This Young Foundation report on private equity and sustainable development gives an overview of current trends and engagement activities in the area and highlights future opportunities.

The private equity community already has considerable involvement in philanthropic activities.
However there is growing interest in new ways of engaging that reflect private equity’s
strengths. This is bringing with it a cultural shift, including a greater desire to apply business
models to philanthropy. A cluster of new developments are taking place in the space
between purely commercial activity and traditional philanthropy, including new social venture
funds, social investment banks, and venture philanthropy. Although there remains a cultural
divide between charity and mainstream finance, this is beginning to blur. The entrance of
mainstream venture capital / private equity investors together with intermediary firms and
specialist advisors has been an important part of this process in areas like cleantech and
could soon be replicated in other fields. However, the engagement of the industry remains at
a very early stage, limited in terms of scale and depth. Many firms are unsure how best to
contribute; and there is a marked lack of the brokering skills and intermediaries needed to
maximise impact.

Download a full pdf version of the report.