ESG policy
12 May 2022
Profile: Susan Wilkins, Actis
The COO discusses her pathway from Actis portfolio company to the GP, taking over management of Abraaj funds and her role as a member of the inclusion & diversity committee
5 May 2022
Profile: Razzak Akbar, Freshstream
The CFO discusses Freshstream’s spinout from Bregal, the ongoing relationship between the two firms and setting up the Dutch office
25 April 2022
JTC launches virtual chief sustainability officer service
The outsourced offering aims to help clients to understand, definite and implement their own ESG strategy, policies and reporting
20 April 2022
JTC appoints first chief sustainability officer
Wendy Holley will continue in her existing role as COO, and will be responsible for developing JTC’s ESG framework
11 April 2022
Comment: Unlocking private markets’ ESG potential
Hemal Mehta, founder and CEO of AtomInvest discusses the importance of sophisticated tech when it comes to ESG data collection, analysis and reporting
7 April 2022
Aztec hires head of ESG and sustainability
Caroline Mantoura joins from Accenture, having served as director of operations
10 March 2022
Profile: Devin Glenn, Blackstone
The managing director, global head of diversity, equity & inclusion discusses how Blackstone collects and measures DEI metrics, where DEI sits within the firm and what she's achieved so far
8 March 2022
PE & VC firms failing to meet industry EDI standards
Equality Group’s latest D&I index ranked Advent International in first place for the second year in a row, with a top score of 65%
7 March 2022
5 minutes with… Monel Amin, DiligenceVault
“One of the biggest friction points we see is the lack of standardisation. Diligence standards have emerged, but adoption remains sub-scale.”
1 March 2022
Domicile watch: February 2022
Key takeaways from the major PE domiciles: including JFSC’s late fees for registry submissions, Guernsey’s new chair for its Green Finance strategy and Ireland’s Green Pledge launch
23 February 2022
CFOs: cost and resource constraints prevent ESG integration
Intertrust’s latest survey found this to be the biggest obstacle CFOs face when integrating ESG into their investment processes
23 February 2022
Arcus achieves top ranking for ESG reporting
The firm is closely followed by Partners Group and Tikehau Capital
21 February 2022
ESG outsourcing: who’s who?
We've compiled a directory of who does what when it comes to ESG outsourcing, to help get those boxes ticked.
17 February 2022
Profile: James Harper, Apposite Capital
The CFO discusses why he has taken over the IR function, what processes and frameworks he's put in place since joining, as well as how the firm's bespoke DD for ESG differs from their peers
14 February 2022
5 minutes with… Mark Coppin, Standish Management UK
“It’s not just about having a relationship manager, it’s about knowing the intricacies of each other's preferences, styles and ways of working, to get the best experience and standard of service possible.”
14 February 2022
Operational Lens: Pantheon Secondary Opportunities Fund (PSOF)
With a total AUM of $52.3bn, Pantheon is a machine when it comes to fundraising. We take a look at the $624m PSOF, to discover how the pros get the job done.
7 February 2022
PRI: DEI is more than just gender and diversity
According to PRI, LPs have a vital role in affecting systemic change on DEI issues, not only within their own organisations but also wider society
7 February 2022
Carried Away
Could the ever forceful push for ESG break carried interest, the heart of private equity?
2 February 2022
GPs need more clarity to create ESG funds
EY’s latest report found the majority of GPs don’t plan to offer ESG products this year, citing lack of standardised methodologies and appropriate risk/returns profiles as reasons why
27 January 2022
SFDR remains a double-edged sword
The benefits and challenges of the EU Sustainable Finance Disclosure Regulation (SFDR) were put to debate at our recent ESG conference
24 January 2022
Profile: Bart Elema, Waterland Private Equity
The partner, CFO & risk officer discusses how his role and responsibilities have evolved over nearly two decades, why Waterland domiciles its funds in the Netherlands, as well as securing the firm's first ESG equity bridge facility
18 January 2022
Invest Europe developing ESG reporting standards
The new standards are expected to be developed and established by summer 2022
17 January 2022
PE vs ESG
The mindset required to genuinely achieve ESG aims inherently conflicts with the numerical and return-driven mindset needed to deliver private equity success. How can these mindsets converge to achieve both?
5 January 2022
LP/GP power balance set to shift
Intertrust has identified the key technology trends which will impact private equity in 2022
4 January 2022
Comment: The year ESG went mainstream
Sofiya Bumagin, managing associate at Linklaters discusses how ESG is fast becoming a PE megatrend, and the challenges yet to be overcome
9 December 2021
Majority of managers say greenwashing is a problem
Most managers support the FCA’s adoption of the TCFD reporting framework
18 November 2021
Profile: Richard Burrett, Earth Capital
The chief sustainability officer discusses the firm's proprietary tool, Earth Dividend, challenges around certifying as a Guernsey Green Fund as well as what he thinks of the FCA's proposed climate-related disclosures
15 November 2021
5 minutes with… Stephen Millard, Included VC
“If organisations do not have high permission, high trust or are not open and conscious to allowing their employees to be their true selves, nothing will change.”
12 November 2021
LPs: PE needs stricter oversight and regulation
According to Edelman, 74% of LPs believe there needs to be stricter oversight and regulation of PE
12 November 2021
SBTi publishes guidance to combat climate change
The guidance aims to define and promote best practice in science-based setting, in order for PE firms to align their portfolios and operations to well below 2°C and 1.5°C climate scenarios
11 November 2021
The big picture
Riverside Europe COO Dörte Höppner, details why private equity should consider ESG regulations as a chance to positively contribute to the global effort against climate change
9 November 2021
FCA seeks views on ESG criteria for funds
The paper, which forms part of the regulator’s wider ESG framework, aims to help consumers navigate their sustainability characteristics
5 November 2021
BC Partners joins Partnership for Carbon Accounting Financials
Membership marks the first private equity firm to join the PCAF
28 October 2021
Profile: Jon Fredrik Vassengen, Argentum
The manager and compliance officer discusses how the fund-of-fund determines ESG criteria and the challenges of collecting quantitative ESG data
19 October 2021
MSCI and Burgiss launch Carbon Footprinting tool
Tool combines private company data from Burgiss with modelling developed by MSCI ESG Research for estimating corporate carbon emissions
19 October 2021
LPs increasingly aware of data gaps in ESG reporting
The quality of ESG reporting is improving in private equity, but not enough areas are being covered
18 October 2021
GP transparency and tech: room for improvement
According to SS&C Intralinks' survey, 69% of LPs were ‘moderately satisfied’ with the technology capabilities of the GPs they currently invest with
15 October 2021
EQT formalises SBTs to address climate change
EQT has become the first private markets firm to do so, through the SBTi
30 September 2021
Only 50% of GPs measuring carbon footprint
According to Apex research, 81% of GPs agreed they and their portfolio companies should take more responsibility for their carbon footprint
23 September 2021
Net zero financial service providers alliance launches
The alliance was launched to accelerate the transition to a net zero financial system
22 September 2021
IPEM 2021: Sustainability’s increasing importance
Alain Godard, CEO of the European Investment Fund talks about the increased importance of sustainability as well as EIF’s contribution to the sustainability agenda
21 September 2021
IPEM 2021: Europe leads the way for ESG
Magnus Billing, CEO of Alecta talks about Europe being a leader for ESG, and why PE firms have a great opportunity to be catalysts in reaching the sustainability goals
13 September 2021
IPEM 2021: PE is ready
Claire Chabrier, president of France Invest discusses how the Covid pandemic has accelerated innovation, climate issues and social responsibility
8 September 2021
SS&C launches ESG reporting solution
"We see the growing manager and investor demand to incorporate ESG metrics into client reporting at the manager and portfolio level."
7 September 2021
Carlyle secures €2.3bn ESG-linked facility
Revolving credit facility is linked to boosting board diversity, tackling climate change and ESG-competent training
19 August 2021
ILPA seeks feedback on DDQ and DEI metrics
These latest updates aim to reflect the changes in the industry over the past several years, specifically around ESG and DEI
2 August 2021
CGE receives B Corp certification
The status confirms the firm’s high social and environmental standards, as part of its broader investment strategy and activities
29 July 2021
ILPA launches LP ESG framework
The framework helps LPs evaluate and benchmark GP responses to DD, inform goal setting conversations with GPs and measure ESG integration progress over time
22 July 2021
Profile: Feizal Moossa, Adenia Partners
The chief risk officer discusses the importance of his role within private equity, how his responsibilities have evolved since joining Adenia in 2003 as well as operating without an in-house legal team
21 July 2021
Core values biggest influence on ESG attitudes
52% of GPs believe their firm’s core values have the greatest influence on their attitude and activity with regards to ESG and sustainability
19 July 2021
ESG deal DD key dataset for LPs
60% of LPs believe the most important dataset to determine a GP's ESG focus, is the way in which ESG is embedded into the investment process
13 July 2021
FCA, PRA & BoE outline D&I initiatives
“Regulators and industry need to work together to increase diversity at senior levels and ensure the UK’s financial services firms are best equipped to serve the economy”
6 July 2021
Lack of standardisation biggest threat to ESG
“Without one standardised framework for reporting standards, we will continue to see firms mixing and matching various guidelines, hindering long-term process in the area.”
14 June 2021
LPs increasingly concerned by tax and regulatory changes
43% of LPs identified regulatory changes as the greatest risk to PE returns
9 June 2021
New horizons: Carbon pricing
Professor Gianfranco Gianfrate, Climate Finance Lead and Professor of Finance at the EDHEC-Risk Institute, says carbon pricing is happening and managers need to prepare
8 June 2021
Private equity must address climate change risk
“Climate change presents unprecedented business opportunities for the industry in addition to risks”
10 May 2021
AlpInvest secures ESG-linked sub-line
ABN AMRO arranged the facility while Rabobank acted as sustainability co-ordinator
6 May 2021
Diligencing diversity
Gender diversity is a key issue for private capital markets, but are LPs digging deep enough when diligencing fund managers?
5 May 2021
A guide to improving gender diversity
What can PE houses do to better their employee ratios? Sasha Graham of Equality Group provides her top insights