Sustainable Investing at Pemberton
Supporting borrowers in building long-term, sustainable businesses leveraging Pemberton’s toolkit of 5 levers
Pemberton is a responsible investor with a proactive and innovative approach to sustainable investing.
We believe environmental, social and governance (ESG) factors are fundamental in achieving long-term value for our Limited Partners and stronger and more profitable growth for our portfolio companies. Pemberton became a signatory of the United Nations Principles for Responsible Investment (PRI) in July 2018 and has formally implemented an internal ESG policy. Our investment approach incorporates negative screening, ESG-specific due diligence, ongoing monitoring, an ESG Committee, and an ESG Questionnaire. We actively encourage our portfolio companies to implement ESG guidelines and processes and have introduced financial incentives for borrowers to further strengthen their commitments to ESG.
An ‘ESG Margin Ratchet’ was introduced as part of the investment process in December 2020 to encourage improvements in sustainability practices among portfolio companies. The ratchet allows companies to receive a margin discount for reducing their CO2 emissions by an agreed percentage (adhering to the Science Based Target initiative guidance for SMEs) year-on-year, alongside other sector-appropriate key performance indicators (KPIs)
We see ourselves as stewards of responsible investment, supporting our borrowers and private equity sponsors in building value through sustainable growth. ESG criteria are a key part of that stewardship responsibility, and we are committed to furthering the interests of our Limited Partners and the private debt community in this area.
As part of the firm’s commitment to corporate sustainability, all employees receive ESG training, our senior leadership team and AIFM-Executive Directors have all completed a specific responsible investment training course run by the PRI Academy. This is to ensure they understand the importance of ESG, our commitment to the PRI charter and the environmental and social impact we can make together as an organisation. To this end, we are proud to be carbon neutral firm. In partnership with EcoAct, we have offset our carbon emissions. For the 2019 reporting year we offset through the Orinoco Climate Reforestation Project in Columbia, in 2020 through the Darfur Cookstove Project in Sudan, in 2021 through the Towy Woodland Project in Wales and in 2022 we have offset our Carbon via Safe Water Programme (Sofala Water) in Mozambique. We will continue to work with EcoAct to offset our carbon emissions each year going forward, and to put in place initiatives that will reduce our emissions.
We published our 2023 TCFD Report in June 2024. Download the ESG Report here.
Email us at ESG@pembertonam.com with any questions.
€8.0bn
of loans with ESG Margin Ratchets*
76
Investments with ESG Margin Ratchets*
Pemberton was one of the first lenders that we have worked with to introduce ESG conditions into our loan documentation. We believe it is very important and ties in with our own ESG commitments. We believe ESG will become very important in private equity and private debt and Pemberton appears to be in the forefront of this.
– Rogier Bruynzeel, Partner at Parcom, 2021
Corporate and social responsibility
Supporting the wider communities in which we operate is very important to us. We primarily do this through an outreach programme led by one of our Partners.
We encourage all employees to contribute their ideas and their time to this programme or other important initiatives that they believe in.
Socially responsible investing
Pemberton is a responsible investor, supporting our borrowers as they build value through sustainable growth. We aim to act with integrity at all times and value long-term relationships built on trust.
We support our borrowers to become stronger and more profitable. In turn, that generates stable and attractive returns for our investors.
We are also concerned with how the companies in which we invest engage with their employees, suppliers, local communities, the environment – and society as a whole.
To learn more how Pemberton works with portfolio companies to mutual benefit, our approach to Net Zero and what it takes for mid-size companies to push for Net Zero goals, click here to read a blog post by Ralph Hora – our Head of Business Development for Germany, Austria and Switzerland (DACH) and Chair of Pemberton’s ESG Working Group.
Diversity and inclusion
We understand the importance of fostering an inclusive culture that respects and fairly values the unique contribution of all employees.
We aspire to build a business that brings together people from different backgrounds and experiences, ensuring diversity of people and of thought. As a business operating in multiple markets on a global basis, we are committed to building a workforce that reflects the highly diverse nature of our investors, borrowers and partners.
We believe it is socially and commercially imperative to ensure the rich diversity of available talent in society is represented in our business.
We have designed our recruitment and development activities to ensure that all of our employees feel engaged and empowered to fulfil their potential. Ultimately that is how we deliver the best possible results for our investors and borrowers.
The Pemberton ID Council
The launch of the PembertonID Council supports the organisation’s efforts in fostering an inclusive environment, increasing diversity through recruitment, as well as building awareness of and focus on the importance of inclusion and diversity not only at Pemberton but in local communities and the industry.
The PembertonID Council meets on a quarterly basis and has three sub-groups focussing on gender, LGBT+ and social mobility, and is open to all employees globally. Email us at PembertonID@pembertonam.com with any suggestions and questions on diversity, equality and inclusion at Pemberton.
Our outreach partners
