ESG in our investment strategy
We are committed to a policy of responsible investment from pre-screening to exit and believe that ESG integration across our portfolio creates value for our Shareholders and makes our portfolio companies more attractive for investment.
Whilst we aim to invest in businesses and entrepreneurs who recognise and embrace the need for more sustainable practices, we don’t expect or demand the finished product, but instead ask for a commitment to meet or surpass our ESG targets during the lifetime of our investment with our support. More detail can be found here.
Investment Team ESG training
Earlier this year we delivered a tailored training session to our Investment Team designed to improve integration of ESG considerations across the investment process, in alignment with our ESG Policy.
The training explored our commitment to map portfolio alignment to the UN SDGs and helped equip the Partnership Team and wider Investment Team with practical guidance for evaluating ESG performance.
ESG in our investment process
Pre-screening
We are mindful of the general themes surrounding ESG and our role as a responsible investor when considering potential investments.
Screening
We screen all prospective portfolio companies against our ESG Exclusion List which contains various assets we will not invest into.
Due Diligence
We distribute our ESG Framework to identify risks as part of the diligence process. The output of this Framework is used to help inform our investment decision. Significant ESG risks are flagged and escalated to General Counsel.
Investment Committee
We outline ESG risks and opportunities as part of qualitative assessment in the Investment Committee paper. Relevant ESG topics are explored as part of the Investment Committee discussion and decision-making process.
Ownership
We monitor portfolio companies’ performance through annual distribution of our ESG Framework and deliver bespoke ESG Events to help with integration of ESG strategies.
Exit
We collate historic ESG data through the lifetime of the investment to produce a summary of ESG progress.