We believe that through engaging our stakeholders such as portfolio companies, industry bodies, LPs and peers, we are better able to fulfil our responsible investment commitment, exchange knowledge on ESG best practices and enhance standards across the private equity industry.
Affinity engages with our portfolio companies and build knowledge on ESG topics through our ESG CEO Roundtable. Held annually since 2021, the ESG CEO Roundtable connects our portfolio companies C-level executives and Affinity Investment Professionals to exchange knowledge on sectoral ESG topics, climate change, and human rights. The sessions enable cross pollination of ideas, resulting in actionable ESG initiatives.
Affinity is on the board of various ESG related committees, include the HKVCA ESG Committee and SVCA ESG Committee. Affinity professionals regularly speak at industry events on ESG topics.
Our portfolio companies have also been active participants in industry forums to share ESG best practices. In 2022, Towngas Smart Energy, in collaboration with the Hong Kong Monetary Authority (“HKMA”), hosted an ESG Symposium which attracted over 5,000 participants, both in person and online to discuss key ESG topics such as climate change and biodiversity protection.
We engage with regulators to provide feedback on industry-wide ESG regulatory initiatives. In 2023, Affinity joined the Monetary Authority of Singapore (“MAS”) working group on developing an ESG Funds Labelling Framework for Singapore where discussions are held every two months.
We engage with our LPs on ESG topics via industry events and one-to-one discussions. Through this dialogue, we have been able to gather good feedback on our ESG approach and understand key topics that are top-of-mind for our LPs, such as climate change, diversity and inclusion, and human rights.