NB Private Equity Partners has published a new sustainable investment policy, outlining its exclusions and considerations.
In a media announcement, Neuberger Berman’s Guernsey-domiciled private equity fund, said the move was a continuation of the board’s commitment to high standards of corporate governance which will add long term value to investors.
Under the terms of the policy, the fund avoids investment in companies where more than 10% of current, or planned revenues are derived from tobacco, privately-run prisons, or from the sale of firearms to civilians.
The new policy also explains the investment team’s sustainability approach, including the exclusion of investments where they believe companies are involved in the manufacture of “controversial” weapons.
“This formalised responsible and sustainable investment policy is centered on the objective of delivering better investment outcomes through incorporating ESG considerations into investment decisions,” the company said in a statement.
NBPE has made an explicit commitment to exclude investments in coal and oil and gas producers. These include companies with operations relating to thermal coal and oil sands.
The fund’s manager conducted a sustainability assessment to accompany today’s announcement. It found that 99% of the direct investment portfolio does not have underlying holdings with “significant adverse” sustainability characteristics.
It also said that 26% of the portfolio is deemed to have “overall positive sustainability potential or have an overall positive benefit to people or the environment”.
NB Private Equity Partners was among those investment groups to achieve an A+ rating from the recent Principles for Responsible Investment (PRI) annual assessments.
The full policy document is available here.
