ESG in Private Equity℠: Issue Focus – 2014 is the first study to take an in-depth look at how large enterprise customers’ supply chain sustainability inquiries impact private equity firms’ ESG management strategy. These customers are holding their suppliers to stronger sustainability requirements to more robustly manage operational and reputational risk, avoid costly remediation, and meet their own sustainability commitments. MSP interviewed senior members of global private equity firms to determine the types of inquiries their portfolio companies are receiving from large enterprise customers and how they are helping companies respond. Though this trend is still in its early stage, the study’s findings indicate that its importance as a driver of private equity ESG management will continue to grow.
This study is MP’s third publication in its series on the private equity sector’s management of ESG issues, ESG in Private Equity℠. This year’s publication is new to the series and differs from the 2012 and 2013 complete state-of-the-market surveys by focusing on the specific issue of how large enterprise customer sustainability requirements impact private equity-owned companies.