Bregal Investments Releases 2022 Responsible Investment Report
Bregal Investments (“Bregal” or the “Company”) published its fifth Responsible Investment Report today, outlining the Company’s continued progress and ambitions relating to responsible investing practices across its six funds.
The 2022 report outlines the growing maturity of Bregal’s Environmental, Social, and Governance (“ESG”) programme, focusing on future-proofing its portfolio companies. This year, our report showcases our increased level of ESG data reporting and focuses on several topics including climate resilience and emissions reductions, investing in nature, and further strengthening our cybersecurity and DEI programs.
A Net-Zero Future & Investing in Nature
As with previous years, climate change has once again been high on Bregal’s agenda, having great progress on the science-based target commitments formalised at the end of 2021 when Bregal co-led the development of the Science Based Targets initiative (“SBTi”) guidance for private equity. These commitments aim to reduce Bregal’s overall carbon footprint, specifically the emissions associated with our investment activities, by ensuring our portfolio companies set their own science-based targets in line with global efforts to limit global warming to as close to 1.5°C as possible. To date, more than 20% of Bregal’s portfolio by eligible capital has approved net zero targets through the SBTi, with the goal of ensuring 100% have approved targets by 2030.
More broadly, the report features a fulsome overview of our annual ESG progress across all our funds, including a detailed introduction to our newest strategy, Bregal Sphere, and an overview of their first investment, PUR, a leading nature-based solutions project developer. Additionally, the report highlights the strategic integration of ESG throughout the invest lifecycles of our funds, portfolio company ESG case studies, and success stories from the Bregal Sustainable Development Loan Program, the Bregal Helps Initiative, and our employee philanthropy programs.
With over €15 billion in assets under management, and investments in more than 90 companies globally, we seek to deploy our capital ‘with a purpose’ – supporting our portfolio companies as they grow in a responsible and sustainable way. We see the consideration of ESG topics as an integral part of our investment approach and an important part of our fiduciary duty to stakeholders – where ESG can be seen to influence long-term risk-return profiles.
We believe investing in nature is the next frontier for private equity and are actively exploring impact strategies that can help address the nature financing gap. Much like the issue of climate change, this is not solely about financial returns, but investing in a way that creates long-term value for both investors and society at large.