Insights

10 years of responsible investing at ICG

14 June 2024

Sustainability and People Report 2023/24

Report provides an update on sustainability at ICG in both our investments and within our operations. It focuses on our key sustainability-related priorities, approach and performance.

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Reviewing the last decade in Sustainability and People Report 2023/24

In 2013, we initiated the integration of sustainability factors into our investment processes when we signed up to the UN Principles for Responsible Investment (PRI) and established our Responsible Investing Policy.

Building on these foundations, the decade since has witnessed significant and compounding growth in our ambition, matching that of the firm as a whole, with considerable enhancement of our approach across and within strategies. Sustainability has become an integral component of our investment approach and a key guiding principle in the way we operate.

2013 – 2018

Building the foundations

  • Established our Responsible Investing Policy
  • Introduced responsible investing training for investment and marketing professionals
  • Became a signatory of the PRI
  • Formed ICG’s Responsible Investing Committee

2019 – 2022

Establishing strategic priorities; doubling down on climate change

  • Committed to net zero across operations and relevant investments by 2040[1], with interim SBTi-validated targets by 2030
  • Became active members of Initiative Climat International (iCI) and a signatory to the Net Zero Asset Managers initiative
  • Established the Sustainability & ESG team to drive ICG’s sustainability strategy and approach to responsible investing across our investments
  • Launched strategies targeting tangible sustainability improvements in infrastructure and real estate assets with focus on decarbonisation
  • Released ICG’s Climate Change Policy
  • Adopted the TCFD recommendations

2022 – 2024

Embedding our approach

  • Formalised ESG-linked compensation for all portfolio managers to drive accountability
  • Strengthened our data capabilities through the launch of a dedicated web-based sustainability data management platform
  • Standardised the pre-investment sustainability assessment for companies, real estate and LP secondaries; embedding materiality, climate risk and nature and biodiversity assessments
  • Expanded our engagement efforts across key strategies to strengthen our understanding of the sustainability practices of underlying investments and encourage improvements
  • Improved transparency to investors via implementation of fund-level sustainability reporting for the majority of active funds
  • Formed an internal multi-functional working group to monitor sustainability- related regulatory developments and coordinate effective implementation across the firm
  • Actively contributed to the development of industry best practices, such as the Private Markets Decarbonisation Roadmap (PMDR)

2024 – onwards

  • PURSUE a materiality-based approach to engagement efforts to protect and enhance value
  • EVOLVE our governance, processes and systems to continue to deploy our approach at scale across and within investment strategies, including capacity and knowledge building
  • EXPAND our decarbonisation strategy to include investment portfolios beyond the current scope of our public targets
  • INVEST in additional data capabilities to strengthen the generation of actionable insights and streamline reporting
  • DEVELOP our position on key emerging sustainability themes: Nature and Biodiversity and Human rights; and integrate into our investment processes
1. Relevant Investments include all direct investments within ICG’s Structured and Private Equity asset class and Infrastructure Equity strategy, where ICG has sufficient influence. Sufficient influence is defined by SBTi as follows: at least 25% of fully diluted shares and at least a board seat.

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