BlueMark – a leading provider of independent impact verification and intelligence for the impact and sustainable investing market – announced that it had closed its Series A funding round with $10 million in capital commitments from a diverse group of 7 investors. The lead investor is S&P Global with other new investors including Temasek Trust Capital and 3 family offices with significant experience in impact investing: Blue Haven Initiative, Gunung Capital, and Tsao Family Office. Ford Foundation and Radicle Impact are also participating in the Series A round, having previously funded BlueMark’s seed round with $2.25 million in equity financing with Ford Foundation as the lead investor and Radicle Impact as co-investor.
The latest funding round for BlueMark comes at a pivotal time in the maturation of the impact investing industry. And according to the Global Impact Investing Network (GIIN), there are now more than $1 trillion in impact assets under management globally.
BlueMark’s impact verification service encompasses an analysis of an investor’s 1.) impact management practice (the policies, tools, and processes necessary to execute their impact strategy) and 2.) impact reporting (the completeness and reliability of their reported impact performance).
By aggregating data from these verifications, BlueMark is also able to generate a wealth of insights into industry trends, market challenges, and emerging best practices. And BlueMark regularly shares these insights with the impact investing field via a research series on impact management practices (Making the Mark) and a series on impact reporting (Raising the Bar). These research reports – which have been supported by catalytic funding from organizations like The Rockefeller Foundation and the Tipping Point Fund on Impact Investing – are widely shared across the impact investing industry and can be used as a guideline to best practices for both new and established impact investors.
What the funding will be used for: This increase in funding will be used to accelerate BlueMark’s leadership position as a premier provider of impact verification, benchmarks, and analytics to institutional investors of all types. Launched in January 2020, BlueMark has completed 125 verifications to date for investors with a combined $206 billion in impact AUM. And the firm’s experience with such a large swath of the impact investing industry allows BlueMark to generate a unique set of market information and data. By offering insightful and comparable interpretations of investor impact performance, BlueMark helps optimize capital allocations towards impact. Plus BlueMark also plans to expand its presence across different industries and geographies, with a particular focus on Asia where three of its investors are based.
KEY QUOTES:
“This latest funding round shows how strong the appetite is for greater transparency, accountability, and integrity in the impact and sustainable investing market. BlueMark’s distinctive approach to impact verification, benchmarking, and analytics continually raises the bar on best practice impact management and reporting among investment managers and also helps asset allocators identify and engage with managers driving impact.”
– Christina Leijonhufvud, CEO of BlueMark
“S&P Global is proud to be investing in BlueMark to support much-needed innovation in transparency for impact metrics. More than ever, companies and investors are seeking access to high quality data and advanced analytics relating to sustainability. This investment represents a step forward in enhancing market participants’ access to impact-focused insights.”
– Dr. Richard Mattison, President of S&P Global Sustainable1
“BlueMark’s work to help impact investors reach for a higher standard in tracking their performance has rightfully earned them a reputation as a leading authority on best practices in impact management and reporting. This next phase for BlueMark signals the growing awareness around the importance of impact investing as a whole, and Ford Foundation is excited to take our partnership a step further.”
– Roy Swan, Head of Mission Investments at Ford Foundation
“Impact and sustainable investing is a focus at Temasek Trust Capital. We see significant growth opportunities for impact investing in Asia and around the world. Independent experts are vital in assessing and assuring that investors are delivering on their impact claims and commitments. BlueMark is a leader in this space, and we look forward to working with the BlueMark team to expand their verification and market intelligence services to new geographies and sectors.”
– Dawn Chan, Managing Director, Investments at Temasek Trust Capital
“We are excited to partner with BlueMark in expanding their impact verification and intelligence capabilities in Asia, a market where we see growing demand for sustainable investments and impact verification services. Having gone through our own journey of establishing impact and sustainable frameworks for investment, we view BlueMark’s methodologies, capabilities, and team as world-class.”
– Kelvin Fu, Managing Partner of Gunung Capital
“Tsao Family Office is delighted to support BlueMark in their vital work of bringing transparency, authenticity, and accountability to impact investing. We believe that BlueMark’s work will enable capital allocators to make more informed decisions and at the same time drive best practice amongst impact asset managers.”
– Bryan Goh, CEO at Tsao Family Office
“BlueMark’s industry-leading approach to impact verification brings greater clarity and accountability to the process of selecting and engaging with managers, and ultimately makes life easier for allocators like Blue Haven Initiative. We look forward to working with the BlueMark team to extend BlueMark’s verification services and unique data to the rest of the market.”
– Liesel Pritzker Simmons, Co-Founder and Principal of Blue Haven Initiative
