CapMan Infra received four stars in GRESB’s annual ESG assessment of infrastructure funds and reached sixth place among European benchmarks, advancing seven places.
GRESB assesses and compares the ESG performance of real assets globally and has become the go-to benchmark for asset managers and investors when it comes to reviewing ESG performance of different funds and companies.
CapMan Nordic Infrastructure I participated in the GRESB assessment for the second year in a row with good results across the board. This year’s review awarded CapMan Infra’s first fund with 89 points out of a possible 100, an improvement of 13 points from last year. The scoring corresponds to a 4-star rating from GRESB and places CapMan Nordic Infrastructure I in the top quartile among European diversified private equity funds, achieving a 6th (13th) place out of 26 (25) participants. The fund exceeded both GRESB averages and the benchmarks in terms of total score, management score and performance score.
The most consistent improvement was in the management score, which this year was 30 points out of 30. Improvements were made especially in terms of risk management. For the individual portfolio company assessments, Norled improved scores markedly and received 5 stars compared to last year’s 1 star.
“We are very pleased with the improvement in our first Infra fund’s GRESB score, which reflects the team’s ongoing development of sustainability processes and focus on driving ESG results. The strong score highlights especially the solid work performed together with Norled, which under our co-ownership has transitioned towards systematically and measurably reducing the GHG footprint of the operations,” says Daniel Joelsson, Investment Manager at CapMan Infra and responsible for co-ordinating the team’s ESG work.
The GRESB assessment reflects performance during 2021. CapMan Infra agreed to exit Norled in August 2022.
“For Koiviston Auto, the Finnish bus operator which we invested into earlier this year, we have a similar agenda as for Norled to electrify the fleet and transition away from fossil fuels, and it will be interesting to follow Koiviston Auto’s journey in this area through GRESB in the years ahead,” Joelsson continues.
About GRESB
GRESB is a mission-driven and industry-led organisation providing standardized and validated Environmental, Social and Governance (ESG) data to financial markets. Established in 2009, GRESB has become the leading ESG benchmark for real estate and infrastructure investments across the world, used by over 170 institutional investors and more than 2,000 fund managers, companies, and asset operators to make informed decisions based on ESG data. For more information, visit GRESB.com.
