Defining and Being ‘Responsible’

Many limited partners have made responsible investment a priority of their investment programs. But how do they work with their GPs to ensure that the definition of “responsible” is mutually understood, and that efforts are in place to systematically screen investments for possible environmental, social and governance (ESG) problems?

Tom Rotherham, Director of Private Markets at Hermes Equity Ownership Services (a division of BT Pension Scheme) and Jordan Berger, Director of Policy Compliance at Canada’s OPTrust, discuss their roles in bringing ESG risk-screening to bear in the private capital asset classes. Topics of discussion include screening deals by geography and sector, the impact that development agencies have had on emerging markets ESG, the risk of LP-LP misalignment, and the importance of standards such as the United Nations Principles for Responsible Investment.