ICR, a strategic communications and advisory firm, has launched ICR ESG Diagnostics, a comprehensive Environmental, Social & Governance analysis offering to help private equity and venture capital firms identify and assess corporate ESG issues during the investment due diligence process.
“As limited partners focus on responsible, long-term investments, they are increasingly focused on ESG issues,” says Don Duffy, President of ICR. “With comprehensive ESG due diligence now a core part of the investment process, our Governance Solutions team developed a comprehensive Environmental, Social & Governance analysis to help financial sponsors identify risks and opportunities in potential investments.”
ICR ESG Diagnostics analyses a target investment company’s awareness of, and commitment to, the issues material to their business utilising the most relevant ESG frameworks. ICR’s analysis considers the views of the top asset managers, leading ESG ratings agencies and widely-accepted ESG reporting frameworks. This offering will serve as an important tool for private equity and venture capital firms to demonstrate that they are integrating ESG factors into their investment process.
“Having a commitment to ESG plays a significant role in the long-term performance of investments,” says Lyndon Park, head of ICR’s Governance Solutions practice. “Following our analysis, ICR is also able to work with both financial sponsors and portfolio companies to develop a customised ESG management approach to ensure that the management of the most material ESG issues are integrated into the business.”
ICR is already providing ESG Diagnostics for its public company clients, including advising on how best to adequately disclose and communicate, internally and externally, their ESG initiatives.
ICR’s ESG team, with direct prior experience leading ESG teams at influential asset managers like BlackRock and Dimensional Fund Advisors, works shoulder-to-shoulder with former Wall Street professionals, sell-side analysts, journalists, political consultants, and global corporate communications leaders. The result is a firm that has the unique ability to integrate ESG into the overall corporate narrative and the role it plays in determining a company’s value.
