It’s rare to step into a business where the foundations of commitment, heart, and purpose exist, but the social impact infrastructure and initiatives are yet to be built.
In early conversations with Ryan, our Founder, he shared his vision for how social impact and sustainability would underpin Cape’s culture, product, partnerships, and spirit.
He spoke to my heart. I was hooked.
I simply couldn’t pass up the opportunity to forge a path for this exciting startup to be a leader of sustainable practices in the APAC fintech sector. We are doing something no one else is.
Since I started at Cape, the team has been working to define what social impact looks like. Steered by our values: Simpler is smarter; Actions need ownership; Visible for all; and Empathy not ego, Cape is deeply committed to keeping social impact at the core of all business operations.
Where are we on this journey?
Product
Cape's product suite, centred around saving customers thousands of dollars and hours with finance automation, also enables businesses to pursue Environmental, Social, and Governance (ESG) initiatives seamlessly.
Our corporate cards are proudly produced by carbon-neutral providers using recyclable materials that exude up to 7x fewer emissions than traditional card materials and are FSC Recycled certified. These cards are backed by an automated expense management platform, where businesses can set spend controls to empower their employees to spend in a frictionless, environmentally conscious, and trusted manner.
Ultimately, Cape customers are given full control and visibility over company spending to maximise cash flow, free up time, avoid business-wide financial stress, and help make ESG-conscious capital decisions.
Certifications
We are proud to have joined the Mastercard Priceless Planet Coalition, which is committed to restoring 100 million trees by 2025. The Priceless Planet Coalition has 18 restoration projects globally, ensuring we can maximize our climate, community and biodiversity commitments.
We are also on our way to achieving carbon neutrality and B Corp status.
“B Corps are businesses that meet high standards of social and environmental performance, accountability, and transparency.
Certified B Corporations, or B Corps, envision a better economic system where businesses can benefit people, communities, and the planet. They choose long-term investments over quick wins and measure their success based on the positive impact they create.”
Australian companies are becoming more attuned to climate change and ESG ratings. Sustainability initiatives and certifications such as B-Corp or Mastercard's Priceless Planet provide tangible benchmarks and recognition for businesses on the climate-positive path and highlight their efforts to partners, investors, customers, and employees.
Team
At a team level, we are working to integrate purpose and impact into our day-to-day. Not only is our business mission to create 'complete expense nirvana,' but we are also determined to spread Nirvana in our wider community. We have kicked off a few great initiatives.
In our onboarding process, we have moved away from fun facts and into understanding the passions and causes people are passionate about. We have kickstarted a monthly community clean-up and are using local and sustainable suppliers for our Cape Swag (shoutout to Critical Slide). We also recently launched a lunch and learn series and had an incredible presentation from Matt, our Customer Ops Manager, on how to make the most of solar energy at home.
Content
Cape's products and team aren't the only things underscored by climate activism and ESG. We have just launched the 2nd season of "The Good Money Podcast", where the guests are exclusively CFOs and finance leaders from Australian businesses with B-Corp certifications. With the figurehead for all things Aussie homewares, Koala, kicking off the first episode, the podcast looks set for another thought-provoking season.
Wrapping up
Becoming a sustainability leader is an ongoing journey, and we are just at the start. Throughout this process, we are committed to progress over perfection, appreciating that we are learning and unlearning as we go through this process. The key thing that will keep our momentum going is a high degree of intention and consciousness.
Watch this space because we've got some big plans!
