In 2014, Coller Capital became a signatory to the United Nations-supported Principles for Responsible Investment (PRI) and have achieved and retained A+ for all rated sections of their recent reports.
They seek to influence underlying General Partners (GPs) and their portfolio companies through integrating ESG into their investment process, thereby amplifying the impact of their Policy. Their objective is to achieve appropriate behaviour of underlying GPs and emphasize the importance of impact (both financial and ESG). Since ESG can be integrated into all stages of the investment process, for all transaction types and asset classes, they conduct some level of ESG analysis for every investment they consider. They also have the requisite processes in place to notify investors of material ESG-related incidents should they arise and engage where needed post-investment.
Coller have helped to develop ESG policies and programmes at underlying GPs, developed notes on a range of ESG topics and provided these to over 100 GPs through their platform. They have also run workshops, visited underlying GP portfolio companies, and assisted in crisis situations. In addition, all their investment professionals have been trained on ESG in investment decision-making and management (in-house training, on the job training and an ESG e-learning course offered by the BVCA).
They track ESG performance through various formal and informal mechanisms (bespoke, quarterly, annually) and communicate this to their investors. They also believe in the power of advocacy, outreach and thought leadership, and are active with the UN PRI, the BVCA, Invest Europe and the Hong Kong Venture Capital Association (amongst others).
Oversight of their ESG Policy is the responsibility of the Head of ESG & Sustainability, with the support of an ESG Committee. Affiliated to the Committee are Associates, Senior Associates and employees from across the Investment Team, Facilities, Marketing, Legal and Compliance, and the Administration Team (who operate as champions for ESG throughout the business).
Coller also firmly believe in ‘walking the talk’ acknowledging that if they are to meaningfully influence underlying GPs they should also actively engage in tackling their own sustainability impacts at the firm level. Selected key initiatives on Coller Capital impacts include:
- Establishing a Coller Capital Sustainability Team comprising employee representatives from across the organization (including Facilities given their responsibility for office and travel footprints);
- Undertaking an independent measurement of their global carbon footprint and subsequently achieving carbon neutrality at the global firm level;
- Implementing responsible food sourcing policies;
- Initiatives on single use plastics; and
- Becoming Stonewall Diversity Champions as part of their Diversity and Inclusivity programme.
“We are making steady progress and continue to believe that ESG and private equity secondary investing do not receive enough focus. We believe our ongoing efforts are making a difference in promoting better practice and influencing GPs and other industry stakeholders.”