1. INTRODUCTION
1. General
Superangel is investing in world-changing technology developed by companies driving towards a sustainable and climate-neutral future. It is our responsibility to proactively engage and build a sustainable and inclusive ecosystem. We recognise the importance of responsible investment, and sustainability plays a major part in the way we build long-term business success.
Mission
Superangel is backing ambitious forward-looking founders building a better sustainable future with game-changing technology.
Purpose
The purpose of the policy is to outline Superangel’s approach to responsible investment
throughout the investment lifecycle. Superangel believes that attention to sustainability
including Environmental, Social and Corporate Governance (ESG) matters is a prerequisite for
long-term value creation. We are committed to investing responsibly and our ambition is to
help early-stage companies become industry-defining and sustainable businesses.
Priorities
The ESG principles are the core of Superangel and run through our operations, decision making and value-adding activities to our portfolio. We have incorporated ESG principles into our investment process and it is one of our core pillars of due diligence.
Internal processes
We are implementing ESG governance principles in our daily work as a fund. We lean on these principles in our internal processes of hiring, choosing partners, developing our brand and contributing to the startup ecosystem.
2. SUPERANGEL INVESTMENT PRINCIPLES
Superangel invests across multiple industries and business verticals. With the Superangel Two fund we aim to target the following ESG principles.
Environmental Principles
– Tracking, reducing, and ultimately offsetting greenhouse gas emissions
– Promoting sustainable transport
– Ensuring that all employees are aware of the environmental impacts of their work activities
– Increasing the usage of renewable energy in business operations, as well as incorporating energy efficiency measures
– Implementing and improving waste management systems
Societal Principles
– Diversity in all its forms, and an inclusive working environment with a zero-tolerance approach to discrimination of any kind
– Ensuring good health and well-being in the workplace
– Creating workplaces that enable employees to have equal opportunities and to reach their full potential
– Lifelong learning for employees. Quality education for children
Governance Principles
– Treating personal data and the privacy of customers and users with respect.
– Transparency and strong ethics in governance. Standing firm against corruption and unethical behaviour, and complying with all relevant regulatory bodies
3. IMPLEMENTATION APPROACH
The Fund seeks to actively integrate ESG principles through its investment cycle:
Pre-investment
Superangel considers ESG matters early in the screening process to understand the ESG implications of an investment and to consider risks and opportunities coming with it.
The ESG factors in the pre-investment process are implemented through the:
– Check against the Exclusion Policy. We refrain from investing in industries listed in our Exclusion Policy;
– Completing the ESG questionnaire. A questionnaire is to be sent prior to the investment and filled out jointly with the investment manager and the company’s representative;
– ESG considerations for the investment decision-making process. The answers to the questionnaire and identified risks and opportunities are
Post-investment
We actively engage with management to ensure that ESG is a recurring theme implemented into daily business operations.
We aim to help portfolio companies focus on ESG, including:
– ESG assessment of the portfolio company. During the onboarding process, the portfolio company is asked to conduct a self-assessment based on the outcome of the ESG questionnaire. It aims at understanding what practices the company have already put in place and to fully understand their level of awareness.
– Defining improvement areas and goals. After the assessment, key improvement areas and goals are defined – goals they want to achieve including steps on how to achieve them. Progress and improvements
– Defining ESG KPIs for the portfolio. In cooperation with the portfolio companies, we are planning to define ESG KPIs.
– Monitoring and Reporting. We aim to actively engage with management to ensure that ESG is a recurring theme implemented into business operations. We will commit to annual reporting of ESG performance. In addition, we plan to advocate best practices across our portfolio by using knowledge gained through ongoing work with
our portfolio companies
Exclusion Policy
Superangel’s focus is to invest in founders building a better sustainable future with game-changing technology. At the same time, we want to make it clear that we will never invest in any companies whose sole or primary business purpose is engaging in the following list of excluded activities:
- An illegal economic activity (i.e. any production, trade or other activity, which is illegal under the laws or regulations applicable to the Company, including without limitation,
human cloning for reproduction purposes; - Production of and trade in weapons and ammunition of any kind
- Production of and trade in tobacco and distilled alcoholic beverages and related products
- Coal exploration or production, or oil and gas exploration or production.
- Any gambling activities, including casinos and equivalent enterprises
- Fur production
- Adult entertainment
- Research, development or technical applications relating to electronic data programs or solutions, which aim at any of the above-mentioned excluded industries
4. GOVERNANCE STRUCTURE AND REPORTING
Governance and management
The Managing Partners of Superangel have an overall responsibility for this policy and ultimate ownership for integration of ESG considerations into the investment decisions. The Compliance Officer is responsible for checking and controlling the Superangel team’s adherence to the policy.
Annual review of the Policy
The policy should be reviewed at least annually by the Managing Partners of Superangel.
Reporting
Superangel commits to report on impact measurements on a yearly basis at the Annual General Meeting. Each Investment Committee member is responsible for collecting and
reviewing ESG-related performance data received from the portfolio companies that they are deal champions of.
This policy has been approved by the Board of Directors of Superangel. Any subsequent updates or revisions of the Policy shall be made available to all staff of Superangel and the Fund.