Private equity’s ESG sea change

In an interview with Private Equity International Magazine Glenn Mincey—Global & U.S. Head of Private Equity, and Tania Carnegie—Global and U.S. Lead, Private Equity and Asset Management, KPMG IMPACT discuss how private equity firms are focusing on ESG today and consider the evolution of ESG within the industry over the next five years.

Key interview takeaways:

• Private equity firms are increasingly seeking robust technology platforms to capture and manage ESG data to support regulatory and investor reporting and inform investment decisions in new ways.
• The focus now is on showing successful outcomes that tangibly demonstrate firms are better investors due to their work in this area. We need metrics that point to real impact that is identifiable and measurable.
• ESG as a value driver is a key theme defining many of our client interactions. Private equity investors realize that ESG considerations have evolved from just risk management to value creation.
• There is a realization that ESG requires a very specific industry focus. Many of our clients have more than 10 people operating across their firms, each aligned to a particular area of focus.