Reframe Venture, the British Business Bank, and industry trade body UK Private Capital have jointly launched a new ESG reporting template designed to standardise sustainability disclosures between fund managers and institutional investors in the UK venture capital sector.
Developed through extensive consultations with institutional asset owners, fund managers, and venture capital general partners (GPs), the voluntary template focuses specifically on material sustainability metrics for early-stage and high-growth businesses. The initiative aims to reduce administrative burdens on portfolio companies while delivering consistent, comparable data to limited partners (LPs).
The framework aligns directly with established international benchmarks, including the ESG Data Convergence Initiative (EDCI), Invest Europe’s ESG Reporting Template, and the Principal Adverse Impacts (PAIs) criteria under the European Union’s Sustainable Finance Disclosure Regulation (SFDR). Institutional investors, including Adams Street Partners, StepStone Group, and Isomer Capital, have backed the template’s adoption.
Key features and industry contexts of the framework include:
- Emissions tracking focus: Standardises reporting on greenhouse gas emissions, an area where UK early-stage firms currently outperform international peers. Data from ESG_VC shows 26 per cent of UK start-ups measure their carbon footprint—compared to 23 per cent in Continental Europe and 8 per cent in the United States—while 16 per cent maintain formal net-zero policies.
- Capital flow integration: Aims to remove operational friction and support greater private market allocations from institutional asset owners, including defined contribution pension schemes, into high-growth British innovation.
- Regulatory interoperability: Designed to satisfy LP reporting mandates under SFDR Article 8 and Article 9 classifications, addressing compliance requirements for the £128 billion raised by UK Private Capital members under these designations between 2021 and 2025.
Dr Johannes Lenhard, Chief Executive Officer of Reframe Venture, stated that adopting a unified framework across the UK builds on European alignment efforts, reducing reporting redundancies for fund managers.
Michael Moore, Chief Executive of UK Private Capital, added that proportionate reporting standards ensure institutional LPs obtain actionable sustainability insights without placing disproportionate administrative demands on expanding businesses.
Hannah Gilbert, Director of Sustainability at the British Business Bank, noted that the initiative establishes a practical foundation for LP–GP engagement, helping bridge institutional capital with UK growth opportunities.
