A group of private equity investors has adopted a set of responsible investment guidelines that
they will apply prior to investing in companies and during their period
of ownership. The guidelines cover environmental, health, safety,
labor, governance and social issues.
The Private Equity Council, a Washington D.C.-based advocacy group for the private equity industry, said the guidelines grew out of a dialogue between members and a group of the world’s major institutional investors, which took place under the umbrella of the United Nations-backed Principles for Responsible Investment (PRI).
The guidelines include seeking to improve the long-term sustainability of
companies in which they invest and supporting the payment
of competitive wages and benefits to employees.
“Private equity is all about investing for growth and maximizing returns to our investors. To accomplish that today requires considering a range of environmental, governance, human capital, and social issues,” said Private Equity Council President Douglas Lowenstein. “Today’s announcement explicitly and formally affirms PEC members’ commitment to fully integrating these responsible investment guidelines into both our pre-investment and post-investment processes.”
Ted Eliopoulous, Interim Chief Investment Officer of the California Public Employees Retirement Systems (CalPERS), said: “We signed onto PRI because we believe that encouraging policies and practices that help create a better society for this and future generations is an excellent way to maximize our investment returns. As a limited partner in many PEC members’ funds, we know that private equity has not only generated positive returns for our beneficiaries but has also been a positive force in building stronger, more competitive companies.
PEC members are: Apax Partners; Apollo Global Management LLC; Bain Capital Partners; the Blackstone Group; the Carlyle Group; Hellman and Friedman LLC; Kohlberg Kravis Roberts & Co.; Madison Dearborn Partners; Permira; Providence Equity Partners; Silver Lake, THL Partners; and TPG Capital (formerly Texas Pacific Group).
Read the full guidelines at the link below.
