Principles for Responsible Investment (PRI), an UN-supported network of investors, works to promote sustainable investment through the incorporation of environmental, social and governance considerations into investment practises. By signing up, investors are publicly demonstrating a commitment to responsible investment, and are required to report on their responsible investment activities each year.
Our client, Livingbridge, a global mid-market private equity firm, became a signatory of PRI in 2021. Ahead of their first disclosure Livingbridge initially wanted to understand where they would perform well on the reporting framework, and where they would need to focus further attention to improve their performance.
In order to assess Livingbridge’s performance against the PRI framework, Sancroft began by conducting a gap analysis of their approach to responsible investment using a bespoke template for analysis. Following this gap analysis, we produced a report of findings and recommendations, including a roadmap of actions which Livingbridge could implement to maximise their score. These actions were prioritised by the impact that each would have on their PRI score and the ease of implementing change.
As part of this roadmap Sancroft identified that key to our client performing well against the PRI framework was the review and updating of their responsible investment and stewardship policies. Sancroft were commissioned to produce these policies, aligned both to our client’s responsible investment and stewardship practices and the requirements of PRI. Following a review of internal documentation and interviews with stakeholders to understand Livingbridge’s ESG activities, we drafted two policies which considered best practice, PRI recommendations, and ensured integration with the private equity investment lifecycle.
Our work provided Livingbridge with a tangible action plan to make improvements to their responsible investment and stewardship practices, supported by the updated policies. This has ensured that Livingbridge are in a good position ahead of their first PRI submission in 2023.
Having worked closely with Livingbridge to prepare for their first submission, Sancroft are now working with them to pull together the most suitable responses to the updated 2023 PRI framework.
