asset Allocators.” This report, written for LPs and asset allocators, outlines the best practices for managing impact, drawing on wisdom from seasoned investors engaged in various impact-driven strategies.
Key Takeaways:
LPs deploying capital into funds should align their approaches with both emerging and established impact management best practices. They should also manage impact throughout the investment life cycle to increase awareness of and effectiveness in addressing activities that could compromise impact performance.
Moreover, the report brings to light a noteworthy revelation: Fund managers want to be helpful with impact reporting. GPs, particularly those with robust impact management systems, are willing and able to share valuable insights—a fact often overlooked but instrumental in deepening LPs’ understanding of impact performance.
Feeling Validated:
We are excited to see insights from the Bluemark-CASE report validate Uplifting’s impact approach. Impact is not just a facet of our investment process. It’s at the heart of everything we do. From sourcing to due diligence, investment, and post-investment through exit, we seek to align capital to solve the world’s most pressing needs.
During the diligence process, we evaluate investments against a rubric developed in collaboration with our impact consultant, Tideline Advisors. This tool assesses the investee’s impact strategy, management systems, fund manager skills, engagement, and commitment to diversity, equity, and inclusion. We align our strategy with emerging standards such as the Operating Principles of Impact Management (OPIM) and the Impact Management Project’s (IMP) Five Dimensions of Impact.
Once we have invested, we continue to contribute to strengthening GP impact reporting, closely monitor impact results, and engage with investees to influence impact performance positively. This ongoing impact management improves our effectiveness in proactively addressing activities that could pose a risk to an asset manager’s ability to deliver impactful outcomes.
Strategic Engagement with Investees:
Recognizing the importance of meeting fund managers and company leaders where they are, Uplifting tailors our engagement strategically based on their size, industry, and resources. However, we don’t stop there. Our commitment to “additionality” means we actively engage with investees around impact, share best practices across our portfolio, and contribute to the broader industry field building.
We are committed to learning and improving our practices to align with the highest industry standards. We are grateful for the opportunity to collaborate with our esteemed financial advisor partners and their valued clients on this journey. Together, we play a crucial role in fostering a future that is both sustainable and impactful.
