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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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  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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  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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  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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  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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The case for scalable regenerative agriculture 

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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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  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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The case for scalable regenerative agriculture 

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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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The case for scalable regenerative agriculture 

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Investing in food and agriculture for health and planetary resilience

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  4. Summa Equity wins ESG Award at the Private Equity Awards 2019

Summa Equity wins ESG Award at the Private Equity Awards 2019

Summa Equity won the Environmental, Social and Governance (ESG) Award at the Private Equity Awards 2019 for incorporating the Sustainable Development Goal (SDG) framework in shaping the long-term strategy of its portfolio companies, measuring the effect and innovating to address the global challenges.

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We are honored to win the Environmental, Social and Governance Award at the Private Equity Awards 2019, one of the oldest and most respected tributes in our industry. To outperform, one cannot be agnostic to the challenges we as a society are facing. Companies that incorporate solutions to environmental, social and governance challenges, will show stronger growth and returns, while having lower risk. They are more future-proof, says Reynir Indahl, founder and managing partner at Summa.

Summa Equity was amongst the first Private Equity firms to commit to the UN Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs), aligning its investment and value creation strategy with the SDG framework. The ESG Award at the Private Equity Awards recognizes a firm’s commitment to best practice in environmental, social and corporate governance. Seven companies were shortlisted for the award and the shortlist was collated following nominations from a specialist LP judging panel.

For the 18th year, the Private Equity Awards celebrate the industry’s contribution to the success of European businesses. The awards were celebrated by more than 700 delegates including more than 250 firms in private equity from across Europe.

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Investing in food and agriculture for health and planetary resilience

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NetGuardians and Intix unite to form Vyntra

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Planetary boundaries as a guiding framework for sustainable growth

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Summa Equity announces exit from Documaster

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  4. Xllnc acquires Lin Solutions

Xllnc acquires Lin Solutions

Summa Equity has decided to take the next step in focusing Lin Education’s operations. Lin Solutions – the business area that focuses on digital tools, with related services and pedagogy – is acquired by the independent IT company Xllnc. Summa Equity will remain as the main owner of the software business in Lin Software, and the focus will be on realizing the potential in the Loops product.

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Summa Equity acquired Lin Education in February 2017. Since its inception in 2007, Lin Education has played an important role in the digitization of Swedish schools by supporting municipalities, school leaders, teachers and students with special competence in pedagogy and technology. The corporate culture has been characterized by a strong drive to make a positive impact in schools, and as part of its strategy, the company has invested in developing software products for learning based on innovative pedagogy. One of these is the digital education product Loops, which was launched late 2017, targeting schools, companies and other organizations.

From the outset, Summa Equity has seen great potential in developing and scaling up Loops in the school market and in exploring new business opportunities outside the school market. In order to succeed in this, Summa Equity and Lin Education saw a need to create a clearer focus on software operations and add resources and skills required for scaling up. It was clear that the best thing for Lin Education was a clearer division between Lin Solutions and Lin Software, in order to better meet the different needs of the two operations.

“Summa Equity will now be able to focus on developing Lin Software further and building Loops for schools, companies and other organizations. Loops is a unique software product, and it has attracted a great deal of interest from customers in the school world and the business community. Since the launch of the new Loops product, which was made less than a year ago, we have seen an exciting development with customers who benefit from the pedagogy that Loops is based on,” says Tommi Unkuri, Partner at Summa Equity.

There is still a strong market trend in Sweden and the Nordic region to increase digitization of schools. The school market is therefore a niche, in the broader IT industry, which is expected to continue having strong growth going forward.

“As a pioneer, Lin Education has played an important role in the digitization of Swedish schools. We are very proud of this. That work will be intensified, by both Lin’s operations in their own domains,” says Josef Lind, Founder and Board Member of Lin Education.

Xllnc offers large corporations and organizations a platform to handle IT equipment during its entire life cycle. The service provides customers with predictability, control and increased productivity combined with reduced costs and minimized environmental footprint.

“For a long time, there has been interest from potential buyers of Lin Education’s operations. But it is only with Xllnc, who is a partner of Lin Education and who has been close to Lin Education, that time feels ripe for Summa Equity to sell. Xllnc has a lot to contribute with to Lin Solutions, and we believe that the merger will be very good for Lin Solutions,” says Tommi Unkuri, Partner at Summa Equity.

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Latest readings

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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

Read more

Summa Equity announces exit from Documaster

Read more

Inspiring leadership for impact: Summa Equity’s CEO Learning Journey at Harvard Business School

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