ESG in action

Like the journal, the conferences are intended to bring together experts in the field. Through panel discussions, briefings and plenary addresses, our producers coax speakers into addressing issues that are hopefully relevant to our audience. And of course, there is the opportunity for person-to-person exchanges of information and ideas on the sidelines of these events, facilitating further understanding of issues faced within individual firms.

Environmental, social and governance (ESG) coverage is an instructive example of our content in action. In the past few years, ESG has become an increasingly important, especially in Europe and increasingly in the US and here in Asia. The topic has been on GPs' radar for quite a long time now, but a relatively small proportion of Asia-based firms have implemented meaningful end-to-end strategies. Unsurprisingly, this is more of an issue for regional and country-focused GPs than for the global players that have established a local presence.

As highlighted in this week's issue of AVCJ, we strongly believe that ESG will continue to grow in importance and impact the traction GPs get with certain LPs when on the fundraising trail. Our editorial team has produced a very thorough overview of ESG issues for GPs and their portfolio companies, as well as, what their current and future LPs' take on the subject.

To further expand on the subject, we are holding our inaugural AVCJ ESG Forum in Hong Kong on September 18. The conference will be co-hosted with the UN-supported Principles for Responsible Investment and together we hope to provide a platform for education, benchmarking and the exchange of ideas on how GPs can incorporate ESG considerations across the companies in their portfolio. The objective is at least in part to put managers in a position from which they can understand and address the needs of LPs that prioritize ESG.

Finally, it is worth noting that our editorial coverage and conferences are only a starting point for GPs to think about ESG. We say much the same to our new event clients: participating and speaking at an AVCJ event is not a silver bullet in your fundraising process, but a useful building block in a proactive investor relations strategy. We will enhance your visibility, credibility and access but ultimately, it is the team, track record and investment narrative that attracts commitments.

Likewise with ESG, we can highlight the issues and suggest possible ways to go about it, but it is up to individual firms to ensure they have the resources, internal buy-in and perseverance to deliver a sustainable sustainability program.

• Tweet  
• Facebook  
• LinkedIn  
• Google plus  
• Save this article  
• Send to  

• Topics
• GPs
• LPs
• Investments
• ESG
• GPs
• LPs