What we do
What | The ESG Data Convergence Initiative is an open partnership of private equity stakeholders committed to streamlining the private investment industry’s historically fragmented approach to collecting and reporting ESG data. Our mission is to create a critical mass of meaningful, performance-based, and comparable ESG data from private companies.
Why | We seek to overcome the disparate constellation of ESG performance assessment frameworks and tools in the private equity industry. Converging as an industry on consistent definitions allows general partners (GPs) and their portfolio companies to benchmark their position and generate progress toward ESG improvements while enabling greater transparency and more comparable portfolio information for limited partners (LPs).
How | To create this convergence, the Initiative’s participating firms agree to report on a core set of ESG metrics drawn from existing frameworks. The categories include greenhouse gas emissions, renewable energy, board and C-suite diversity, work-related accidents, net new hires, and employee engagement. GPs track the agreed-upon metrics for their portfolio companies and report them in a standardized format. The data are shared directly with invested LPs, and aggregated into an anonymized benchmark by Boston Consulting Group (BCG), which is supporting the overall effort.
Who | The EDCI’s members include 300+ GPs and LPs representing ~$26 trillion in assets under management. In addition, a number of investment advisers and consultants are aligned with the effort.
ESG categories & metrics
GHG Emissions
Renewable Energy
Diversity
Work-Related Accidents
Net New Hires
Employee Engagement
GPs struggle with a mounting volume of bespoke ESG data requests from their LPs, while their underlying portfolio companies navigate an increasingly complex set of ESG frameworks. In GPs’ interaction with current or prospective portfolio companies, they have been unable to draw on meaningful private market data to develop an understanding of their own relative performance on key dimensions.
The EDCI helps GPs address these challenges. It simplifies their process of reporting to LPs by using standard definitions and templated methods, and provides them with benchmark-driven insights into how their portfolio companies compare to their peers.
LPs and investment managers have historically been unable to see meaningful, performance-based, and comparable ESG data across their portfolios.
The EDCI provides LPs with greater transparency on their portfolios by enabling industry-wide convergence on ESG metric collection and data submission. In addition, LPs can more effectively engage with their GPs based on an understanding of GP performance relative to the broader industry.
Latest updates from the EDCI
What our members are saying
“This is not a new framework or standard; it’s about harnessing the collective energy of investors to converge on existing ESG metrics. The intention is not to give a score or a ranking, but instead to provide better information about progress over time.”
“Over the long term, we believe the initiative will help companies get rewarded for improved ESG performance. Converging on common ESG metrics will highlight companies’ progress in a transparent, quantitative way.”
“Through this collaboration, we expect to push toward comparable ESG performance measurement and wider adoption of ESG as an integrated objective of PE investments.”
“By supporting the ESG Data Convergence Initiative, we are committed to achieving full ESG transparency. PGGM, as a member of the ESG Metrics Steering Group, will play a role in driving the private equity market toward making more and better ESG disclosures.”
Current EDCI members
Currently, 300+ total members (202 GPs and 100 LPs/IMs) have committed to the EDCI, representing ~$26T USD of AUM worldwide.
Participating General Partners
- Carlyle (Co-Chair)
- 5square
- Accel-KKR
- Actis
- Advent Partners
- AE Industrial Partners
- AEA Investors LP
- Affinity Equity Partners
- AG International
- Alantra Private Equity
- Altor Equity Partners
- Ambienta Sgr
- American Industrial Partners
- American Securities
- Amulet Capital Partners
- Antin Infrastructure Partners
- Apollo Global Management
- Appian Capital Advisory LLP
- Ara Partners
- Archipelago Capital Partners
- ARDIAN
- Ares Management
- Artá Capital SGEIC
- Astorg
- Athena Ventures
- Audax Private Equity
- Australis Partners Advisers
- Avista Capital Partners
- Axcel Management
- Bain Capital
- Baring Private Equity Asia
- Base10 Partners
- BC Partners
- Birch Hill Equity Partners
- Blackstone
- Blue Earth Capital
- Blue Horizon Corporation AG
- Blue Wolf Capital Partners
- Blume Equity
- Bonaccord Capital Partners
- Bregal Investments
- Bridgepoint Group Plc
- Capital Mazapil
- CapMan
- Capvis
- Centerbridge Partners
- CenterOak Partners
- Cerberus Capital Management
- Charterhouse Capital Partners LLP
- Cinven
- Clayton, Dubilier & Rice
- Cornell
- Corsair Capital
- Court Square Capital Management
- Crestview Partners
- CVC
- Cycle Capital
- Denham Sustainable Infrastructure
- DPE Deutsche Private Equity
- EIG
- EMK Capital
- Endless LLP
- Energy Impact Partners
- Enhanced Capital
- EQT AB
- Equistone
- Everstone Group
- Exponent
- FCDE
- Ferd AS
- Fifth Wall
- Firmament
- Five Arrows
- Forgepoint Capital
- Frazier Healthcare Partners
- Freshstream
- Frumtak Ventures
- FullCycle Climate Partners
- Gallant Capital Partners, LLC
- GENUI
- Georgian
- GI Partners
- GK Ventures
- Global Infrastructure Partners
- Goldman Sachs Asset Management
- Grain Management LLC
- Graphite Capital
- GREENPEAK Partners
- GTCR
- Gulf Capital
- Hermes GPE
- Hg
- HGGC, LLC
- Huron Capital
- Iberis Capital
- IDG Capital
- IK Partners
- Impilo AB
- Inflexion
- Insight Partners
- InterAlpen Partners
- Inverness Graham
- Investcorp Holdings
- Investindustrial
- IP Group
- J.F. Lehman & Company
- Keensight Capital
- Kinderhook Industries
- Kinzie Capital Partners LP
- KLAR Partners
- L Catterton
- Leonard Green Partners
- Lime Rock New Energy
- Linden Capital Partners
- Lindsay Goldberg
- Linzor Capital
- Livingbridge
- LongRange Capital
- Madison Dearborn Partners
- Manna Tree Partners
- Manulife Investment Management
- Mayfair Equity Partners
- McRock Capital
- Meanings Capital Partners
- Mesirow Private Equity
- MidEuropa
- MLS Power
- Montagu Private Equity
- Montefiore Investments
- Multi Green Properties
- Mundi Ventures
- Navis Capital
- NAZCA CAPITAL
- NB Renaissance
- New Mountain Capital
- Next World LLC
- NGP Energy Capital Management
- Nordic Capital
- NorthEdge
- Norvestor
- Oakley Capital Ltd
- Oaktree Capital Management
- Onex
- Ontario Municipal Employees Retirement System (OMERS)
- Orion Resource Partners
- PAG
- PAI Partners
- Paine Schwartz
- Palatine Private Equity
- Palladium Equity Partners
- Paragon Partners
- Parcom Capital Management
- Permira
- Pioneer Point Partners
- Piper PE
- Polaris
- Pollen Street Capital
- Portobello Capital
- PowerPlant Partners
- Presidio Investors
- Quadriga Capital
- Quantum Energy Partners
- Regeneration.vc
- Renewal Funds
- Resource Capital Funds
- Rivean Capital BV
- Riverstone Holdings LLC
- Roc Partners
- Samara Capital
- Sandbrook Capital
- Searchlight Capital Partners
- SkyKnight Capital
- Sterling Organization
- STG
- Suma Capital
- Summa Equity
- Synova
- TA Associates
- Tailwater Capital
- Tailwind Capital
- Tenex Capital Management
- The Jordan Company
- The Lightsmith Group
- The Riverside Company
- The Rohatyn Group
- The Westly Group
- Tikehau Capital
- Tishman Speyer Properties
- TowerBrook
- Trill Impact
- Triton Partners
- Two Sigma Impact
- TZP Group
- Unison Capital
- UpperStage Capital
- Vance Street Capital
- Veritas Capital
- Vespa Capital
- Vestar Capital Partners
- Vista Equity Partners
- Vitruvian Partners
- Volery Capital Partners
- Waterpoint Lane
- Wellington Management
- Welsh, Carson, Anderson & Stowe
- Wind Point Partners
- Wynnchurch Capital
- Ysios Capital
- Z Capital Group, LLC
Participating Limited Partners & Investment Managers
- CPP Investments (Co-Chair)
- Abrdn
- Adams Street Partners
- AIMCo
- AlpInvest Partners
- AP2
- AP3
- AP4 (Fjärde AP-fonden)
- AP6
- APG
- Arcano Partners
- Argentum Asset Management
- Azalea Investment Management Pte. Ltd.
- Border to Coast Pensions Partnership
- Bregal Private Equity Partners
- British Columbia Investment Management Corporation (BCI)
- Caledonia Investments PLC
- California Public Employees' Retirement System (CalPERS)
- Cambridge Associates
- Cambridge University Endowment Fund
- Canada Post Pension Plan
- Capital Innovations
- Church Commissioners for England
- Church of England Pensions Board
- Citibanamex Afore
- COMMITTED ADVISORS
- Cubera Private Equity
- Dai-Ichi Life Insurance Company, Limited
- Employees’ Retirement System of Rhode Island
- Enhanced Capital
- Esses Capital Partners
- Fondaco SGR
- GCM Grosvenor
- Glendower Capital
- Golding Capital Partners
- GroFin
- Hamilton Lane
- HarbourVest Partners
- Harvard Management Company
- Healthcare of Ontario Pension Plan
- HSBC
- IH International Advisors
- Investment Management Corporation of Ontario (IMCO)
- Jada
- Japan Investment Corporation
- Japan Post Bank
- Japan Post Insurance
- Kinneret Group
- KIRKBI A/S
- KLP
- LGPS Central Limited
- LGT Capital Partners
- Local Pensions Partnership
- Makena Capital Management
- Man FRM
- Meketa Investment Group
- Menora Mivtachim
- Mercer
- Mizuho Bank
- Moonfare
- Morgan Stanley
- Neuberger Berman
- New York State Common Retirement Fund (NYSCRF)
- Nippon Life Insurance Company
- Nomura Asset Management
- Nordea Bank
- Norinchukin Bank
- Norinchukin Zenkyoren Asset Management(NZAM)
- Northleaf Capital Partners
- Ontario Teachers' Pension Plan
- OPTrust
- Pantheon Ventures
- Pathway Capital Management
- Pensioenfonds PGB
- Performance Equity Management
- PGGM
- PSP Investments
- Quinbrook Infrastructure Partners
- Rabo Investments
- San Francisco Employees' Retirement System (SFERS)
- Schroders Capital
- SEB Private Equity
- StepStone Group
- Sumitomo Mitsui Trust Bank
- SwanCap Investment Management S.A.
- The Guardian Life Insurance Company
- The Pictet Group
- Third Swedish National Pension Fund
- UBC Investment Management
- Unigestion
- United Nations Joint Staff Pension Fund
- Universities Superannuation Scheme
- University of Pennsylvania, Office of Investments
- University Pension Plan Ontario
- Washington State Investment Board
- Wellcome Trust
- Willis Towers Watson (WTW)
- Wilshire
- YIELCO Investments AG