What ESG_VC does

ESG_VC is a London-based, unincorporated association founded in 2021 that operates as a voluntary industry initiative to help early-stage companies and their venture capital investors understand, measure, and improve ESG performance. The organization is led by a steering group of VC funds and industry bodies, with 250+ member VC firms spanning the UK, Europe, Israel, the USA, and other global markets, and downstream reach to 750+ companies that contributed data to its 2024 research report. Its primary users are early-stage companies from Seed to Growth stage (across B2B and B2C sectors) and the VC investors who back them, supported by an ecosystem of limited partners and start-up advisers.

The core product is the ESG_VC Measurement Framework, a venture-ready ESG scoring system comprising 48 measures mapped to environmental, social, and governance objectives, designed by Social Value Portal in consultation with the steering group. The framework is published under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial NoDerivatives 4.0 International License, with intellectual property held by Social Value Portal Ltd. ESG_VC also operates the ESG_VC Toolkit (toolkit.esgvc.co.uk), a free library of educational resources, ESG guidance, and downloadable policy templates covering carbon accounting, DEI, board practices, cyber security, responsible AI, Whistleblowing, Health and Safety, Code of Conduct, and Employment Standards. Distribution is fully self-serve via web download and registration.

The business model is non-commercial at the user level: the framework and toolkit are free to access, with Steering Committee members contributing time and resources at no charge. Organizational funding comes from sponsorship and grants, including from British Business Bank and Mishcon for the Toolkit. Social Value Portal provides secretariat services and retains commercial rights for organizations wishing to embed the framework in paid consulting offerings, though ESG_VC does not directly capture that revenue. In 2024, ESG_VC was absorbed into Reframe Venture, which now manages future updates and activities under a new organizational structure.

Name

ESG_VC

Legal name

ESG_VC

Website

https://esgvc.co.uk

Company type

Private

Founded year

2021

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

51–100 employees

Short description

ESG_VC is a London-based voluntary industry initiative, founded in 2021, that provides a 48-measure ESG Measurement Framework and free Policy Toolkit for early-stage companies (Seed to Growth) and the 250+ VC investor firms that back them.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Product category

ESG Advisory Services

NAICS

Other Scientific and Technical Consulting Services (541690), Portfolio Management and Investment Advice (523940)

SIC

Services-Engineering, Accounting, Research, Management (8700)

akta.pro primary industry

Sustainable Finance & ESG Ratings/Benchmarking Support (EUAHAJAH)

akta.pro secondary industries

ESG Data, Ratings & Research (Providers, Methodologies, Analytics) (FSAAALAJ), ESG Data Platforms, Controls & Audit Readiness (Data quality, internal controls) (EUAHAJAN), Impact / ESG Venture Capital (FSANAAAG), ESG/Sustainable Investment Advisory (FSAEAAAJ)

Keywords

• ESG measurement framework
• VC portfolio ESG benchmarking
• Sustainability policy templates
• Early-stage ESG assessment
• ESG toolkit resources

Headquarters

HQ city

London

HQ country

United Kingdom

HQ region

Europe

Offices1 record

Markets served

GTM type

B2B

Offering type

Services

Cost components

Personnel, Operations, Marketing or Sales, Technology or R&D

Revenue model

1. Membership and Voluntary Contributions: ESG_VC is a voluntary organization where Steering Committee members contribute their time and resources at no charge. Sponsorship and grants may be sought for ongoing support of the Measurement Framework and general management.

Pricing tiers

Go-to-market motion1 record

Distribution channels2 records

Marketing channels6 records

Core offering

ESG_VC provides a standardized ESG measurement framework comprising 48 measures for benchmarking ESG performance of early-stage companies, accompanied by a free ESG_VC Toolkit of resources and a Policy Hub of downloadable ESG policy templates. The offering is targeted at VC investors and their portfolio companies to assess, benchmark, and improve ESG practices across the venture ecosystem.

Product overview

ESG_VC is an organization that helps early-stage companies and their investors understand, measure, and improve ESG performance. It operates as a framework and toolkit combination: the core ESG_VC Measurement Framework provides 48 quantitative measures for benchmarking ESG performance across Environmental, Social, and Governance dimensions, while the complementary ESG_VC Toolkit offers free educational resources, guidance documents, and downloadable policy templates. Both products work together to provide early-stage companies with a pragmatic approach to ESG adoption, from understanding fundamentals through to implementation and measurement.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Products and services

• ESG_VC Measurement Framework A standardized set of 48 ESG measures used by early-stage companies and VC investors to benchmark environmental, social, and governance performance against a common reference framework.
• ESG_VC Toolkit A free online library of resources, guides, and policy templates that helps early-stage companies and VC portfolio companies implement and operationalize ESG practices.
• ESG_VC Policy Hub A repository of downloadable ESG policy templates that early-stage companies can adopt to formalize their environmental, social, and governance policies.

Quantifiable outcome

• Products making ESG statements averaged 28% growth over a five-year period versus 20% for products that didn't
• +1 more outcomes

Segments3 records

Ideal customer profiles3 records

Technology focussed No

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Feature1 record

Partnerships

Five partnerships are on record, tiered core and minor.

• Social Value PortalcoreStrategic or Co-development Partner · 1 January 2021Social Value Portal worked alongside the ESG_VC steering group to design the ESG_VC Measurement Framework. SVP provides secretariat services and maintains/develops the framework for the benefit of the sector. IP rights in the framework are owned by SVP, which makes it freely available under Creative Commons license.
• British Business BankminorGTM or Marketing PartnerSponsor of the ESG_VC Toolkit, providing financial support for the free resource library for early-stage companies.
• MishconminorGTM or Marketing PartnerSponsor of the ESG_VC Toolkit, providing financial support for the free resource library for early-stage companies.
• Reframe VenturecoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerESG_VC is now part of Reframe Venture. Future updates and activities will be managed through Reframe Venture.
• BeringeacoreOthersBeringea hosts the contact email for ESG_VC ([email protected]). In the event a suitable industry body is not available for IP assignment, rights would be assigned to Beringea LLP.

Scale indicators5 records

Recent moves6 records

Expansion highlights5 records

Emerging players

• Greenly: SaaS carbon-accounting and ESG-action platform explicitly targeting SMBs and early-stage companies; overlaps ESG_VC's startup customer base and offers paid benchmarking tooling ESG_VC currently gives away for free.
• Persefoni: Carbon and ESG accounting platform covering private-equity and venture portfolios; overlaps ESG_VC's investor-side use case and offers productised ESG scoring that ESG_VC only provides as a free framework.
• Sweep: ESG data management platform serving SMBs and growth-stage companies with measurable carbon and ESG tracking; competes for the same startup-Sustainability-Manager buyer that ESG_VC currently addresses via its free framework.
• Watershed: Enterprise carbon-accounting and reporting platform that increasingly serves growth-stage companies and venture-backed fintechs; complements ESG_VC's measurement framework with auditable compliance-grade outputs.

Broad incumbents

• MSCI ESG Research: Dominant institutional ESG ratings provider used by large asset managers and PE/VC LPs; represents the gold-standard data layer that ESG_VC startups eventually migrate toward as they scale.
• ISS ESG: Institutional ESG data, ratings, and advisory provider used across asset management and corporate reporting; sets the data vocabulary ESG_VC's framework will eventually need to map into.
• Sustainalytics: Morningstar-owned ESG ratings firm serving asset managers, asset owners, and corporate issuers; comparable as the heavyweight incumbent in the ESG-data space into which ESG_VC-scored companies graduate over time.

Direct peers

• B Lab (B Corporation): Non-profit that certifies companies (including early-stage ventures) on social and environmental performance — directly comparable as a voluntary, community-led ESG assessment framework aimed at startups and SMEs, with similar free-for-assessment and paid-for-licensing dynamics.
• Social Value Portal: Co-designed the ESG_VC Measurement Framework and owns the IP; acts as secretariat. Operates adjacent social-value measurement and management products for private-equity/VC investors, making it the closest operational analogue.

Others

• Reframe Venture: Parent entity of ESG_VC; operates related VC ecosystem initiatives and now hosts future updates to the framework. Not a competitor but a strategic ecosystem participant relevant to ESG_VC's trajectory.

Market position

Strengths5 records

Weaknesses5 records

Competitive moat5 records

Key risks7 records

Key highlights6 records

Customer concentration

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Funding overview

Funding rounds

Investors

Funding detail is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

M&A

Investments

M&A and investment is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

Frequently asked questions about ESG_VC