Driving meaningful change together.

INTRODUCTION FROM RUULKE BAGIJN

With over $63 billion assets under management (AUM), AlpInvest—part of Carlyle’s Global Investment Solutions (GIS) segment—seeks to provide investors with access to global private markets through primary, secondary, and co-investment opportunities across a range of strategies.

At AlpInvest, we take our responsible investment (RI)-related responsibilities seriously, recognizing the importance of embedding RI considerations in everything we do. Our RI journey started 15 years ago, and our commitment remains as strong as ever. In the evolving RI landscape, we continuously strive to achieve more, and seek to deliver value to our investors who are increasingly looking for more sustainable investment solutions.

With growing demand from investors for increased ESG reporting on their portfolios, we deploy our innovative technology to measure and assess the ESG data we collect and share our insights. The data we collect through the ESG Data Convergence Initiative (EDCI) allows us to report on a variety of key climate metrics like greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions and renewable energy, as well as Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion (DEI) metrics, such as board diversity and employee engagement. Although the EDCI is relatively new—it launched in late 2021—this year, we have already collected ESG portfolio company metrics from nearly 50 funds and over 7,600 data points that we can use for benchmarking to help us provide valuable portfolio insights to investors.

We increasingly see interest in investments that target positive sustainability outcomes alongside financial returns. We seek to be our clients’ gateway to sustainable and impact investing and are currently tracking more than 300 funds with a focus on various impact themes. In our co-investment portfolio, we track companies whose products and services seek to generate a positive impact in line with the United Nations’ Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs)¹.

Situated between GPs and LPs, AlpInvest’s distinct role in the private equity industry provides an opportunity to connect both groups on key RI themes in a way that drives both progress and returns. For example, DEI remains an important pillar of our culture at AlpInvest. There is growing evidence of how diversity contributes to enhanced decision-making and outcomes in our investments; as such, we continue to collect information on DEI practices during due diligence to help inform our GP engagement efforts. We lead and actively participate in industry initiatives on DEI to help advance progress across the broader industry, including the Institutional Limited Partner Association (ILPA) DEI Council and the Hong Kong Venture Capital Association’s Diversity & Inclusion Committee.

At the same time, we are committed to creating an inclusive environment for our own staff. In an employee survey conducted in 2022, 84% of GIS employees agreed that their manager takes action to develop a diverse and inclusive team, and 16 GIS employees have received a Carlyle DEI Incentive Award since the program’s launch in 2021, which rewards colleagues for outstanding contributions to DEI.

As we reflect on the progress we have made on behalf of our LPs, GPs, and our business internally, we recognize there is more to be done. We look forward to capitalizing on the momentum we’ve generated so far.

Looking ahead, we believe our RI goals are ambitious but attainable. They demand not only an ongoing commitment, but also an agile and innovative mindset. Our investors rightly have high expectations of our performance; likewise, the regulatory environment demands our utmost professionalism at all times.

Although the bar is high, we are proud to work diligently and remain true to RI and the standards it entails.

Sincerely,

RUULKE BAGIJN
Head of Carlyle Global
Investment Solutions

June 28, 2023

¹The SDGs are aspirational in nature. The analysis involved in determining whether and how certain investments may contribute to or support the SDGs is inherently subjective and dependent on a number of factors and AlpInvest makes no commitment or guarantee that it is investing in companies that have a formal commitment or plan or take specific actions to support or contribute to the SDGs. There can be no assurance that reasonable parties will agree on a decision as to whether certain investments contribute to or support a particular SDG. Accordingly, investors should not place undue reliance on AlpInvest’s application of the SDGs, as such application is subject to change at any time and at AlpInvest’s sole discretion.