Imec.istart is recognized as a world-leading accelerator for tech startups, as demonstrated through our consistently high rankings by UBI Global. We are delighted that our success has been achieved through a highly founder-centric acceleration program. This success extends to our investment funds and the imec.istart.nl program in the Netherlands.
While istart.nl Fund Coöperatief U.A., and istart.nl Seed Fund B.V. (a 100% subsidiary owned company of istart.nl Fund Coöperatief U.A.,) do not actively promote environmental or social characteristics in accordance to article 8 of Regulation (EU) no. 2019/2088 of the European Parliament and of the Council of 27 November 2019 on sustainability-related disclosures in the financial services sector (“SFDR”,) nor do istart.nl Fund Coöperatief U.A., and istart.nl Seed Fund B.V. focus on sustainable investments as defined by Article 9 of SFDR, we firmly believe that, in order to make sound investments, ESG has always been intrinsic to our way of working, and an integral part of our drive towards making positive impact.
Integration of sustainability Risks in investment policies (art. 3 SFDR)
While imec.istart does take ESG risk and negative impact into account as part of its holistic evaluation of a startup project application, we do not formally integrate an assessment of sustainability risks in our decision-making process for istart.nl Fund Coöperatief U.A. and istart.nl Seed Fund B.V..
Startups operating at such an early stage, where we typically engage with them, might not possess a comprehensive view, or the necessary data on their impact, or on any material unintended consequences their business could generate. Moreover, the istart.nl Fund Coöperatief U.A. and istart.nl Seed Fund B.V. may not have the organizational capacity to perform a sophisticated due diligence or detailed analysis on the startup’s behalf of its (potential) risks.
Principal adverse impact of investment decisions on sustainability factors (art. 4 SFDR)
We are aware that our investment decisions, as well as our portfolio entities’ activities may have an impact on ESG factors. However, for the purpose of article 4 of the SFDR, istart.nl Fund Coöperatief U.A. and istart.nl Seed Fund B.V. do not formally consider the adverse impacts of our investment decisions on all ESG factors.
Startups operating at such an early stage, where we typically engage with them, might not possess a comprehensive view, or the necessary data on their impact, or on any material unintended consequences their business could generate. Moreover, the istart.nl Fund Coöperatief U.A. and istart.nl Seed Fund B.V. may not have the organizational capacity to perform a sophisticated due diligence or detailed analysis on the startup’s behalf of its (potential) principal adverse impacts.
At a portfolio level, we note – but do not quantifiably measure, nor do we foresee having the capacity to accurately measure in the foreseeable future – that principal adverse impacts mainly relate to energy and resource use, data processing and storage, workforce management and protection, and corporate governance.
Integration of sustainability risks in the remuneration policy (art. 5 SFDR)
Istart.nl Fund Coöperatief U.A. and istart.nl Seed Fund B.V. do not have an obligation to have a formal remuneration policy in accordance with article 40. As istart.nl Fund Coöperatief U.A. and istart.nl Seed Fund B.V. do not have a formal remuneration policy, there are no sustainability risks to be considered in that context.