Introducing Myles Tatlock, Verco’s Private Markets Decarbonisation Expert
We are delighted to introduce Myles Tatlock, Verco’s new Associate Director for Private Markets. Myles has over a decade of experience in decarbonising private equity firms and their portfolio companies. He has authored industry-defining guidance for the private equity sector, and helped shape global best practices for climate-aligned investing and management in private markets.
In his first week, we sat down with Myles to discuss his journey, the evolving role of decarbonisation in private equity, and how Verco and BIP’s new digital tools can unlock value across the investment lifecycle.
What inspired you to specialise in decarbonisation for private markets?
My passion for climate action started when I was 12. My geography teacher showed me graphs of rising global temperatures (around the time of the Kyoto Protocol) and warned of the catastrophic consequences. That moment set me on my career path.
I started work as an environmental consultant, crunching carbon numbers for large corporates and doing a lot of air quality work, but I always knew I wanted to drive more direct systemic change to prevent and manage climate change.
Private markets became the perfect lever. A decade ago, few private equity (PE) firms and their portfolio companies considered ESG holistically, let alone climate change. Today, it has become central to value creation and risk reduction.
What really helped the PE sector was a series of best practice guidances, and I was lucky enough to author a few of these. The PE Sector Science Based Target Guidance was the first major guidance I was author of. Since doing so, I have helped over 20 PE firms set Science-Based Targets (validated by SBTi).
What’s the biggest shift you’ve seen in private equity’s approach to decarbonisation?
The acceleration is staggering, and that really started around five years ago. At that time decarbonisation in line with the Paris Agreement was not really understood by PE. Now they realise that:
- Transition risks are escalating. Fuel cost volatility, disclosure mandates (like CSRD) and Scope 3 pressures are reshaping how PE firms approach decarbonisation.
- Value creation is tangible. Decarbonisation drives operational efficiencies and cost savings over hold periods, and this attracts premium exits.
- Data gaps are closing. Real-time tracking tools like MyVerco let investors monitor emissions (across portfolios) dynamically, not just via an annual retrospective view.
The next challenge is moving from target setting to real economy execution and considering the cost of decarbonisation across the investment lifecycle. Translating targets into costed, actionable roadmaps. This help partners guide their boards on what is required, how to achieve it and the financial implications.
Striking the balance between commercial imperatives and sustainability is difficult, but it is also becoming unavoidable. The middle ground between the two is where the value is – that’s where I focus.
How can private equity firms practically decarbonise their portfolios?
It starts with embedding decarbonisation at each stage of the investment cycle.
Pre-acquisition
PE firms need to conduct decarbonisation due diligence to identify decarbonisation hotspots (e.g. energy-intensive operations) and the costed decarbonisation levers - the actions required to reduce GHG emissions.
PE firms risk acquiring companies that have GHG exposures that will simply cost too much to reduce in line with a Paris aligned decarbonisation pathway, and that can impact exit strategies.
Ownership
PE needs to prioritise high-impact decarbonisation levers (actions for reducing emissions in line with their targets) and integrate these levers into core business strategy.
Portfolio companies can avoid financial downsides from transition risks by considered decarbonisation, i.e. the right action at the right time and pace.
Exit
At exit, PE firms need to showcase decarbonisation achievements to buyers. Firms with verified emissions reductions command higher valuation premiums and evidencing this needs to be easy and compelling.
Data helps, but an executed transition plan is the holy grail – i.e., where C-suite own and integrate sustainability through the core of the business.
What’s a common misconception about decarbonisation in private equity?
That it’s a cost. In reality, it’s often a value driver. You just need to know the exact decarbonisation levers to pull (and the ones not to pull) to unlock this value.
There are so many operational savings, such as behaviour changes that often require zero capex. There is a resilience benefit in pre-empting supply chain carbon cost impacts to future-proof returns. Attracting talent and improving the brand drives capital flow toward climate leaders.
The key thing is to start small but think big. If they want to build momentum, PE firms need to encourage portfolio companies to pilot decarbonisation levers with quick paybacks that are easy and low risk.
There is increasing uncertainty and geopolitical instability in the world. Is this impacting private markets decarbonisation progress?
Uncertainty is driving investors to progress further with their understanding of risks and their response to those risks.
Take energy for example. Global energy investment in 2025 increased to 3.3 trillion USD (a new record) not despite uncertainty and geopolitical risk but because of it. And global electrification leads the way the with 2.2 trillion USD going into renewables, grids, storage, low-emissions fuels, energy efficiency and electrification. That’s twice the investment going into oil, gas, and coal at 1.1 trillion USD. Those GHG polluting fuels are not going anywhere for now, and regional climates are changing rapidly, driving more need for private markets investors to understand and act on transition and physical risks. Decarbonisation and adaptation are key tools for private equity to protect financial returns from their investments.
Looking ahead, what excites you most about your role at Verco?
The chance to merge deep technical expertise from Verco with BIP’s wider expertise - e.g. across AI - with my hands-on PE experience. The scale of impact we can drive across portfolios is exciting.
Decarbonisation isn’t just about risk mitigation; it’s about rewriting the rules of value creation through evidenced, costed decarbonisation. I’m here to help firms navigate that shift with clarity, pragmatism, and results.
Find out more about decarbonisation for private markets
If you'd like to speak to Myles and the team about opportunities for decarbonisation within this sector, and how Verco can help, please get in touch.
