abrdn Private Equity Opportunities | ESG

The Company is committed to being an active, long-term responsible investor and ESG is a fundamental component of the Company’s investment philosophy and process. The Manager commits the Company’s capital with private equity managers who demonstrate strong adherence to ESG principles and processes or have a strong cultural commitment to improve their ESG credentials.

The Manager has been a signatory to the Principles for Responsible Investment (“PRI”) for over 10 years and was awarded a PRI rating of A+ for Strategy & Governance in 2020. It has an ESG policy specific to private equity and has incorporated ESG considerations into the Company’s investment activity over the last decade. Its Investment Committee is ultimately responsible for ensuring ESG is considered in investment decision making. The Manager also has a dedicated ESG Committee to help drive further progress through specific ESG initiatives. As part of its approach, every new investment made on behalf of the Company in 2020 was subject to specific ESG due diligence. Please see page 18 of the Company’s Annual Report for more information on the Company’s investment process in respect of ESG.

The Manager focuses on the holistic integration of ESG principles into the operations of the underlying private equity managers.  Key facets include culture, governance with senior accountability, full integration into a manager’s investment processes and appropriate disclosure to assist investors. As the vast majority of the portfolio is held via private equity funds, ESG KPI aggregation and monitoring is complex. It is the intention of the Board and Manager to devise specific KPIs for monitoring the Company’s underlying portfolio of companies, in order to further inform the Company’s stakeholders of ESG progress and where further action needs to be taken.

The Manager has completed its sixth Annual Private Equity ESG Survey, which covers 22 of the Company’s private equity managers. The headline results of this survey can be found in the  Investment Manager’s Review on page 30 of the Company's Annual Report.

Overall, the Board and Manager fundamentally believe that integrating ESG into SLPET’s strategy and investment processes improves the investment decision making and ultimately will help to generate stronger, more sustainable returns for its investors.