We believe that careful management of Environmental, Social and Governance (“ESG”) issues is not only good business practice but also an essential part of delivering strong and sustainable returns for investors.

Four Pillars

We have chosen four ESG issues, referred to as our Four Pillars, that we believe should be important to every business in which we invest.

For each Pillar, we have set an aspirational target to guide our and our portfolio companies’ long-term decision-making; we recognise that these targets may require significant change and may therefore take many years to achieve in full.

Drawing on our experience of working with companies across different sectors, we have also defined a set of best practices which we expect every company we invest in to implement.

The Four Pillars, and our aspiration for each one, are:

Climate change: we and our portfolio companies will support the transition to a lower-carbon economy and will be carbon-neutral by 2030, or as soon as technically and economically practicable thereafter;

Sustainability: we and our portfolio companies will as far as possible source raw materials from sustainable sources, reduce raw material consumption, reuse or recycle materials and products at the end of use, and reduce emissions of hazardous substances;

People: we and our portfolio companies will aim to be employers of choice, to offer an open and inclusive working environment populated by a diverse workforce and which offers opportunities to contribute, collaborate and progress, and to recognise the importance of our people’s physical and mental health and safety;

Ethics: we and our portfolio companies will act with integrity and professionalism, with robust governance structures supported by training on key issues.

Our Approach

We have integrated ESG management into our operations and those of our portfolio companies and at all stages of the investment lifecyle – from screening and identification pre-acquisition, through management and reporting during our ownership, to disclosure to prospective buyers at exit.

Before we make a new investment, we identify the relevant ESG issues and incorporate these into our investment analysis and decision-making process. We then use a standard Epiris process to develop an ESG Plan that sets out the priorities in respect of both our Four Pillars and any other material risks and opportunities, together with a plan for addressing them.

We deliver the ESG Plan by working with portfolio companies to set targets and measure performance against them. We put in place a reporting framework that enables us to provide our investors and other stakeholders with a clear picture of ESG performance.

This approach means that, when we come to sell an investment, we are able to demonstrate to the next owner the contribution that ESG management has made to the portfolio company’s performance.

We lead by example by submitting ourselves to the same ESG approach as our portfolio companies.

We are proud to have worked with management teams over many years to deliver valuable and sustainable ESG improvements that have had a tangible impact on the world around us. Our latest Annual ESG Report shows our approach in action.

Ownership

Our ESG Committee is made up of Partners and other staff from across the firm. It meets regularly to review our own and our portfolio companies’ ESG performance. It is responsible for ensuring that our approach to ESG evolves to accommodate new challenges and standards as well as the needs of our investors.

Policy

Epiris is committed to proactively identifying and managing the environmental, social and governance (“ESG”) issues that affect new portfolio companies and its own internal operations.

Download Epiris’ ESG Policy