ESG and our impact on society - LetterOne

Long-term investment requires long-term thinking. Our businesses will only deliver financial performance if they are able to adapt to the future social, environmental and technological changes the world faces. The pandemic has only strengthened society’s – and L1’s – belief in sustainable value.

L1 is committed to ESG and aims to maximise the impact its business operations have on society.

In addition, L1 has recently launched a substantial charity giving programme, starting with a commitment to donate significant funds to those affected by the unjustifiable war in Ukraine

Our ESG principles

Principle 1: how our businesses operate and behave

L1 has taken the following actions in order to embed ESG in its investment processes:

L1 will incorporate ESG issues into its investment decisions and its portfolio management processes.
L1 will require all of the portfolio companies it controls to have an ESG policy and identify specific ESG priorities, risks, and opportunities.
L1 will review progress against portfolio company ESG targets through its six-monthly portfolio review process.
L1 will undertake an annual ESG analysis of the most significant companies in its portfolio to understand their approach to ESG risks and opportunities in more detail.
L1 will convene annual workshops to bring together the ESG leaders of its portfolio companies in order to facilitate sharing and promotion of best practice.
L1 is committed to providing all relevant L1 employees with regular training, comprehensive responsible investing guidance and access to relevant ESG tools.

Download our ESG policy

LetterOne’s charity commitment

L1 has pledged to support relief and reconstruction efforts in Ukraine.

Our priority for donations is to have the greatest possible impact, where it is needed and when. This means we have not set strict criteria of formal strands to our giving.

But we do want our charitable giving to reflect our unique investment values, namely:

We are in it for the long term
Our approach to giving will be entrepreneurial
We will be active in the organisations we support

Successful donations will be able to demonstrate

That the donation will be spent on relief and reconstruction required as a result of the war in Ukraine. This could include (but it not limited to) direct relief for individuals, medical capacity, capital spend on critical infrastructure, housing and relocation, welfare and wellbeing support and other areas of need at the discretion of L1. While the focus is on the impact of the war in Ukraine, at the discretion of L1, funds can be allocated to other regions where there is clear need caused by the conflict.
That the donating body is a credible, experienced registered charity with a track record of providing effective relief. Non-charity organisations will need to demonstrate the clear social impact of their activities.
That each donation is clearly targeted, and the impact can be tracked.
That the funds will not be used for political purposes or to benefit the Russian state.

We will focus our giving through credible and recognized organisations which could be based anywhere in the world – most often registered charities but we will also consider organisations that are not charities but have a proven record in social impact

The amount we will give will not be capped but in the early days of our programme we expect to be making grants of between $500k-$5mn

Please see some example of our initial partnerships below, and do get in touch if you would like any more details or to apply for a grant.