Responsibility

We are convinced that responsible investment principles are essential to long-term success and crucial to maintain the trust we receive from investors, business owners, management teams and own employees. We therefore promote environmental, social and corporate governance (ESG) considerations in our investment process, at our portfolio companies and in our own corporate culture

Our Commitments

In accordance with the aforementioned beliefs, we have defined an ESG policy based on 4 commitments which are supported by a specific organization.

1. Promote ESG throughout our investment cycle

We are committed to reflect our ESG principles at all stages of our investment cycle, through specific tools and methodologies used before, during and at the exit of our investments.
Entry
Holding Period
Exit
Avoid investing in sensitive sectors
Assess ESG profile of target company before investing (including through a high-level ESG due diligence when/if appropriate)
Include an “ESG clause” in shareholders agreement
Include an “ESG ratchet” in margin grids of credit lines (when/if appropriate)
Conduct a detailed internal ESG session in the context of the 100-day plan
Establish a high-level road-map with key initiatives to be implemented
Implement our internally-developed “Ergon ESG Best-in-Class Program” (including a carbon plan, a social barometer and the development of ESG KPIs and policies)
Support the implementation of any additional company-specific ESG initiatives
Share best practices between portfolio companies
Measure and report annually ESG KPIs
Perform a high-level ESG VDD (when/if appropriate)
Supply ESG information as part of the divestment
Assess “adherence” of potential buyers to Ergon’s and the exited company’s ESG values
Entry
Avoid investing in sensitive sectors
Assess ESG profile of target company before investing (including through a high-level ESG due diligence when/if appropriate)
Include an “ESG clause” in shareholders agreement
Include an “ESG ratchet” in margin grids of credit lines (when/if appropriate)
Holding Period
Conduct a detailed internal ESG session in the context of the 100-day plan
Establish a high-level road-map with key initiatives to be implemented
Implement our internally-developed “Ergon ESG Best-in-Class Toolkit” (including a carbon plan, a social barometer and the development of ESG policies)
Support the implementation of any additional company-specific ESG initiatives
Share best practices between portfolio companies
Measure and report annually ESG KPIs
Exit
Perform a high-level ESG VDD
Supply ESG information as part of the divestment
Assess “adherence” of potential buyers to Ergon’s and the exited company’s ESG values

2. Reduce our environmental footprint

We are committed to reduce the environmental footprint of our overall organization and are therefore implementing structural initiatives to reduce our carbon emission and other environmental impacts. We are also offsetting financially our carbon footprint at Ergon level.

Carbon Training & Audit

In order to support its portfolio companies in their carbon reduction, Ergon is glad to launch a partnership with the carbon audit firm Carbone 4 whereby all its voluntary portfolio companies will have the opportunity over the next months to attend a carbon training and subsequently collect carbon data and identify carbon reduction priorities.

Such initiative is aligned with Ergon’s commitment to reduce its environmental footprint throughout Europe.

We are Carbon Neutral!

Consistent with its commitment to reduce its environmental impact, Ergon conducted over the past months its first carbon audit throughout its offices in Europe.

On that basis, Ergon is currently working on a carbon reduction plan for the next years.

In addition, Ergon financed the offsetting of its current carbon emissions by financing a reforestation project in Zambia, becoming therefore carbon neutral!

 

 

 

Clean Energy!

Ergon keeps supporting Dolciaria Acquaviva in pursuing an increasingly eco-sustainable future.

Thanks to its photovoltaic system, Dolciaria Acquaviva generates every year 1.3 million of KW/h of clean energy, substantially reducing the recourse to pollutant sources of energy. 

“Through our photovoltaic plant we have generated over 3 million KW/h clean energy in less than 4 years, allowing us to reduce CO2 emissions by more than 1 million Kg and to avoid the consumption of over 6.5k oil barrels” declared Mr. Acquaviva, CEO.

 

Mobility Week!

In line with the European Mobility Week initiative, Ergon has encouraged its team members to use “green” transportation means (i.e. public transportation, regular or electric bikes, trotinette, etc.) during the week of 16-22 September 2019.

“At Ergon we embraced the  European initiative and sought ways active mobility can benefit our health and environment”, said participating Ergon team members.

3. Support youth & education

We believe that youth, in particular through education, is a key driver of social change.
We are therefore seeking to actively implement initiatives towards young people across Europe, in the education and children health fields, through both dedicated time of our local teams and various stakeholders (senior advisors, investors, managers of portfolio companies) and financial support from Ergon Philanthropy.

Education and Professional Inclusion

Support Ukrainian families and children!

Housing represents one of the most pressing and complex challenges for Ukrainians forced to flee their country. These families need proper homes, not just beds. This is a critical step in helping them regain some everyday stability.

In this context, Ergon is joining forces with Airbnb.org, local NGOs and public institutions to launch a pan-European initiative that will host Ukrainian families across Europe and assist in their integration.
 
Link to make a donation:

https://lnkd.in/eNcyuSpT

Ergon Community Day!

In line with its commitment to support youth & education, Ergon has welcomed 30 young people from the charity MolenGeek to meet with CEOs of its portfolio companies as well as Ergon’s professionals in the context of its first “Ergon Community Day”. 

The CEOs and Ergon’s professionals shared with the students general learnings and advice about the professional life and exchanged with them about the key steps of their careers, the choices they had to make, their good and bad experiences, how they dealt with their personal life in parallel, etc.

Fundación Exit

Ergon Philanthropy announces its financial support to the Spanish charity Fundación Exit. 

Fundación Exit is active in reducing school dropout rates of young people facing significant school absenteeism (“at-risk children”) and facilitating their entry in the professional life. Ergon’s grant will support their program “Start Exit” which consists of accompanying at-risk young people during the last 2 years of their secondary education and until they find a job which corresponds to their vocation (through a specific guidance and trainings).

MolenGeek

Ergon Philanthropy announces its financial support to MolenGeek. 

MolenGeek is helping young entrepreneurs (typically from modest backgrounds) to develop their IT/dev/coding/communication skills. Our grant will support a project called “Digital Content Manager” which is a 6-month training for 23 young entrepreneurs from Charleroi to help them develop their video/video editing/communication skills, in partnership with the Belgian radio-television RTBF.

Children Health

Run for Hospitalized Children with Cancer!

For the second consecutive year, we organized our “Ergon Challenge”, an internal running event throughout Europe to finance sport equipment for children with cancer.

In total, 1,500 people participated from 26 companies (including 100% of our current portfolio companies, but also previous invested companies as well as LPs) in 12 different countries. 9 hospitals located in all our geographies received sport equipment.

Run for Research on Cancer!

For the third year in a row, Ergon’s professionals from all Ergon’s offices throughout Europe participated to the Run to Kick family race and raised money for research on paediatric cancers.

Similarly to the previous years, Ergon’s in-house foundation, Ergon Philanthropy, is doubling the funds collected by Ergon’s professionals.

Run for Hospitalized Children with Cancer!

Ergon’s local teams, senior advisors and portfolio companies, as well as some of its investors, participated to the Challenge My Hospital to finance sport equipment for children with cancer hospitalized in 7 hospitals throughout Europe. 

In total: over 700 participants from 9 countries and 13 companies, and €20,000 donated through Ergon’s in-house foundation, Ergon Philanthropy.

Run against Paediatric Cancers!

Ergon participated this year again to the Run to Kick challenge: 15 professionals from all Ergon’s offices throughout Europe run and raised money (with the additional financial support of Ergon Philanthropy) for research on paediatric cancers, finishing #2 among corporates in terms of fund raising!

Each year in Europe, there are about 35k new cases of paediatric cancers, which are the first cause of death by disease for children aged over 1 year.

Our short video on why we contributed: https://lnkd.in/ex-Mzay

4. Report transparently

We are committed to report transparently on our initiatives, status and progresses year-on-year.
In particular, we report each year to:
Our investors and other stakeholders when applicable
The United Nations Principles for Responsible Investment (UNPRI) which we joined in 2016 and which provides notations on investors’ incorporation of ESG topics into their investment practices
The general public through our CSR Annual Report

Our CSR Organization

A. Ergon ESG Committee
Composed of 5 members including 2 partners, 1 managing director (also Head of CSR/ESG), the CFO and the Compliance Officer
Key functions include:
  • Defines the ESG strategy
  • Proposes and implements ESG actions
  • Shares best practices
  • Supports deal teams and portfolio companies in their ESG journey
  • Monitors developments
  • Reports annually to UNPRI and other external parties as well as through Ergon’s ESG Annual Report
Meets formally on a quarterly basis
B. Ergon Philanthropy (EP)
In-house foundation launched in 2020 under the umbrella of the King Baudouin Foundation (KBF)
Focused on financially supporting projects related to Ergon’s firm-wide causes of youth & education
Consists of a Management Committee composed of 5 members including 3 Ergon representatives, 1 KBF representative and 1 independent member
Key functions include:
  • Decides on the final allocation of EP’s funds (also based on internal votes by Ergon professionals)
  • Approves yearly EP’s accounts
Meets formally on a semester basis
More details: Ergon Philanthropy