I am pleased to share our 2022 Sustainability & People Report, which builds on last year’s efforts to make the report more comprehensive and reflective of ICG’s progress, and to ensure more robust communication with our stakeholders.
Over the last year, against an increasingly challenging macro environment, ICG continued to grow – in AUM, in client base, in profitability, and in number of employees. We have maintained a strong focus on sustainability and people, as both are integral to our continued success.
I believe leadership on ESG is not only the right thing to do – enabling us to contribute to a more sustainable global economy, more equitable workplaces and communities, and more robust and transparent governance practices – but it also makes good business sense.
While we consider numerous environmental, social and governance matters on an ongoing basis, this year three themes emerged as particular priorities across both our investment approach and our own operations: climate change, diversity and inclusion (D&I), and digital resilience as a governance matter. These topics are not only timely, but worthy of focus as they contribute to greater business resilience – in our own firm and in the ambitious companies in which we invest.
Last year I was proud to announce our commitment to achieving net zero greenhouse gas emissions across our operations and relevant investments by 2040, supported by two ambitious targets which have been approved and validated by the Science Based Targets initiative (SBTi). While it is exciting to be one of the first alternative asset managers to have set a net zero commitment, it’s even more important to show progress against that goal. Hence, I’m pleased to share that on the first anniversary year of ICG’s net zero commitment, nine portfolio companies have led the way in setting science-based GHG emissions reduction targets: 15% of relevant investments in our first year alone. And, many other companies have advanced their target-setting plans, placing ICG well on track to achieve its interim target of 50% of relevant investments having such targets by 2026.
We continue to build a culture that promotes ESG through our people and in the expansion of our investment strategies.
During the year we enhanced our approach to ESG (environmental, social and governance) integration in order to enable our investment teams to better evaluate ESG factors and engage on ESG matters with our portfolios – with results demonstrated throughout this report.
We have made some strategic hires across the organisation to ensure we have the breadth and depth of expertise to execute on the long-term opportunities ahead, and helping to future-proof ICG as we continue to market a larger range of products to a growing and increasingly complex set of clients.
I invite you to review our progress and explore some areas we will look to expand in the future, as we continue to strengthen our approach to ESG throughout the firm.
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