Berti Investments, an environmental impact investment company, has made its first major UK investment in 2012, by backing Ecometrica with £250,000 of growth capital. The Edinburgh and Montreal-based company, which last month won a place on the UK Government’s prestigious G-Cloud procurement framework, has established a multi-faceted team of specialists, developing greenhouse gas accounting solutions, ecosystem services, climate change policy, remote sensing and web-based programming.
Commenting on the investment, Seth Tabatznik, director of Berti Investments, said: “At Berti Investments we aim to benefit society by investing in scalable businesses that can make a significant environmental impact. Ecometrica makes a perfect fit, with their market-leading solutions and in a sector with significant growth potential. Backed by clients, such as RSA, BP and Petkim, they are already expanding on a global scale.
“Carbon accounting is becoming increasingly common for many large and mid-sized companies, due to a number of external pressures, and we’re seeing that the companies that have transparent greenhouse gas accounting processes in place are actually performing better. To put it simply, you can’t visibly improve what you can’t measure.”
“Berti Investments will use Ecometrica’s greenhouse gas accounting service to measure its own carbon impact, and the impact of all its investments, including those in its landmark Berti Green Accelerator programme.”
Dr Richard Tipper, chief executive of Ecometrica, added: “Berti’s investment will support our global ambitions and underscores the credibility of our success with developing market-leading services and solutions. We share Berti’s values and commitment to promoting best green business practices and are delighted to have obtained their support. We look forward to working with Berti Investments and its portfolio of companies.”
Berti Investments was set up in early 2011, with a £5m loan from the Bertha Foundation, to invest in innovative, growing, entrepreneurial businesses in the UK that focus on reducing carbon emissions. All profits made by Berti Investments will be reinvested.
The company recently launched its new Accelerator programme, delivered in partnership with James Caan’s Hamilton Bradshaw Impact Partners (HBIP). The initiative will annually select three low-carbon businesses with high impact and growth potential, and award them with six months of business support from HBIP and the opportunity to receive funding of up to £1m each from Berti Investments.
Applications for the Berti Green Accelerator close on 17 April 2012.
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Date Published: March 14, 2012
TLDR:
Berti Investments, an environmental impact investment company, has made its first major UK investment in 2012, by backing Ecometrica with £250,000 of growth capital.
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