Empowering sustainable investments through efficient data management with Galway Sustainable Capital

A responsible and sustainable strategy to investing

Galway seeks out growth-stage companies and project developers that are ready to build and deploy infrastructure that produces positive outcomes for people and the planet. We prioritize investments that deliver environmental and social benefits in at least one of our six key impact areas, which include climate risk reduction, waste reduction, and healthy lands and waters, as well as economic opportunity, health and wellness, and diversity, equity, and inclusion (DEI).

At the same time, in our quest to generate desirable, risk-adjusted returns for our investors, Galway assesses – and seeks to minimize – environmental, social, and governance (“ESG”) risks. As an investor, risk mitigation is integral to our decision-making process, and we aim to not only support businesses that contribute to broader societal goals but also manage their operations sustainably and responsibly.

Our disciplined approach ensures strong returns and robust downside protections, making Galway an attractive choice for investors.

A software to drive social and environmental performance throughout the investment lifecycle

As a complement to other tools in our underwriting and asset management practices, we use Position Green throughout our investment process, from initial screening to post-investment monitoring and annual reporting. During due diligence, we issue a Pre-Investment survey, which integrates positive impact quantification, ESG risk assessment, and baseline performance evaluation into one easy-to-use questionnaire. Standardizing questions ensures data comparability across companies, allowing us to create benchmarks and identify opportunities to enhance ESG practices across our portfolio. Post-investment, we rely on Position Green for ongoing monitoring and annual data collection. By collecting consistent information on key performance metrics before and after investment, we are able to track the environmental and social impacts of our investments over time. This data has unlocked new insights into our portfolio companies’ outcomes in areas like water, waste, workforce, diversity, and job creation. Our data collection also enables us to establish a baseline inventory of portfolio companies’ Scope 1 and 2 greenhouse gas emissions footprints, laying the groundwork for our pathway to net zero. These quantitative insights position us to drive continuous improvement in social and environmental performance across our portfolio.

The need for a scale and efficiency in ESG data management

Before using Position Green, we relied on Word documents and spreadsheets to collect information and manage data for our due diligence questionnaires and annual impact report. Our previous approach was clunky. It contained open-ended questions, and was sent via email, leading to inconsistent responses, version control problems, and data transfer via individual inboxes. Unclear questions sometimes lead to confusion, misinterpretations, and inefficient back-and-forth communications. Because the Word and Excel documents required all companies to address the same set of questions (even if some were irrelevant to their specific circumstances), the surveys were lengthier and more time-consuming than needed. This method limited our ability to collect and report on a comprehensive set of ESG impact KPIs during our first reporting cycle due to its inefficiency and time consumption. We realized we needed a more scalable system to expand and enhance our quantitative impact reporting and data collection while creating a more streamlined tool for our prospective partners.

Streamlined data collection and analysis to support investment reporting

With Position Green, we customized our setup to prioritize user-friendliness by incorporating logic flows, guardrails, and closed-ended questions that enhance accuracy and reduce the response burden for portfolio companies. The platform’s real-time collaboration capabilities allow designated contacts at portfolio companies to delegate specific sections to relevant internal stakeholders, ensuring that the most knowledgeable individuals are providing the necessary information. Additionally, the platform tracks response progress and sends reminders, minimizing the need for follow-up emails and eliminating version control issues by centralizing all data in one accessible location. We can also perform calculations and create visualizations using this data with the platform’s built-in analytics.

“Reporting is now easier and clearer for our PortCos”

Sarene Marshall – Chief Sustainability Officer
Maggie Nowlan – Sustainability Manager

Unlocking value for PortCos with actionable insights

Beyond reducing the reporting burden, Position Green has empowered us to give back valuable insights to respondents and investors. Every portfolio company now has a baseline greenhouse gas footprint calculation produced using their data on Position Green’s platform. Many of these portfolio companies, particularly smaller businesses, may not have a dedicated sustainability team with the capacity to gather this increasingly requested data from suppliers and customers. This data is critical for informing strategy development, helping companies identify areas to reduce their environmental footprint, improve efficiencies, and save costs. By eliminating the need to build clunky data collection systems, Position Green has freed us to spend more time supporting our portfolio companies in meaningful ways. Not only does this save time, resources, and effort in reporting, but it also adds significant value by equipping them with insights to succeed in a rapidly evolving market.

Responsive support and tailored solutions for a successful onboarding

We had a very positive experience working with Position Green. The team was incredibly responsive and supportive, especially during the onboarding process. They took the time to understand our specific needs and customized the platform accordingly. This collaborative approach made our transition to the platform smooth and significantly improved our data collection and reporting processes. The features of Position Green have created a better user experience for our portfolio companies and have allowed us to focus more on strategic sustainability initiatives.

Trusting Position Green for flexibility and comprehensive analytics

We chose Position Green for several reasons. First, the platform’s flexibility and customization options were crucial for us, allowing us to tailor the data collection and reporting processes to our specific requirements. Additionally, the comprehensive analytics capabilities, including greenhouse gas calculations, were superior to those offered by other providers. These features, combined with the ease of use and the supportive onboarding experience, made Position Green the best choice for our needs.

About Galway Sustainable Capital

Galway Sustainable Capital invests in companies, projects, and assets to accelerate the transition to greater environmental and social sustainability. Galway partners with experienced entrepreneurs and developers to build infrastructure and deploy next-generation energy, transportation, real estate, food, land and water, and circular economy solutions.

Bringing rigorous analysis and a solutions-oriented approach to their investments and partnerships with project sponsors, they share an enthusiasm for accelerating the energy transition and working toward economic inclusion and shared opportunity.

Their investments save energy and resources, lower greenhouse gas emissions, reduce waste, and increase resilience.

Read more about Galway’s work here.