The $95bn alternative investment specialist's annual ESG report, which assessed the activities of 381 asset management firms globally, including 309 private equity firms, found the proportion of managers addressing climate-related risks rose 12 percentage points, to 55%.
The research also showed that managers have significantly improved their efforts in the area of DEI, as 69% of them now have a DEI policy in place, up from 50% two years ago. ;:
Private debt managers have made strides in their climate change policies: 81% of the firms examined are currently analysing their own carbon emissions, up 24 percentage points from the previous year.
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Hedge fund managers have also made progress with ESG integration, with 69% of firms now rated "excellent" or "good" on ESG, up from 64% last year.
According to the report, this was most likely driven by increasing regulatory requirements and investor demand, although all managers demonstrated some commitment to ESG and recognised sustainability-related risks.
In geographic terms, Asia was catching up to Europe in terms of ESG integration, although the latter still leads the field.
Overall, 82% of European private equity managers this year received an "excellent" or "good" rating for their ESG practices, compared to 79% of Asian managers.
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In the US, progress has also mostly stabilised, with 49% of managers receiving top scores for ESG integration.
Tycho Sneyers, managing partner at LGT Capital Partners and PRI board member, said: "There has been significant progress in how alternative investment managers approach ESG issues in recent years, and this is a trend that has continued over the last 12 months.
"This shift has been largely supported by regulators demanding greater clarity in how ESG is defined and applied, particularly the implementation of SFDR, which is the most wide-ranging ESG regulatory framework currently implemented."