Sovereign publishes 2025-26 Sustainability Report

Sovereign Capital Partners, the leading UK private equity Buy & Build specialist, has published its third annual Sustainability Report.

Drawing on an annual survey of portfolio companies, the report shows year-on-year improvement on a range of measures, including carbon footprint measurement, renewable energy use, and human rights policies.

The report also covers our own progress over 2025-26. We achieved four stars in every module of our UN PRI assessment, refreshed our Responsible Investment Policy and Net Zero Policy, and supported each portfolio company in completing a full carbon footprint assessment and updating its Sustainability Action Plan.

Read the full report here.

Highlights from across the portfolio:

• Total portfolio emissions fell by 16%, from 9,970 to 8,412 tCO₂e (market-based), and renewable energy consumption rose by 31%.
• Every portfolio company has calculated its carbon footprint and put in place an enhanced three-year Sustainability Action Plan.
• 100% of companies now have an employee responsible for sustainability, and 67% publish their own annual Sustainability Report, an increase from 45% last year.
• All companies now have a human rights policy and a whistleblowing mechanism, both up from 88% last year.

Dominic Dalli, Managing Partner, Sovereign Capital Partners, said: “Our approach rests on a simple premise: businesses that are run sustainably tend to perform better over time. Every portfolio company now has a carbon footprint baseline and an action plan in place, and this year’s report shows what that groundwork is delivering. The priority for the coming year is to use that data to help each management team focus on the reductions that will make the biggest difference to their business, and to help them develop their ESG approach in support of achieving their commercial goals.”

Jessica Chan, Head of Investor Relations and ESG Co-Head, Sovereign Capital Partners, said: “A consistent method for gathering data across the portfolio means we can compare companies on the same terms and track their progress from one year to the next. The figures in this report reflect day-to-day decisions by management teams on emissions, governance and the way their people are treated, and we are grateful for the effort behind them. The Sovereign Sustainability Network gives those teams a forum to share what has worked, and we expect that exchange to keep driving improvement.”