Pioneering Sustainability: Offsetting Our CO₂ Emissions for a Greener Future
In an era where environmental consciousness is of great importance, we at Munich Venture Partners are proud to take our commitment to sustainability o the next level. For several years, we have been diligently calculating our carbon footprint in accordance with the Greenhouse Gas Protocol and - more importantly - taking concrete steps to offset it. As a result, for 2022 we have offsett 23t of CO₂e via a global portfolio of projects including a wind project, hydro electric power as well as solar power generation.
Climate change is no longer a distant threat but an imminent global crisis. As investors, we understand our role in shaping the future and recognize the impact our operations can have on the planet. By actively reducing our carbon emissions and offsetting the remainder, we're contributing to the preservation of our environment and taking responsibility for our carbon footprint. To accurately assess our carbon emissions, we follow the Greenhouse Gas Protocol, a widely recognized and respected standard for carbon accounting. Our comprehensive calculations consider emissions stemming from various sources, including energy consumption, transportation, and office operations.
We firmly believe that addressing climate change is a collective responsibility, and we're proud to play our part. However, we acknowledge that there is always room for improvement. As part of our ongoing commitment to sustainability, we are exploring ways to further reduce our emissions.
As we continue on this path, we invite you to join us in making a difference. Together, we can create a more sustainable world for future generations. Watch this space for updates on our sustainability initiatives, and let's work together to combat climate change one step at a time.
What's "driving the eco-industrial revolution" about?
Climate change has entered a new phase. Alarming signals of an ever more rapid change in the biosphere are increasing. And scientists highlight that earth may have already passed several climate change tipping points which has irreversible effects, such as the loss of the Amazon rainforest and the great ice sheets of Antarctica and Greenland. At the same time, it is becoming a decisive political factor with hundreds of thousands of young people pioneering a new extra-parliamentary climate opposition.
…it’s about decoupling economic growth from environmental pollution
As the world’s population is rising to over 9 billion people in 2050, countries of the South and the East are becoming increasingly industrialized, and cities continue to grow, global economic output will roughly double in the next 30 years. Over the same period, greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions will have to fall dramatically in order to reach the GHG reduction targets set by governments. For the EU, the binding target is a cut by at least 40% compared to 1990 levels by 2030. This puts a great burden on the economy. However, the question is not whether the global economy will continue to grow. The key question is whether we can decouple value creation from environmental pollution.
The recipe is nothing less than a new industrial revolution with an impact similar to the invention of the steam engine, industrial steal making, or the automobile: the eco-industrial revolution.
In essence, it is about a threefold transformation of the old industrial society: firstly, a complete shift from fossil energy sources to renewable energies; secondly, a continuous increase in resource efficiency to generate more value from fewer raw materials and energy; and thirdly, the transition to a circular economy in which the productivity of resources is increased.
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…it’s about fostering the transformative power of technology
Similar as the first industrial revolution was triggered by the invention of the stream engine, also the eco-industrial revolution will be driven by technological innovations and their expansion. However, this time, we require technologies that allow a rethinking of existing value chains to reduce CO2 emissions along the entire process of value creation.
At MVP, we call such technologies that (I) improve, (II) enhance, or (III) reconstruct existing value chains Transformative Technologies. They trigger fundamental changes and paradigm shifts in existing business areas in short time frames. To some degree, Transformative Technologies can also be viewed as disruptive. However, rather than the disruptive “destroy and build new” approach, Transformative Technologies may also enable developing new enhanced solutions using existing infrastructure whenever possible. They are the basis for shaping the future and have an extraordinary growth potential. Identifying these opportunities and financing appropriate technologies and solutions is one of the strategic cornerstones of MVP’s Venture Capital investment approach.
…it’s about leveraging total value potential
Our focus is on driving change in the most CO2 intensive sectors and financing businesses that can have a huge impact in achieving decarbonization of the incumbent industry. To make it clear: it’s not about limiting economic growth in favor of ecological sustainability. We are firmly convinced that economic growth and ecological sustainability are not tradeoffs, but in contrast mutually reinforcing factors. With investments in companies like sonnen we were able to verify this thesis in the past. Even more, companies and business models, which do not take into account ecological responsibility, will not be successful anymore or disappear completely.
Therefore, we integrate the concept of Triple Top Line value creation in our investment strategy to leverage the full transformative potential of a technology. Rather than balancing economical, ecological and societal targets, this approach focuses on employing their dynamic interplay to generate value. (Read more about our Triple Top Line strategy here)
Driving the industrial revolution is the core philosophy of our investment approach. In fact, that’s what we’ve been doing at MVP for over 15 years now. With this experience and the capital entrusted to us, we back pioneering entrepreneurs and become sparring partners for ambitious teams to create the business leaders of tomorrow.
