Tenzing Responsible Investment Policy
September 2026
Scope
This Policy reflects Tenzing’s framework for managing responsible investment.
Where Tenzing co-invests we will seek to apply this Policy to the extent reasonably practicable.
This Policy will be reviewed annually by the Responsible Investment Committee and updated as necessary to reflect changes to Tenzing’s investment strategy, regulatory developments, and best practice.
Our Approach to Responsible Investment
Since Tenzing’s inception in 2015, we have run the Firm to a multi-year Business Plan anchored around our three key stakeholder groups, management teams, investors and employees, and our core values.
As Tenzing has grown, we’ve remained focused on our mission to make private equity more curious, kind and successful for all our stakeholders.
Our responsible investment framework is structured around three pillars: Screening, Materiality and Responsibility.
1. Screening
We will not invest in any portfolio company which draws more than 10 per cent of its revenue from an entity whose business relates to the following industries:
- the manufacture or sale of weapons prohibited under applicable law, including as implemented pursuant to applicable international conventions relating to chemical weapons, biological weapons, anti-personnel mines, cluster munitions and/or other specifically prohibited weapons;
- pornography or the sex industry;
- the manufacture or sale of tobacco;
- products or services that promote the termination of life; or
- whose principal business is, or whose revenue derives significantly from, the establishment or operation of casinos or any form of gambling.
Our Responsible Investment Committee acts as an escalation point for any referrals in the event an IC cannot conclude on whether a proposed investment falls foul of this list.
2. Materiality
Our approach to responsible investment is rooted in what is relevant to our portfolio companies while holding ourselves accountable to the standards that matter universally to our stakeholders.
We recognise the financial impact that sustainability issues can have on our investments. We use the Sustainability Accounting Standards Board (SASB) framework to identify environmental, social and governance (ESG) risks and opportunities that could have a financial impact on the investments we make.
As a part of this assessment we implement guidance from the Task Force on Climate-related Financial Disclosures (TCFD) to consider the materiality of physical and transition climate related risks and opportunities in both 2 and 4 degree climate pathways.
3. Responsibility
In recognition of our commitment to a stakeholder-led approach to business, we certified as a B Corp in April 2024. We believe that putting stakeholders at the heart of business decisions drives the right behaviours and ultimately leads to better financial outcomes.
This commitment informs how we manage our investments. We actively engage with our portfolio companies to encourage them to adopt a stakeholder-led approach to business.
Tenzing maintains a list of responsible business standards that portfolio companies should meet within the first six months of ownership. These are detailed below:
- ESG as a standing quarterly board agenda item
- ESG as a standing annual board agenda item
- Conflict of interest questionnaire
- Employee handbook
- Bullying and harassment policy
- Whistleblowing policy
- Equal opportunity and non-discrimination policy
- Data protection policy
- Cyber security policy
- Anti-corruption and bribery policy
- Health and safety policy
Roles and Responsibilities
The Board delegates oversight and accountability for responsible investment to the Responsible Investment Committee, which has representation from the Board, Senior Leadership, and Investment Team.
The Responsible Investment Committee sets the approach to ESG through this Policy and provides oversight of its implementation. The Investment Team is responsible for integrating ESG throughout the investment lifecycle.
The Chairs of our portfolio companies are responsible for making sure that ESG Plans are set annually and performance against them is reviewed quarterly.
Pre-investment
ESG is an integrated part of our decision-making process. We consider our ESG framework throughout our investment process. Where material issues are identified, we conduct additional due diligence to understand the potential impact on an investment and any mitigation actions that should be taken.
Active Ownership
We remain convinced that strong ESG performance is critical to the long-term growth and sustainability of our portfolio. As investors in founder-owned businesses, we see time and again that they are operationally fit for purpose but not yet fully fit for growth. This is an area where we create real value: helping our companies to professionalise by strengthening reporting processes, upgrading systems, and embedding robust governance frameworks.
During the holding period, Tenzing will work with portfolio companies to:
- Establish a Board-approved ESG Plan that addresses material risks and opportunities identified during pre-investment diligence;
- Review performance against the ESG Plan annually to ensure continuous improvement;
- Capture ESG data annually;
- At exit, Tenzing will communicate portfolio company ESG performance to prospective buyers.
Reporting
We report on performance against our strategy in our Impact Report which we publish annually. We also report to our limited partners on responsible investment activities and portfolio-level performance.
Tenzing is a UN PRI signatory and completes the annual assessment in accordance with PRI requirements.
