Investing with a purpose and with a long-term outlook have been part of EQT’s ethos since inception. EQT’s long-term, strategic approach to sustainable business begins with a mindset that there is a synergistic relationship between the creation of shareholder value and the creation of lasting societal and environmental value. By considering sustainability as an integral part of its business model, EQT and EQT Funds’ portfolio companies can identify and capture value creation opportunities as well as mitigate risks, and in doing so, EQT will accelerate impact and drive change.

In 2021, EQT launched EQT Future, a new strategy designed to guide EQT’s purpose-driven investment efforts into the next stage. EQT Future is an impact-driven longer-hold fund that invests in line with three key objectives i) Planet (safeguarding resources and protecting our climate), ii) People (improve mental and physical health), and iii) Prosperity (create equality of opportunity). The longer-term outlook is a distinct element of the investment strategy, given the view that a longer time horizon is critical to achieve market-shaping impact in the mature industry leaders the Fund targets.

EQT Future has portfolio-level targets linked to its impact objectives to support impact across the three key objectives described above. Portfolio companies will

1. Commit to the Science Based Targets initiative and set targets for Scope 1, 2 and 3 emissions reduction
2. Seek to progress towards top-quartile employee Net Promoter Score (eNPS), reflecting industry-leading mental and physical health for their employees
3. Improve diversity by progressing towards gender diversity (an equitable ratio of men and women)

These KPIs are intentionally ambitious, and will require a longer-term outlook in order to achieve. However, with the longer-hold nature of EQT Future, we will be able to drive comprehensive, longer-term sustainability and digital transformation plans and ensure that the impact created extends even after our ownership.

Importantly, EQT Future is a critical strategic initiative for the broader Group. Our goal is to use EQT Future as a test-bed and learning platform to continue to push the boundaries of purpose-driven investing forward and eventually apply the best practices and lessons learned across the full EQT portfolio. We want to make sure that we approach this strategically and practically – so EQT Future is a fully integrated part of the EQT Private Capital platform, with access to all the resources and processes that have been refined over nearly three decades.

While it is still early days for EQT Future, the teams are already hard at work supporting the Fund’s first investment in Anticimex, a leading global pest control specialist. With Anticimex, EQT Future has an opportunity to reshape the pest control industry with more effective and sustainable solutions. For example, Anticimex’s SMART technology effectively eliminates the need for biocides, thereby preserving biodiversity.

EQT’s believes that transforming the portfolio companies themselves will drive broader positive changes within their respective industries, resulting in a profound ripple effect of impact beyond EQT’s own efforts.