Blue Harbour has always viewed our mission as delivering strong absolute and risk-adjusted returns to our investors, and accomplishing this while always maintaining the highest ethical and professional standards. We partner with management teams that we hold in high regard, both personally and professionally, at well run companies.
As a lead shareholder in our companies, and through the active engagement of our “private equity approach to the public markets”, Blue Harbour not only has aimed to positively influence the Business Portfolio Strategy, Capital Allocation and Operational Excellence of our portfolio companies to create lasting shareholder value; we also have driven meaningful reforms in board composition, executive compensation, and proxy access issues, while often avoiding companies with poor Environmental, Social and Governance profiles.
Blue Harbour has been committed to investing responsibly since its founding in 2004, working closely with our portfolio companies to positively influence ESG policy and practices. We most recently set forth our Responsible Investing Principles in 2012 and, consistent with these principles, in 2017 we initiated a wider, deeper, more rigorous approach to incorporating Environmental, Social as well as Governance considerations into our investment process. We believe that our ESG focus enhances our ability to produce strong returns for our investors and long-term shareholder value at our portfolio companies.
All new investments are reviewed in the context of our proprietary Blue Harbour ESG Framework, where we consider ESG risks and opportunities specific to each investment prospect. As part of our diligence process, our team engages with company operating and Board leadership on the key ESG issues relevant to their company. Going beyond only negative screening, we analyze both the scope of ESG issues and the company’s relative mitigation capacity to reduce meaningful risk. And, as lead shareholder, Blue Harbour regularly monitors our companies’ ESG profile and expects to play a role in effecting change when appropriate.
Blue Harbour maintains a formal ESG Policy, which also embraces the key principles set out in the UN Principles for Responsible Investment, to which we are a signatory. Blue Harbour is also a member of the Council for Institutional Investors (CII) and the International Corporate Governance Network (ICGN).
Please click here to view Blue Harbour’s Complete ESG Policy.
