As part of CBPE's ongoing commitment to being a responsible investor, the firm is delighted to release its fourth annual sustainability report
This year was another successful year for CBPE, and we are delighted to share the efforts and activities that have advanced sustainability across CBPE and the portfolio in our fourth annual Sustainability Report.
As a business, we are particularly proud of CBPE’s successful Fund XI fundraise which closed at its hard cap of £714 million within four months – a testament to our established track record delivering significant growth for our businesses and investors. Fund XI is also an Article 8 registered fund under the Sustainable Finance Disclosure Regulation (SFDR), our first SFDR aligned fund as an investor. We look forward to partnering with additional high-quality businesses and enhancing long-term value through ESG.
We also acquired two companies in 2024 and three in H1-25, taking our portfolio to a total of 20. All new investments undergo ESG due diligence with particular consideration of where ESG opportunities can be leveraged to improve operations and create value. These companies are now implementing their first ESG action plans, and we are excited to support these management teams in building on the excellent work achieved so far.
Across the portfolio, companies have been advancing the ESG framework developed in 2022 to embed ESG into operations. Each year, we engage and evaluate the ESG performance of our portfolio companies within the context of this framework. It enables us to identify their strengths and opportunities and set actionable objectives for improvement. For the 15 companies we have held for longer than 12 months, we are pleased to see two-thirds score over 70% in their ESG management score, a target set from the outset of our ESG programme, reflecting efforts to progress across the portfolio.
For the second year running, 100% of the portfolio are covered by a Net Zero commitment and this year, 93% have developed Carbon Reduction Plans that will enable each company to achieve interim emissions reduction targets on their journey to Net Zero. This is a significant increase on last year and shows the commitment of the portfolio to reducing their negative impact on the climate.
Over the past year, there was a strong focus on the Protection pillar, recognising the need to evolve our approach to safeguarding sensitive and proprietary data in response to the shifting cyber risk landscape. We invested significant time deepening our understanding of emerging cyber threats and worked with an external partner to refine the tools and systems that underpin our business and portfolio companies.
We firmly believe that a collaborative, partnership-based approach with and across our portfolio brings out the best in each company. Building on our first portfolio ESG Day, this year we brought our CFOs and Finance Directors together for a CFO Day filled with insightful presentations and discussions on AI, data, pricing and communication at the Red Bull Racing Factory. We also held a ‘People & Performance Day’ for our CEOs, held at the Tottenham Hotspurs’ stadium. Following the success and positive outcomes of these events, we are excited to bring the portfolio together in other ways next year, including an HR Day in September 2025.
