ESG Starter Pack

The ESG Starter Pack for Early-Stage Software Startups


In too many software startups ESG ends up being annual reporting exercises, with limited connection to your actual operations. ESG is also often seen as two extremes: a very narrow scope (e.g. diverse hires and not traveling so much), or a comprehensive ESG assessment to identify all actions and KPIs relevant for you.


Our goal with this
ESG Starter Pack is to help software startups find the middle road and execute the critical first steps of their ESG journey. The underlying idea is a step-by-step approach: rather than trying to implement everything immediately, you should rather focus on what is most relevant for your stage. As your business grows, you can later refine and build on what you set in place earlier. 

By downloading the whole ESG Starter Pack you will find:
  • Our recommended ESG roadmap for software startups, including deep-dives on each focus area
  • Main KPIs to track your progress
  • Practical advice to get started

“Any company listing or being acquired will need to have their ESG matters in check. We strongly recommend companies to start building their ESG foundation early to make it a core part of their culture and growth.” - Patrik Backman, OpenOcean GP


In addition to improving the world, the short and medium-term benefits software startups can gain from ESG are:
  • Easier to attract and retain employees
  • Improved decision making and use of resources
  • Higher chance to secure future financing
  • Reduced risk of legal liabilities
  • Head start in B2B sales and B2C customer preference

We also warmly welcome fellow early-stage VC investors to use the KPIs in the ESG Stater Pack as a starting point for reporting requirements set out by the new EU Sustainable Finance Disclosure Regulation (SFDR) Article 8. We hope that this KPI framework can help us investors to consolidate our annual reporting requirements, and create a common language on the most relevant ESG KPIs for software startups.

Creators of this Starter Pack

If you have any questions, feel free to reach out to nina@openocean.vc.


,

Featured articles

All news
March 29, 2023
·
4
min read

Hygraph Raises $30M Series B Funding Round for Federated Content Platform

OpenOcean portfolio company Hygraph, a leading federated content platform, announced the closure of a $30 million Series B funding round led by One Peak. OpenOcean is delighted to continue to be part of the journey since it led Hygraph’s Series A, and welcomes the participation of both existing and new investors, including Peak, SquareOne, and business angel Boris Lokschin, Co-Founder and CEO of Spryker Systems.
March 14, 2023
·
4
min read

"Despite a difficult market, LPs remain bullish on the opportunity” – A Q&A with OpenOcean’s Strategic Advisor Lisa Edgar

At the beginning of the year, Lisa Edgar joined our team as our Strategic Advisor. We sat down with Lisa for a Q&A to pick her brain and hear her unique perspective on various topics related to the startup ecosystem and venture capital industry. From her thoughts on the current state of the European venture capital market to her belief in the importance of ESG, Lisa offers invaluable insights for entrepreneurs and investors alike.
February 9, 2023
·
3
min read

How Supermetrics, a company with 40% annual growth, leads with two CEOs?

Our portfolio company Supermetrics, , announced in early 2023 that it is moving to a shared CEO model – a practice used by roaringly successful companies like Netflix, Atlassian and Workday. To introduce the model, Anssi and Supermetrics better, we asked him a few crisp questions on the topic.