ESG
Emso has actively engaged with ESG since 2014, when it adopted its first formal ESG policy.
Emso is dedicated to conducting its business in accordance with optimal ethical and professional standards. As part of this aim, we recognize the importance of environment, social, and governance (“ESG”) issues in both our portfolios and our management company.
Investment
A PRI signatory since 2015, Emso has developed compelling methodologies for incorporating ESG into its investment process
Liquid Fund ESG
The Emso investment process includes an in-depth assessment of a wide range of factors, including a wide range of ESG considerations, that could influence an investment’s current or future value, risks, and impact on stakeholders associated with the investment. The specific ESG factors reviewed may vary based on the country, deal, industry, and investment structure under review.
Private Credit ESG
The Emso Private Credit Team’s ESG investment process provides a framework for the identification and management of ESG risks and opportunities throughout the private credit investment cycle. The Team works with partner companies during each stage of the investment cycle to meet applicable ESG requirements, identify value add opportunities, and to monitor and manage ESG-related risks.
ESG challenges
Emso believes that the “mainstreaming” of ESG is a critical development in the asset management industry, and supports industry-, investor- and regulator-lead initiatives. While the market contends with certain challenges, such as appropriate portfolio carbon footprinting methodologies, timeliness and accuracy of issuer disclosure, and the treatment of short-selling in an ESG context, Emso will continue to strive to be a thought leader amongst emerging market managers/investors.
Company
Emso is equally committed to the implementation of ESG principles at the management company level
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A carbon neutral company
Emso has measured its global carbon footprint for 2019 and 2020 and offset 641 and 57 tonnes of carbon dioxide, respectively, through support for a solar cooker project in a rural area of Zhangye, Gansu province in northwestern China. As such, Emso has received certification as Carbon Neutral Company under the Carbon Footprint Standard.
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Diversity and Inclusion
Emso recognizes the importance of maintaining a diverse workforce in an inclusive working environment. Emso strives for fairness in hiring, actively seeks out diverse candidates, and regularly provides staff with training on anti-discrimination and anti-harassment.
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Engagement
Emso actively participates on various industry ESG/RI working groups, including the AIMA ESG working group. Emso is also often asked to speak on industry panels which address topics related to the integration of ESG in portfolio management, ESG regulation, and/or management company ESG matters, like diversity and inclusion. Additionally, we strive to encourage as many industry stakeholders as possible, including our service providers and vendors, to adopt more sustainable business practices, and we have incorporated an ESG analysis as part of our standard due diligence process.
Emso ESG Documents
Giving
A company-wide commitment on philanthropy
Emso feels strongly that it is important to engage charitably in those geographies where we are so engaged professionally. For many years, we have supported organizations which promote education, conservation, and public health initiatives in emerging market countries.
Emso launched its employee charitable matching program in 2020, and through that program, the firm is supporting charities that matter most to its employees, both globally and locally, including Rainbows4Children, TETEA, The Sheldrick Wildlife Trust, The Trussell Trust, and The Citizens Foundation (UK), among many others.
Emso is proud to support The HALO Trust, Tusk, EMPower, and Re:Act. We feel that these organizations perform essential work in the communities where they operate, and we are proud to lend them our support.
The HALO Trust helps countries recover after conflict by clearing the landmines and other debris of war left behind and promoting responsible arms control. HALO works in partnership with the communities it serves, training and employing local men and women to make their countries safe; providing secure jobs where opportunities are often scarce.
Once the landmines are gone, families can return home, minefields can become fields of crops and vital infrastructure can be repaired. HALO currently works in 26 countries and states across the world including Afghanistan, Libya, Angola and Cambodia; protecting lives and working together to build more resilient and prosperous communities.
“Emso and the Franklin family have been generous friends of HALO since 2017. Thanks to them, HALO has delivered emergency lifesaving weapons clearance during the 2020 war in Nagorno Karabakh. Their support has enabled us to trial pioneering new ways of identifying and removing landmines through drone technology in Angola and developing a bespoke 'mine crusher' in Zimbabwe. Emso and the Franklins are also supporting the next generation of HALO through their investment of our global training programme, which will equip young women and men to shape HALO’s response to the increasingly complex intersection of conflict mitigation, climate-stressed urban environments and mass human displacement.”
James Cowan CBE DSO, The HALO Trust
Since its founding in 1990, Tusk has supported forward-thinking and successful conservation intervention in Africa. Tusk believes that strategic conservation can empower local communities and improve livelihoods. The organization supports and promotes effective environmental education designed to provide a more sustainable future for the next generation.
Through its partnerships, Tusk continues to witness very significant progress, providing greater protection for over 70 million hectares of land and more than 40 different threatened species, while benefiting more than 7,500,000 people.
“Tusk is immensely grateful to Emso for its generous and longstanding support of our conservation and community programmes across Africa. It has been fantastic to witness how Emso staff have enthusiastically engaged in our fundraising events and activities, including entering teams in our gruelling annual Safari Marathon in Kenya. The company has become a valued partner for the charity, helping us to raise public awareness, reach out to others in the financial and investment sector, and encourage the support of the next generation.” – Charlie Mayhew MBE, CEO Tusk
EMpower supports and works closely with local, dedicated organizations in emerging market countries, focused on solutions that integrate the voices and experiences of marginalized young people. EMpower believes that marginalized young often people lack resources, meaningful choices, and opportunities. Their perspectives are seldom sought or their voices heard. Race, ethnicity, class, sexual orientation, gender identity, migration status, ability, and other factors can deepen their exclusion. Local organizations that work with marginalized young people -- and have the knowledge and solutions needed to break cycles of disadvantage – also are under-funded.
EMpower works closely with grantee partners to provide support beyond financial assistance. This support is typically in areas such as girl-focused and/or gender equitable programing, monitoring and evaluation, fundraising, governance, and child and youth safeguarding.
Emso has been an underwriter of EMpower since 2018 and is represented on the EMpower UK board of directors.
Re:Act is a disaster response charity that provides direct humanitarian action when it’s most needed, protecting the vulnerable and supporting critical infrastructure and frontline services. Re:Act repurposes the hard-earned skills and experience of military veterans and turns them exceptionally agile and resilient humanitarians, capable of rapidly deploying when people need immediate and urgent relief. Its teams have been deployed to help in the response to international disasters as well as locally in the United Kingdom, including throughout the Covid-19 pandemic response.