One Planet Ventures
, One Planet, One People, Many Points of Impact
Climate change and a deadly pandemic have taught us that environmental & social impacts aren’t “externalities”, they’re risks. They’re also opportunities.
Whatever the label - impact investment, responsible investment, sustainable finance - businesses and investors are increasingly looking for ways to mobilize capital for more than just “making money”.
The Bad News: There are no “one-size-fits-all” solutions to issues of inclusive economic growth, social equity or climate change.
The Good News: Investing in ways that contribute to the sustainability of the environment & civil society has never been easier. OPV’s “maximum integrated returns” approach layers multiple extra-financial positive impact targets (gender, diversity, climate and more) alongside operating & investment goals to create solutions that benefit multiple stakeholders.
Sustainable Finance &
Impact Investment
Strategic Advisory Services Green, Social & Sustainability Bond Frameworks
Investment Fund Design & Readiness
What is sustainable finance? What makes an innovative impact investment successful? How can you use policies, loans and credit facilities to incentivize financial markets to support greener and more inclusive businesses? If microfinance is so successful, why is it still so hard to finance small businesses and SGBs? How do gender & social inclusion mesh with climate risk management? Lauren takes a “cradle to grave” approach to understanding sustainable finance and impact investment dynamics. In addition to making and monitoring loans, equity investments and credit guarantees, she has developed policies and technical assistance projects focused on financial institutions and greening financial systems, designed and led investment transactions in a range of emerging markets and conducted pre and post-investment quality evaluations for development finance institutions’ projects and programs. Lauren’s sharp insights into materiality and practical approaches for achieving maximum integrated returns have attracted advisory service clients ranging from global corporates to rural electrical cooperatives and fintech startups.
Social Enterprises, Non-profit Organizations and Impact Ventures often need to mobilize public and private investment in order to expand strategic programs and lines of business. "Off the shelf" solutions are tempting but fall short of meeting the needs of key stakeholders. We can help you create purpose-built investment vehicles (notes, bonds and funds) that meet the requirements of investors and regulators while also addressing drivers of and constraints to results faced by those whom we aim to serve.
Lauren and OPV have designed bespoke investment structures for for-profit and not-for-profit clients in Latin America, Africa and the world, spanning key sectors such as microfinance, SME equity investment, smallholder agriculture finance, renewable energy and more. Attention to climate risk management, green finance opportunities, gender and social inclusion are key features of our work. The ability to understand what drives the “target market” as well as what drives different types of public and private investors enables OPV to develop financing plans that bridge the gap between money and meaning. Thinking of starting something new? Need to integrate climate and gender into your policies and operations? Talk to us and we’ll help you sort it out.
Ready to take the next step?
The path to profitable sustainability doesn’t require expensive leaps of faith. Whether you’re looking to understand sustainable finance trends, develop reporting frameworks, derive greater benefit & impact from existing operations, create an impact investment vehicle or design interventions that can cataylze social and/or environmental change, OPV can help you develop a vision and framework that is compelling for your Board & organization, as well as appealing to the investor and stakeholder groups that we need/want to reach.
“Lauren’s unique focus on intersectionality has resulted in world-changing financial instruments that have moved tens of billions of dollars to the benefit of hundreds of millions of people.”
Knowledge is most powerful when it is shared. We look forward to sharing our knowledge to empower your impact.
Want to know more? Click on the Consulting tab for more information on One Planet Ventures professional services in relation to strategy, ESG, impact investment, blended finance, gender and climate change. If you’re looking for “executive life support”, click the Coaching tab to learn more about health, wellness & life coaching services. Sign up below to be the first to know about new blog posts, events, speaking engagements & resources. The One Planet newsletter will be launching soon!