Responsible Investment
Guidelines
There is a set of national and international guidelines for private equity and venture capital companies. Links to relevant ESG-related guidelines are provided below.
UN Principles for Responsible Investment (PRI)
The PRI are six principles aimed at helping investors in all asset classes with integrating Environmental, Social and Governance matters with investment decision-making and ownership practices. There are approximately 900 signatories to these principles, including asset owners, asset managers and service organisations.
The UN PRI has a special Private Equity Workstream that publishes documents about responsible investing in private equity, for example:
- ESG monitoring, reporting, and dialogue in private equity
- Guide for Limited Partners
- Guide for General Partners
- LP Responsible Investment Due Diligence Questionnaire
- Private equity fund terms guide
- A guide on Managing ESG risk in the supply chains of private companies and assets
- TCFD for private equity general partners: technical guide
Invest Europe Industry Standards & Guide to ESG Due Diligence
The European trade organisation Invest Europe has developed several initiatives and guidelines for putting sustainability on the agenda:
American Investment Council Guidelines for Responsible Investing
Members of the American Investment Council have adopted a set of detailed guidelines for responsible investing which they apply before investing in companies and which they continue to apply during the term of ownership. The guidelines concern the environment, health, safety, labour, governance and social issues.
The UN Global Compact Principles
The UN Global Compact is intended for companies that dedicate themselves to sustainability and responsible entrepreneurship. It offers both a policy platform and a practical framework. It is based on ten universally accepted principles on human rights, labour, the environment and the fight against corruption.
The Walker Guidelines
The Walker Guideluines are a set of guidelines for disclosure and transparency in (British) private equity, published in 2007, applicable to portfolio companies, private equity industry and trade organisations (BVCA).
