The Vistria Group Supports Launch of Novata, a New Technology Platform to Enhance ESG Reporting in Private Equity

The Vistria Group is proud to be a part of the launch of Novata, an innovative public benefit corporation and technology platform built to provide the private market ecosystem, including private equity firms, with an effective Environmental, Social Good and Corporate Governance (ESG) measurement, data collection and benchmarking solution. Backed by a one-of-a-kind consortium, which also includes the Ford Foundation, S&P Global (NYSE: SPGI), Hamilton Lane (NASDAQ: HLNE) and Omidyar Network, Novata has created an independent, unbiased and open architecture platform for the private markets to more consistently report on relevant ESG data. A vetted ESG reporting framework built around 10 critical metrics that consistently appear across leading ESG methodologies and a secure technology platform provides a clearer view of ESG impact.

“Novata is launching at an important inflection point, as private equity faces greater scrutiny of their conduct and portfolio company goods and services,” said Kip Kirkpatrick, Senior Partner and Co-CEO of The Vistria Group. “At The Vistria Group, we believe that purpose and profit can and should be aligned to generate outsized returns, and we are excited to partner with Novata as they develop effective ESG measurement and benchmarking tools for the PE industry.”

ESG and impact measurement have been a central part of The Vistria Group’s investment strategy since the firm’s founding, while many others in the private equity ecosystem are still in the early stages of quantifying sustainability and social impact. Novata can help unify fragmentation that has made effective and objective measurement of impact particularly challenging while also providing flexibility to meet business owners and general partners on their individual ESG pathways.

“Uniting purpose and profit is the foundation of our investment thesis, and transparency is a critical component to holding our firm and the entire private equity community accountable,” said Marty Nesbitt, Senior Partner and Co-CEO of The Vistria Group. “We are excited to partner with Novata in their initiative to develop effective ESG measurement and benchmarking tools for the PE community.”

Novata’s solution consists of three core elements:

– A streamlined ESG reporting framework that consolidates metrics which consistently appear across leading methodologies and may be immediately leveraged by any private company.

– A secure contributory database where private companies can report against Novata’s framework, as well as other broadly used methodologies, and where owners and general partners control access to company data.

– Objective, data-driven benchmarking against both private and public company peers, in addition to reporting tools to help private businesses gather key insights from their data and easily report to investors, regulators and other stakeholders.

The Vistria Group has a long history of measuring corporate conduct and the impact of each portfolio company’s core products and services. The Vistria Group’s annual Impact Report, which will be released next week, highlights the firm’s ongoing commitments, strategies, and significant investments in its impact discipline, including additional resources and expertise on measurement and tracking.

To learn more about this exciting initiative, you can view the launch video here or visit Novata at novata.com.