ESG+C®
SUMMARY
MCP's investment philosophy utilises an active ownership approach with an emphasis on improving ESG-standards. We do not constrain ourselves to conventional definitions of 'ESG' but also place a heavy emphasis on rigorously assessing corporate culture (ESG+C®) as academic research suggests that companies with strong cultures outperform their peers over the long term (see MCP’s 2022 Culture Report).
Unlike many investors who seek companies already excelling in ESG, MCP targets those with the potential to become sustainability leaders within their sectors. This ESG+C® framework is built on two key pillars:
1.
Integration of Material ESG+C® Factors at Research Stage: As part of our comprehensive research process, we focus on understanding each company’s existing ESG+C® practices to provide targeted guidance for improvement. By assessing key areas—such as sales practices, energy efficiency, environmental impact, diversity, decision-making, and innovation—we create a materiality-based roadmap to help enhance their ESG performance.
2.
Active Ownership and Engagement: Following investment, MCP works closely with each portfolio company to elevate their ESG+C® standards, supporting them in their journey toward sustainability leadership and adaptation to evolving ESG expectations. Our engagement is highly tailored, involving consistent, meaningful interactions throughout the holding period, including face-to-face meetings, video calls, and ongoing correspondence.
''We are not looking for today's ESG champions but are actively engaging with tomorrow's sustainability, governance and operational leaders.''
Carlos von Hardenberg
Founder & Portfolio Manager
ESG+C® Factsheet - Q1 2025
Engagement*
| Portfolio | ||
| Governance | 50% | |
| Environmental | 23% | |
| Operations and Capital Allocation | 13% | |
| Culture | 10% | |
| Social | 4% |
Portfolio Highlights
In Q1 2025, we continued to actively engage with our portfolio companies through the use of video conferencing and in-person meetings. The Portfolio Highlights section below displays some of the progress observed during the quarter.
Environmental*
| Environmental Reporting³ | 78% | |
| Quantitative Environmental Targets³ | 44% |
Carbon Disclosure Project Portfolio Company Scores⁴ *
| Portfolio | ||
| F | 41% | |
| Not Reporting | 26% | |
| C | 7% | |
| B | 7% | |
| A- | 11% | |
| B- | 4% | |
| A | 4% | |
| D | 0% |
Portfolio Highlights
-
Clicks Group helped to introduce South Africa’s first fleet of zero-emission, pharma-compliant electric vehicles with solar-powered refrigeration.
-
Mavi received an "A" rating in the CDP’s Climate Change and Water Security programs.
Social*
| Employee Training Initiatives³ | 100% | |
| Reporting on the SDG³ | 70% |
Top 3 most reported Sustainable Development Goals (SDG)⁶ *
 9. Industry, Innovation & Infrastructure 16 out of 19 |
 8. Decent Work & Economic Growth 11 out of 19 |
 1. No Poverty 8 out of 19 |
Portfolio Highlights
-
FPT achieved the EcoVadis Silver rating for its Japanese subsidiary, placing the company in the top 15% of companies rated for their commitment to ESG practices.
-
Newsweek ranked EPAM Systems among Top 5 in IT Services & Consulting on its 2025 Excellence 1000 Index.
Governance*
| Dedicated Investor Relations Professional⁹ | 85% | |
| Audited by Big 4 Auditor³ | 81% | |
| Report on Sustainability³ | 81% | |
| Founder/Family Owned Companies⁷ | 59% | |
| Blockinvestor⁸ | 48% | |
| Global Reporting Initiative Compliant Reporting³ | 59% | |
| % of Board Independence⁴ | 52% | |
| % of Females on the Board⁴ | 22% |
Portfolio Highlights
-
CarTrade appointed Steven Douglas Greenfield as non-executive independent director for 5 years.
-
KPIT received the Silver Shield for Excellence in Financial Reporting 2023-2024 from the ICAI.
-
Trip.com announced changes in board composition with Mr. Rong Luo replacing Mr. Junjie as director.
Culture*
| Ethics Code/Code of Conduct³ | 93% | |
| Non-financial Employee Benefits³ | 85% | |
| Anti-Corruption Policy³ | 74% | |
| Share Option Scheme³ | 67% | |
| Whistleblower Policy³ | 67% | |
| Dedicated Sustainability¹⁰ | 44% | |
| % of Females C-Level Executives⁴ | 17% |
Portfolio Highlights
-
Safaricom was named Kenya and Africa's Top Employer in 2025 and Kenya's number one employer based on its Human Resource policies and people practices by the TEI.
*allocation may vary over time.
Source: MCP Emerging Markets and portfolio companies
DOCUMENTS
REPORTS
No document
INFORMATION ON FINANCIAL PRODUCTS
No document
CULTURE REPORTS
No document
FOOTNOTES
1.
The Engagement breakdown is for Q1 2025 and is based on 189 engagements in the fields of Environment, Social, Governance, Culture and Operations and Capital Allocation issues
2.
As part of the ESG+C assessment four different dimensions are assessed: Environmental: entails factors like climate change, natural resources, pollution & waste as well as environmental opportunities; Social: refers to factors such as human capital, product liability, and social opportunities; Governance: refers to the reporting methods, the ownership structure as well as checks and balances; Culture: contains factors like the degree of freedom, equality, recruitment, innovation, and remuneration
3.
Portfolio companies are assessed on a binary basis whether they do or do not comply with the assessed metric. The number of companies complying with the metric is expressed as a percentage of the portfolio.
4.
The determined company percentages are weighted according to their weight in the portfolio. The weighted average is reported as a percentage of the portfolio.
5.
External CDP Score: The Carbon Disclosure Project increases environmental transparency and accountability of companies and enables progress tracking. The scoring ranges from A, A- to B. B- to C, C- to D, D- and F.
6.
Sustainable Development Goals: Out of the 19 portfolio companies reporting on the United Nations sustainable development goals, the top 3 goals are selected.
7.
Founder/Family-Owned Companies: Reports the percentage of portfolio companies with the family or founder holding 5% or more.
8.
Blockinvestor: Refers to an individual or organisation owning a substantial amount of the company’s shares. The hurdle rate is set at 15%.
9.
Dedicated Investor Relations Professional: Reports companies as a percentage of the portfolio having appointed an employee responsible for investor relations.
10.
Dedicated Sustainability Professional: Reports companies as a percentage of the portfolio having a dedicated employee in charge of the company’s sustainability activities.
11.
External Glassdoor Score: Glassdoor is one of the world’s largest job and recruiting sites providing scores for companies ranging from 0 to 5. The Portfolio score is the average of 24 available scores among the portfolio
We rely on the data provided by portfolio companies which is not necessarily reliable and gathered/verified on a best-efforts basis. Information from companies is only considered if it is publicly available and traceable to the source. Accordingly, we avoid private questionnaires or surveys as such a process is difficult to replicate on a quarterly basis. Based on this principle, annual reports are one of the central data sources. Quantifying qualitative data helps to evaluate the overall portfolio and provides comparable data.
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