ESG in both of our roles
We treat ESG as part of disciplined financial analysis, not as a marketing label. Where a matter is material to a transaction, it is examined with the same rigour as the financial case.
As adviser, we identify the environmental, social and governance matters that banks, funds, IFIs and DFIs are likely to examine — permits, environmental and social management, health and safety, labour, community impact and governance — so they can be addressed before an approach to capital providers.
As investor, we consider material ESG factors when screening opportunities, in due diligence, in the investment decision and through agreed shareholder and governance rights during ownership.
Environmental, social and governance factors
What we examine, where it is material to the business or the transaction.
- Environmental
- Environmental permits and regulatory compliance; energy use and climate-related risks in long-lived assets; physical and transition risk in energy, infrastructure and real estate; resource use, waste and water.
- Social
- Occupational health and safety; labour standards and working conditions, including the supply chain where material; community impact and stakeholder engagement for projects; customer responsibility and data protection.
- Governance
- Ownership, board and shareholder arrangements; quality and reliability of financial reporting; know-your-counterparty, anti-money-laundering and anti-bribery checks; conflicts of interest, confidentiality and whistleblowing.
Where ESG enters our process
Four points, in order, rather than a policy nobody applies.
- Screen
- Identify material ESG matters for the sector and business at the outset.
- Diligence
- Examine them alongside commercial, financial and legal diligence, with specialists where needed.
- Decide
- Reflect material findings in the investment case, structure and conditions.
- Own
- Use agreed governance rights and reporting to monitor material matters.
What banks, IFIs and investors will ask
Lenders, development finance institutions and institutional investors increasingly screen environmental and social risk before they engage. When we prepare a company or project for financing, we help assemble the information they typically expect at first review, so the gaps surface early rather than in due diligence.
On mandates financed by an international financial institution, environmental and social assessment follows the requirements that institution sets, including the IFC Performance Standards where it applies them. We maintain an internal environmental and social policy that guides our own assessment.