ESG policy

Profile: Martim Avillez, Limerston Capital

The COO and founding partner discusses setting up the firm’s operations, combining them with his investment duties and navigating difficult times

Carbon Accounting Alliance launches

Group of 35 organisations represents emissions of 24,000 companies

Firm identity

A tight fundraising environment and ESG fund naming conventions warrant a closer look at the names of private equity entities, writes Matthias Plötz

Abris Capital launches DEI code for portfolio

Firm makes commitments across education, governance, ownership and process with the aim of influencing industry practice

Driftwood Climate comes ashore

Boutique consulting firm to advise on climate strategy, decarbonisation and climate impact

PE sustainability initiatives launch decarbonisation roadmap

The PMDR has been launched by the Initiative Climat International and the Sustainable Markets Initiative’s Private Equity Task Force, supported by Bain & Company

CMA publishes Green Agreements Guidance

GPs and LPs are unlikely to infringe upon UK competition law for pursuing environmental sustainability agreements

TMF launches ESG administration

Company aims to assist firms with setting up, defining and reporting on ESG frameworks

PRI launches co-design process for Progression Pathways

Association aims to clarify different roles investors play in a sustainable financial system and enable increasingly targeted support

DIF Capital appoints head of ESG

Lorraine Becker steps into the role after two years as principal consultant at Environmental Resources Management

European Parliament rejects ESRS objection

MEPs call for private sector to contribute to corporate sustainability transparency

Profile: Gerwin Theiler, capiton AG

The CFO and partner reflects on how the industry has changed and talks shop about continuation vehicles and succession planning

Everyone an ESG expert? Forget about it

Natalia Ramsden of Sofos Associates considers digital dementia, ESG and the value of prioritising critical thinking

Profile: Begoña Aguilera Navajas, Sherpa Capital

The head of IR and ESG speaks to us about her dual role and how ESG has developed during the course of her career

MSCI acquires Trove

Company aims to expand both product palette and client base

Inrate partners with TMX

Company to provide ESG impact ratings and climate intelligence for ESG data hub

Sonen appoints head of impact engagement

Amanda Feldman has previously co-founded portfolio initiative programme the Impact Management Project

Apex expands ESG solutions

Fund administrator offers compliance, reporting and consulting services after its acquisition of MJ Hudson’s ESG advisory businesses

Avocado toast and carry

An open ear for the next generation’s concerns and demonstrating how PE can address them could be the key to answering the talent question

Macquarie acquires minority stake in Sonen

Firm to remain independent in operations and investment decisions while fresh funds will address growth of its services, impact measurement and reporting tools

The roots of diversity

A diverse hiring process should focus on removing unconscious bias at the roots of your business rather than just getting the optics right

Seeking diversity in adversity

Dörte Höppner of The Riverside Company argues that an economic downturn is the ideal time for PE firms to diversify their talent pools

New tools needed?

CFOs in the European midmarket worry about talent retention and whether their management strategies will be enough to nurture the leaders of tomorrow, writes Jon Whiteaker

Red flags

At what point does a potential
investor become a reputational risk?

EU to sharpen ban on greenwashing

Predominantly aimed at consumers, some rules of new directive could target funds’ marketing communications

Investment Association calls for EU reforms

Trade body highlights sustainability, new technologies and greater alignment on regulatory issues as areas of concern

Amicorp launches ESG reporting and rating service

The new service includes audited ESG reports, analysis, business planning and policy implementation

DIY in the wild wild East

Across Lebanon and Palestine, enterprising GPs are piloting their industry with no legislative framework or operational ecosystem, as Matthias Plötz investigates

Arup and Re:Co launch digital sustainability services

Partnership aims to link sustainability outcomes with value creation and support decision making

European Commission opens SFDR consultation

Regulator aims to address shortcomings of legal certainty, usability and potential to counter greenwashing

Ambienta formalises science-based targets

The firm aims to measure its internal percentage of emission reduction and percentage of invested capital with validated targets

GPs find brand perception key reason for ESG reporting

A survey conducted by Oliver Wyman and Novata highlights challenges for measuring ESG financial impact

Govern up

Shaking off reputation by association can be tough in emerging markets

MSCI expands partnership with Google

Companies to provide generative AI offering for portfolio and risk management, including climate risk

Clarity AI and SimCorp team up on sustainability

Partnership aims to allow clients to report on UN’s sustainable development goals through customised scores based on intended sustainability outcomes

BuildESG updates BuildRI software

In an expansion of functionality, lenders to gain visibility into GPs’ responsible investment and ESG processes

Searching for harmony

The Riverside Company's Dörte Höppner assesses the competing ESG standards impacting PE and how they could be more in tune with each other

Sounds of the summit… Carry a torch for ESG?

Many GPs have talked about linking carried interest to ESG metrics but are any of them actually doing it?

Comment: Avoiding the tripwires

Pinsent Masons partner Mark Shaw details how to avoid regulatory issues when distributing non-EU funds within the EU

Profile: Markus Gyssler, EMERAM Capital Partners

The managing partner and COO reflects on 10 years at the firm, walks through its succession programme and explains how he combines operational with investment duties

EFRAG to develop sustainability reporting standards

Association to establish voluntary sustainability reporting standards for SMEs outside of the CSRD’s scope

Invest Europe opens up ESG reporting guidelines

Previously for members only, the guidelines constitute a bid to harmonise and consolidate ESG reporting standards

‘GPs are becoming more creative’

Following his move from Travers Smith to Dechert, we caught up with fund formation veteran Sam Kay to get his take on the current market

The Drawdown Awards winners: Debojit Mukherjee

Debojit Mukherjee of Agilitas Private Equity was named Chief Operating Officer of the Year at The Drawdown Awards 2023

Unpacking the EU Commission’s sustainable finance package

Concerns about complexity remain as bloc aligns legislation on sustainable investments and looks to regulate ESG ratings providers

ESMA launches CSA

ESMA and NCAs aim to assess SFDR compliance of supervised asset managers

Raising the (global) standard

What impact are the ISSB’s disclosure standards expected to have on global sustainability reporting requirements?

Profile: Martin Sjölund, Summa Equity

The partner and general counsel walks us through the beginnings of the firm’s legal function and its current management

Profile: Eva Lamalfa Gil, GED Capital

The firm's head of ESG and communication shares how her dual role is effective in generating meaningful KPIs and supporting portfolio companies

PRI signatory status found to have little to no effect on returns

Report findings were derived from IRR and TVPI dispersion between non-signatory and PRI signatory funds

The value cultivators

CFOs are becoming more involved in the value creation process. We ask these greenfingered professionals how they support their portfolio companies

The Drawdown Awards 2023: Winners announced

Congratulations to all of the winners of The Drawdown Awards 2023

ESMA provides update on greenwashing

ESMA has published one of the three ESA reports on mitigating greenwashing risks, highlighting key concerns and preventative measures

Eiffel Investment partners with Carbon4 Finance

Partnership creates methodology to evaluate climate performance of unlisted companies

Answering the right questions

GPs and LPs agree qualitative ESG reporting is a crucial competitive advantage but disagree on reporting requirements, says PwC

Comment: Does SFDR encourage greenwashing?

Pinsent Masons financial services partner Mark Shaw asks the awkward question

IIGCC publishes PE net-zero guidance

The industry-specific guidance aims to support GPs and LPs to achieve Paris-aligned net-zero objectives

AssetMetrix partners with Proof

Partnership sees launch of ESG tool focused on compliance with SFDR

Profile: Mark Pleaner, Lightrock

The chief compliance officer believes a dedicated compliance function is a vital catalyst across operations, deal-doing and culture

In the name of science: how to set your emissions targets

Questions are arising about the various methodologies used to create net-zero targets