Trill Impact, an established Impact House with around EUR 1.3 billion in assets under management, is dedicated to generating positive social and environmental impact alongside competitive financial returns. The firm’s purpose-driven approach is fully integrated into the investment strategies, aiming to benefit investors, businesses, and society at large. With a team of experienced professionals based in Europe and North America, Trill Impact is committed to being a force for positive change through impact private investments.
Managing ESG Data
Before engaging with Novata, Trill Impact faced a common challenge: a time-consuming, manual process for ESG data collection from its portfolio companies. Trill Impact explained that its previous process was “quite tedious…with few standards on how to collect the data.” This manual system not only consumed substantial time, but also lacked the structure needed for efficient data management.
Finding a Solution
To address these challenges, Trill Impact turned to Novata, which offered a centralized solution that aligned with its regulatory requirements and sustainability goals. The decision to partner with Novata was driven by several factors: “We wanted to have something where we could collect and store all the data centrally so that we could focus more on value creation initiatives generated from the insights of the collected data as well as from the external references.”
Novata’s specific templates and frameworks, which cater to regulations such as SFDR, TCFD, and EDCI, further convinced Trill Impact that Novata was the right partner to streamline its data collection process.
Implementation Process
The implementation process involved several phases to ensure smooth adoption across Trill Impact’s portfolio companies. Initially, Trill Impact informed its portfolio companies about the transition to a central data collection platform, highlighting the benefits of reduced manual input and improved efficiency. The firm then collaborated closely with its portfolio companies to refine the data collection frameworks, incorporating feedback to ensure alignment with both Trill Impact’s and its portfolio companies’ needs.
Markus Mayer, Impact Analyst at Trill Impact, elaborated on the phased rollout: “We shared the frameworks with the portfolio companies gradually to ensure they were all onboard…Then they had a technical onboarding process on the platform, which was run by Novata.” This phased approach included a test run in Q3 2023, followed by a full transition to Novata for all annual ESG data collection in Q4 2023.
Impact and Results
The transition to Novata has yielded tangible benefits for Trill Impact:
High-Level Impact
- Completed several data collection cycles with Novata
- # of Metrics Collected from portfolio companies:
- Impact KPIs: 2-3
- ESG KPIs: >20
- Time frame for data collection: 3-4 weeks
Outcomes
- One of the most significant advantages has been the time savings associated with the centralized data collection process. Trill Impact noted, “The first tangible advantage…is the time savings from the manual data collection process. We can spend our time more on value-adding or value-creating initiatives with the portfolio companies.”
- Additionally, Novata has enhanced Trill Impact’s ability to respond quickly to data requests, whether for fundraising, quarterly reporting to LPs, or the annual impact review. “It’s less manual work as it’s centrally saved…This helps us act quicker when it comes to data requests,” Markus said.
- The centralized platform has also facilitated the creation of a KPI dashboard, allowing the firm to better monitor data trends and generate actionable insights. As they highlighted, “We now have built a central platform…based on our quarterly portfolio reviews, we can now better work for and against certain data development trends.”
Looking Ahead
Novata has played a pivotal role in Trill Impact’s data collection, reducing manual workload and saving time that can instead be used for other effective value-creation initiatives. By centralizing and structuring its data, Trill Impact is now better positioned to adapt to new regulatory requirements, respond to investor needs, and drive sustainability across its portfolio.
Reflecting on the journey, Trill Impact offered advice to others embarking on a similar path: “For us, it was really worthwhile to build that one single source of truth when it comes to our Impact and ESG data…It’s really good to take time to build the frameworks and involve all stakeholders early on.”
