Landscaping and maintenance services company, Ground Control has launched a new £5m investment fund dedicated to sustainability and environmental initiatives.

Financed by 5% of Ground Control’s annual profits, the Evergreen Fund will specialise in providing seed and growth capital to early stage companies and social enterprises that are focused on delivering measurable, beneficial and sustainable environmental impact.

Over the next five years, the fund will:

• Invest £5m in early stage environmental ventures
• Become a perpetual investment facility with profits reinvested into new sustainable ventures
• Dedicate £100,000 annually to finance the planning of one million new native trees to create protected areas of biodiversity

Investment criteria:

• The Evergreen Fund will invest in entrepreneurs who have a clear vision of how to effect positive environmental change, combined with the experience, hard work and commitment to deliver.
• Applicants must be able to clearly display their positive, measurable and sustainable contribution; have a proven / sustainable business and revenue model; and demonstrate a competitive marketplace advantage and an opportunity / vision to scale.
• The fund will directly invest in Seed, Series A and higher but will avoid pre-seed or investments in fee-bearing funds.
• Investments will range in size from £10,000 to £500,000.

Ventures must contribute to at least one of these measures of ‘positive environmental change’:

• Reducing greenhouse gas emissions- increasing natural resource efficiency
• Protecting the natural environment
• Protecting biodiversity
• Promoting environmental sustainability

Ground Control Co-founder Kim Morrish explained: “As a company, we’ve always felt strongly about the environment so the launch of the Evergreen Fund is a milestone moment for Ground Control. Launching the fund is a natural extension of our belief that business can and should be a force for good when it comes to environmental responsibility, especially during such a critical period for conservation and climate change.”

Ground Control Co-founder Simon Morrish said: “What binds everyone involved in the Green Fund – our founders, co-investors and investees – is our belief in business as a force for good and our collective ability to affect positive change together.”