Last month at the annual Morningstar Investment Conference BlackRock CEO Larry Fink doubled down on the firm’s long-standing commitment to environmental, social and governance standards. He promised that by the end of this year, 100% of its portfolios will integrate ESG metrics, up from 70% at the end of April.
For those following BlackRock and its pursuit of sustainability across its portfolio investments, this announcement may not be a surprise. But what is different this year is that more private equity companies are following suit.
To be sure, private equity companies have been waking up to the importance of purpose, responsibility and transparency for the last several years. Now, though, the pandemic has catapulted these concepts to the top of the agenda.
Anna Grotberg, an associate partner at EY-Parthenon, discussed this new trend at the British Pvt. Equity and Venture Capital Association Ltd. Summit, according to a report by S&P Market Intelligence.
Since the start of the pandemic, Grotberg has seen an increased interest in transparency and accountability and in developing ESG policies by private equity firms.