As the European Investment Fund (EIF) reporting deadline approaches on 30th April 2026, many firms are evaluating how they collect, validate, and communicate sustainability data across their portfolios. With increasing pressure from regulators and investors alike, it’s never been more critical to get sustainability reporting right.

This article provides an overview of the Invest Europe and EIF sustainability reporting framework: what it is, why it matters, and how to start preparing for reporting.

What is the Invest Europe and EIF reporting framework?

Invest Europe is the association representing Europe’s private equity, venture capital, and infrastructure sectors. The EIF supports SMEs across Europe by improving access to finance through private capital intermediaries, such as investment funds.

Crucially, the EIF is fully aligned with Invest Europe’s reporting template.

Invest Europe collaborated with key industry leaders like Reframe Venture and Kara to create a machine-readable reporting template, which is now adopted by the EIF. As a result, the EIF and Invest Europe have created a market-leading standard sustainability reporting framework.

Funds invested by EIF are required to collect and disclose sustainability data at three levels:

1) the portfolio company level
2) the fund level, and
3) the GP level

Investment firms need to share their disclosures for 2025 financial year data with EIF by 30th April 2026.

Why the EIF & Invest Europe reporting framework matters

This reporting framework isn’t about ticking boxes - it positions your fund for long-term success. When used well, it can help you meet LP expectations, stand out in fundraising, and build stronger portfolio strategies.

• Comply with EU regulations: Collecting and reporting data will help you comply with SFDR and EU Taxonomy requirements and reduce the risk of non-compliance.
• Stronger investor confidence: Investors like EIF want to know which sustainability risks exist and how they are being managed. This framework brings that clarity.‍
• Efficiency: The standardised reporting template streamlines the reporting process and reduces back-and-forth with LPs.

Key sustainability data points

The EIF and Invest Europe LP template covers a comprehensive range of sustainability metrics across environmental, social, and governance dimensions. Below are the key sustainability topics the framework includes:

• Climate and environmental impact: Tracks greenhouse gas emissions (Scope 1, 2, and 3), energy consumption, renewable energy use, and waste management practices across portfolio companies. 
• Workforce and social metrics: Captures employee data, including headcount, diversity indicators, gender pay gaps, employee turnover, and health and safety incidents.
• Governance and business conduct: Covers board composition, diversity at the leadership level, anti-corruption policies, whistleblowing mechanisms, and overall governance structures.
• Regulatory alignment: Identifies whether you are reporting under key EU regulations, including SFDR, CSRD, and the EU Taxonomy.
• Financial performance: Includes comprehensive balance sheet data, EBITDA figures, and revenue metrics to help draw connections between sustainability performance and financial health.

How to start preparing for reporting

Getting ready for EIF reporting doesn’t have to be overwhelming. Here are the key steps to set your team up for success:

• Review the reporting template: Start by reviewing the 2025 Invest Europe reporting template to become familiar with key reporting requirements needed at the GP, fund, and portfolio company levels.
• Collect internal sustainability data: Gather sustainability data across your funds and firm. This includes policies, procedures, and sustainability metrics already being tracked internally.
• Gather portfolio company data: Reach out to portfolio companies to gather the sustainability metrics outlined in the template.
• Train your team: Make sure everyone involved understands the template, knows which data points are required, and how to review the information to avoid errors.
• Use technology to streamline the process: Companies often use platforms like Kara to automate data collection, reduce manual work, and generate accurate, ready-to-use reports for EIF and LP reporting.

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How Kara can help

Kara supports private capital funds in streamlining sustainability and impact reporting, including LP data requests like EIF.

Key benefits of partnering with Kara include:

• Report with confidence: Clean, concise outputs tailored to EIF’s expectations, created and verified by experts in the EIF reporting framework.
• Save time: Automated data collection saves time and resources for disclosure to EIF.
• Reduce the risk of errors: Kara’s data quality-checking mechanisms and automated data collection ensure your disclosures are accurate.
• Generate investor-ready LP reports: Sustainability data collected on Kara is translated into completed, investor-ready reports, including narratives and visuals. Examples include Inveready and CORBITES.

Ready to streamline EIF reporting? Book a demo with Kara to see how we can help.

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