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  4. Summa Equity wins the Best ESG Private Equity Firm Award

Summa Equity wins the Best ESG Private Equity Firm Award

27.11.2019, Paris – Today Summa Equity won the Best ESG Private Equity Firm Award at the 10th edition of the Private Equity Exchange & Awards 2019 in Paris.

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“I am proud of each and every one of our colleagues, and our portfolio companies, for winning this prize. It is great to see that our approach on including externalities as investment opportunities and risks is being recognized for driving returns in our industry,” says Reynir Indahl, Managing Partner and Founder of Summa Equity. Hannah Jacobsen and Alexander Bjørklund represented Summa at the ceremony.

In today’s business environment there is an increasing correlation between positive outcomes for society and business success, and a higher awareness of the correlation between negative outcomes for society and the lack of business resilience.

This is changing the fundamentals of Private Equity. Purpose, stakeholders and creating positive externalities are increasingly fundamental to value creation and future- proofing our companies, and are key to Summa’s approach as owners. We have termed our approach Private Equity 4.0 (as we described in the article published by the Journal of Applied Corporate Finance the spring 2019). Private Equity 4.0 will improve returns and lower risks.

We are proud of the Summa portfolio companies that are all contributing to achieving the SDGs and thereby creating long-term sustainable businesses. Our portfolio SDG KPIs also show strong progress, providing further evidence of the positive correlation between value creation and SDG improvements.

The Private Equity Exchange & Awards is one of the major Pan-European events on Private Equity & Restructuring, and gathers around 1,200 high-profile delegates and is dedicated to all players of these communities: CEOs, Funds, Limited Partners, Banks and specialist advisors.

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  4. Michael E. Porter, George Serafeim and Mark Kramer share “Where ESG fails” in their latest article in the Institutional Investor

Michael E. Porter, George Serafeim and Mark Kramer share “Where ESG fails” in their latest article in the Institutional Investor

Michael E. Porter, a world-renowned economist, George Serafeim, a professor at Harvard Business School and Mark Kramer, have throughout their careers brought economic theory and strategy concepts that address the most challenging problems facing many corporations and industries.

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In the article “Where ESG Fails” published in the Institutional Investor 16 October 20190 the Porter, Serafeim and Kramer address new models of understanding the positive correlation between investment performance and social impact. We are proud to see that the article use Summa Equity as an example of a company that is built on the Creating Shared Value concept, which we call Private Equity 4.0.

You can read the full article here. https://bit.ly/2VZ5wFX

Below are the excerpts that mentions Summa Equity from the article.

“Summa Equity, a Scandinavian private equity fund, also begins its analysis with themes drawn from the SDGs to identify areas of investment opportunity. Within these broad themes investment teams then examine specific companies and industries in terms of both social and financial performance. The firm has developed its own framework for sourcing, investing in, and exiting companies in which the leadership of each portfolio company is responsible for measuring, managing, and reporting on the company’s social impact. This framework, Via Summa, holds management accountable for taking a hard look at the company’s competitive advantage and how it can be leveraged to create social impact through the core products and services of the company. This clarifies the firm’s strategy internally to new hires and is integral to raising new capital and sourcing new deals.”

“Generation and Summa Equity look for positive social impact that reinforces exemplary financial performance by combining a deep understanding of social issues with traditional security analysis. Yet such an integrated analysis remains rare. For far too long the vast majority of conventional investors have ignored social impact, and most SRI and ESG investors have overlooked the tools of rigorous security valuation, such as free cash flow, P/E ratios, and barriers to entry. Merely investing in the most highly rated ESG companies is no assurance of superior returns. It is the integration of social factors with the conventional economics of highly disciplined security analysis, as well as attention to both long-term competitive advantage and short-term results, that leads to superior investment performance.”

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  4. Watch webinar on Sustainable Finance Management

Watch webinar on Sustainable Finance Management

To celebrate the launch of the special issue on Sustainable Financial Management by the Journal of Applied Corporate Finance, Hannah Jacobsen from Summa Private Equity joined a stellar line-up of speakers in a webinar about how to raise the bar in sustainable finance.

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To celebrate the launch of the special issue on Sustainable Financial Management by the Journal of Applied Corporate Finance, Hannah Jacobsen from Summa Private Equity joined a stellar line-up of speakers in a webinar about how to raise the bar in sustainable finance.

Speakers included:

  • Hannah Saltman, Manager, Governance, Ceres
  • Brian Tomlinson, Research Director, Strategic Investor Initiative, CECP
  • Hannah Jacobsen, Director, Summa Equity
  • Chris Pinney, CEO, High Meadows Institute
  • Sakis Kotsantonis, Managing Partner, KKS Advisors
  • Tony Davis, CEO, Inherent Group
  • Tania Bizoumi, Sustainable Finance, Athens Exchange Group

In Part 1 of the webinar, you will learn:

  • How board oversight can drive climate and sustainability performance
  • The economic significance of companies presenting their long-term plans
  • How a private equity firm is using ESG to create more value with less risk: Focus on Summa Equity

Watch Part 1 of the webinar here:

In Part 2, you will learn:

  • The state of play on sustainability in the capital markets
  • Four things no one will tell you about ESG data
  • How ESG can be used as a value creation tool for active investors: Focus on Inherent Group
  • ESG innovation in stock exchanges: Focus on Athens Exchange Group

Watch Part 2 of the webinar here:

To read the full article, published in the Journal of Applied Corporate Finance (2019), Volume 31, Number 2, pp. 34-41. https://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/epdf/10.1111/jacf.12344 or download the pdf here.

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Read more

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  4. Via Summa Day – A day of inspiration, reflection and tribalisation

Via Summa Day – A day of inspiration, reflection and tribalisation

Last week, Summa Equity gathered all our portfolio companies at the Via Summa Day. Via Summa is how Summa contributes to our portfolio companies’ journeys by connecting ideas, capital, resources, and competence.

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The day was designed to share trends and insights, achievements and lessons learnt as well as to grow our collective knowledge. Reynir Indahl opened the day with his reflections from the past year, a panel of CEOs from our portfolio companies shared what they have learnt from working together with Summa and leveraging Via Summa tools, before participants joined workshops on sustainable leadership, design thinking and how to build a good social media presence.

Via Summa is being developed with the belief that by combining industry and functional competence with a business-oriented understanding of the SDGs, customer needs and other trends, we can co-create sustainable high returns. So, what trends have the most impact on business? Henrik Larsson-Broman, author of the book Super Trends, taught us to spot trends and he shared insights about economic altruism, happynomics and tribalisation, their impact on business and leadership, and how to turn them into business opportunities.

Watch a film about the event here:

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myneva Group, part of Summa Equity, acquires Kuidado GmbH and strengthens digitalization in social sector

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  4. SDG Impact launches standards for Private Equity to respond to the SDGs

SDG Impact launches standards for Private Equity to respond to the SDGs

9 September 2019, New York City – The SDG Impact, a flagship initiative of the UNDP to advance transparency and mobilise private capital to advance the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs), launched a new set of standards for Private Equity. The UNDP SDG Impact Practice Standards for Private Equity (the Standards) are under comment and consultation through to 4 December 2019.

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The Private Equity Industry, increasingly interested in leveraging its financial power to drive positive impact for the people and planet as well as securing more resilient portfolios and financial returns, have asked for guidance. These new Standards will make it easier for the private sector to operationalise the SDGs and fill the gap between showing an interest and acting to advance the SDGs. The Standards will complement, not compete, with principles and frameworks already in place. The next Standards to be developed are UNDP Practice Standards for Bonds and Enterprises.

The Standards will include a tiered certification framework that acknowledges and differentiates good practices. This will be further solidified by an SDG Impact Seal based on compliance with certification criteria.

“I believe that the UNDP SDG Impact will play a crucial role, by giving the finance sector and investors a common approach for SDG impact management. Meanwhile it is important that the Private Equity community engages in the consultation process to ensure that we use our collective competence to make the Standards as impactful as possible for the Private Equity industry. Investments will help us achieve the SDGs and we know that change goes where the money flows,” said Anna Ryott, Chair of the Board, Summa Equity and SDG Impact Steering Committee member when speaking at the UNDP Executive Board meeting in NY on Wednesday 4 September 2019.

The Standards are targeted towards fund managers, asset owners and investors, industry bodies and communities, enterprises, analysts, advisers, research houses, the media and development finance institutions, governments and multilateral organisations.

The Standards are available for download here.

Feedback to the Standards can be provided by email to sdgimpact.standards@undp.org or by completing the online form available here.

Read the full statement from SDG Impact on the UNDP website.

Read here Summa Equity’s involvement in the SDG Impact.

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myneva Group, part of Summa Equity, acquires Kuidado GmbH and strengthens digitalization in social sector

Read more

Summa Equity adds Schulz & Berger to its waste equipment platform to accelerate growth and innovation in circular economy technologies 

Read more

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Read more

Investing in food and agriculture for health and planetary resilience

Read more

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  4. Summa Equity publishes Portfolio Report 2018

Summa Equity publishes Portfolio Report 2018

Summa Equity’s Portfolio Report 2018 summarizes the state of our business, our approach, portfolio metrics, investment themes and our investments.

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“Financial uncertainties have increased, creating a more challenging market for companies and investors. From this uncertainty, Summa Equity has realized the business opportunities in UN Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs). We are therefore excited to show how our companies are solving some of the world’s challenges, and the growth and value increase in doing so,” says Reynir Indahl, Managing Partner, Summa Equity.

The Portfolio Report 2018 builds on the framework presented in our Portfolio Report 2017, while providing further context to the metrics used by adding relevant sector benchmarks and including year-on-year changes where possible. In addition, we seek to provide further context to Via Summa and our thematic investments (Resource efficiency, changing demographics and tech-enabled businesses), while demonstrating our value creation approach through company case studies representing each of our themes.

Download Summa Equity Annual Portfolio Report here.

In 2019, we are continuing our journey of enhancing Via Summa and our efforts to make Summa an ecosystem of purpose drive companies that deliver profitable returns while solving the challenges our world is facing, where we as owners help accelerate this performance.

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myneva Group, part of Summa Equity, acquires Kuidado GmbH and strengthens digitalization in social sector

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Summa Equity adds Schulz & Berger to its waste equipment platform to accelerate growth and innovation in circular economy technologies 

Read more

The case for scalable regenerative agriculture 

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Investing in food and agriculture for health and planetary resilience

Read more

NetGuardians and Intix unite to form Vyntra

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Planetary boundaries as a guiding framework for sustainable growth

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  4. Private Equity 4.0: Using ESG to Create More Value with Less Risk

Private Equity 4.0: Using ESG to Create More Value with Less Risk

By Reynir Indahl and Hannah Gunvor Jacobsen, Summa Equity

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The private equity industry is evolving. When the 1980s gave birth to the first wave of leveraged buyouts, PE firms created value primarily through financial engineering. This involved the use of high leverage in combination with large equity stakes to motivate managers charged mainly with taking costs out of mature businesses. Then, in the 1990s, PE 2.0 was focused heavily on increasing operating efficiencies, accomplished often by bringing in proven CEOs from successful public companies. Starting in the 2000s, PE 3.0 saw the building of large financial institutions that continued to function as value-adding buyers, while responding to tough competition from both strategic and financial buyers by expanding into different asset classes and developing new areas of expertise.

Today, in a movement that might be called Private Equity 4.0, a growing number of PE firms have been adding to their existing capabilities the effective management of “externalities” and environmental, social, and governance (ESG) factors. In this article, we focus on how one such firm—our firm, Summa Equity—has turned its ESG principles and practices into a core competence, a source of competitive advantage that has enabled the firm to distinguish itself from its competitors and, in so doing, to bring about significant increases in efficiency and long-run value.

To read the full article, published in the Journal of Applied Corporate Finance (2019), Volume 31, Number 2, pp. 34-41. https://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/epdf/10.1111/jacf.12344 or download the pdf here.

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myneva Group, part of Summa Equity, acquires Kuidado GmbH and strengthens digitalization in social sector

Read more

Summa Equity adds Schulz & Berger to its waste equipment platform to accelerate growth and innovation in circular economy technologies 

Read more

The case for scalable regenerative agriculture 

Read more

Investing in food and agriculture for health and planetary resilience

Read more

NetGuardians and Intix unite to form Vyntra

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Planetary boundaries as a guiding framework for sustainable growth

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  4. Summa Equity’s Hannah Gunvor Jacobsen is one of Norway’s top 30 leadership talents under 30

Summa Equity’s Hannah Gunvor Jacobsen is one of Norway’s top 30 leadership talents under 30

Every year, the magazine D2, distributed by the Norwegian financial paper Dagens Næringsliv, selects 30 talents under 30. This year’s nominations were devoted to talented leaders that are making the world a better place.

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At Summa Equity, we could not be prouder that our very own Hannah Gunvor Jacobsen made the list. Hannah was our first employee, and today she serves as a Director in our investment team. Summa Equity would not be where we are today without the passion and dedication Hannah has for our mission. In the words of the D2 jury: With her passion, she shows in a convincing way that sustainability and finance can easily be united (translated from Norwegian).

You can read the full interview with Hannah in D2 here.

“In an uncertain world, there are some things we still know for certain. The population is growing, we are becoming older and sicker, we need to take better care of our resources, and technology will continue to penetrate our whole society. The mission has always been to invest in these mega trends” -Hannah Gunvor Jacobsen in D2

Out of the top 30, readers of D2 will nominate a winner. You can submit your vote to Hannah here.

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myneva Group, part of Summa Equity, acquires Kuidado GmbH and strengthens digitalization in social sector

Read more

Summa Equity adds Schulz & Berger to its waste equipment platform to accelerate growth and innovation in circular economy technologies 

Read more

The case for scalable regenerative agriculture 

Read more

Investing in food and agriculture for health and planetary resilience

Read more

NetGuardians and Intix unite to form Vyntra

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Planetary boundaries as a guiding framework for sustainable growth

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  4. Part time analyst at Summa Equity

Part time analyst at Summa Equity

Are you ambitious, progressive, eager to learn and want to contribute positively towards some of the most important challenges we face today? If yes, would you like to be one of us?

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We are a thematically focused Nordic private equity firm, focusing on Resource Efficiency, Changing Demographics, and Tech-enabled businesses. Summa was formed with the purpose of investing in companies that offer solutions to our social, environmental and business challenges and thus have strong value creation potential.

We are seeking part-time analysts to our office in Oslo. The work is conducted on a part-time basis during Fall 2019 and Spring 2020. The work will last between 3 and 12 months depending on your availability. We will be flexible in terms of day or evening work, and number of days during the week, but a minimum of 10 hours per week will be required.

To succeed in the role, you should have:

• Strong analytical and problem-solving skills
• Outstanding grades and motivation to build companies positively contributing to society
• Interest in learning, and you thrive working in a radically honest and transparent environment

Previous work experience from banking, management consulting or an investment firm is beneficial, but not required as we strive to build a team with diverse backgrounds. Any interest or exposure towards one of our three themes will count positively, as you will be dedicated towards one of the themes.
You will become an integral part of Summa’s investment team and be involved in investment processes, including identification of investment opportunities, sourcing work, building databases, valuation, due diligences and other relevant topics.

As an intern you will be responsible for the following:

• Sourcing work and identification of investment opportunities
• Implement industry and company analyses
• Prepare valuation documents

If you are interested, please send your application (incl. resume and grades) to the following address: elisabeth.aanonsen@summaequity.wpkonsulterna.se
Should you have any queries, please contact Michael Vollset on +47 902 10 151 or michael.vollset@summaequity.wpkonsulterna.se

Deadline for submitting your application is 23rd of June 2019.
Please visit our website for more information about Summa Equity, https://summaequity.com/

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myneva Group, part of Summa Equity, acquires Kuidado GmbH and strengthens digitalization in social sector

Read more

Summa Equity adds Schulz & Berger to its waste equipment platform to accelerate growth and innovation in circular economy technologies 

Read more

The case for scalable regenerative agriculture 

Read more

Investing in food and agriculture for health and planetary resilience

Read more

NetGuardians and Intix unite to form Vyntra

Read more

Planetary boundaries as a guiding framework for sustainable growth

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  4. Summa Equity joins UN SDG Impact Initiative to accelerate SDGs

Summa Equity joins UN SDG Impact Initiative to accelerate SDGs

15 May 2019, Oslo – Summa Equity today announced their commitment to the United Nations’ SDG Impact initiative together with Business for Peace, EQT and LGT. This UNDP-led initiative aims to enable private sector investment by providing investors and businesses with the clarity, insights, and tools to support their contributions toward achieving the UN Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs). The Nordic Springboard, of the UNDP SDG Impact Initiative, will be launched at the Business for Peace Summit in Oslo today to rally top-investment firms in the Nordic region to join the initiative.

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“We are proud to be part of the global SDG Impact initiative, the Nordic Springboard and challenge the whole private equity community to join and invest in line with the SDGs,” says Anna Ryott, Chair of the Board, Summa Equity and SDG Impact Steering Committee member. Ryott has joined the SDG Impact Steering Group with global leaders of development, investment and industry, who will validate and confirm the work of the SDG Impact platform, and thus, the global effort to authenticate SDG enabling investments.

The SDG Impact springboard event in Oslo will gather Nordic investor support and build momentum to an upcoming global event in Stockholm.

“Summa Equity was amongst the first private equity firms to commit to the SDGs, aligning our investment and value creation strategy with the SDG framework,” says Reynir Indahl, Managing Partner of Summa Equity. “We believe our biggest challenges are also our most attractive investment opportunities. By incorporating solutions to environmental, social and governance challenges, companies will show stronger growth and returns, while having lower risk. They are more future-proof.”

Ryott and Indahl will speak at the Nordic Springboard about why Summa Equity supports the SDG Impact initiative.

Today Summa Equity manages aggregated capital commitments of SEK 14 billion (c. EUR 1.3 billion), having closed its Fund II with SEK 6.5 billion (c. EUR 610 million) to continue to invest in global challenges. Summa Equity focuses on investments that can outperform and are driven by tailwind from megatrends such as ageing demographics, movement of people, resource scarcity, population growth, climate change and technology disruption. The portfolio has shown strong growth and value increase. Summa was also recently won the Environmental, Social and Governance (ESG) Award at the Private Equity Awards 2019 for the firm’s commitment to best practice in ESG.

Achieving the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) by 2030 is expected to require $5-7 trillion in total annual investment and requires a fundamental rethinking of global financial flows. Up until now there has not been a consistent approach to defining and measuring SDG-alignment, which the SDG Impact initiative is designed to meet.

SDG Impact aims to catalyze up to $1 trillion annually in private sector investment to achieve the SGDs.These efforts would contribute towards helping create some $12 trillion per year in economic opportunities and 380 million new jobs, which the Business Commission on Sustainable Development estimates would be possible from investing in the SDGs.

For interviews and more information, please contact:

Jenny Keisu
jenny.keisu@summaequity.com
+46 722 42 41 44

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myneva Group, part of Summa Equity, acquires Kuidado GmbH and strengthens digitalization in social sector

Read more

Summa Equity adds Schulz & Berger to its waste equipment platform to accelerate growth and innovation in circular economy technologies 

Read more

The case for scalable regenerative agriculture 

Read more

Investing in food and agriculture for health and planetary resilience

Read more

NetGuardians and Intix unite to form Vyntra

Read more

Planetary boundaries as a guiding framework for sustainable growth

Read more
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