Sustainability at Kedaara Capital

At Kedaara Capital, we look to embed sustainability at the core of our investment philosophy. Our approach is designed to ensure that our investments generate financial returns and identify opportunities for value creation from ESG integration. We aim to mitigate risks and take up responsible investments that contribute to a more sustainable world. Through engagement activities we look to have tangible improvements in corporate governance and sustainability practices of portfolio companies.

ESG across our investment cycle include:

Screening and Exclusion List – Risk screening process to evaluate target companies on environmental and social risks
Evaluation/Diligence Phase – We conduct due diligence which also covers social and environmental aspects for investments
ESG Monitoring – We ensure engagement and monitoring with its portfolio companies by regular communication, conducting ESG assessments
Oversight – We work with the portfolio companies to form and/or strengthen audit committees, form and/or strengthen risk management practices and also engage with external consultants
Exit – During the exit phase, we look to review the ESG performance of the portfolio companies

Key activities in Alignment with the 6 Principles of PRI

We have developed a Responsible Investment Policy and ESG Implementation Manual.
We screen all potential investments through our exclusion list and categorize them with high, medium, and low risks.
We regularly engage with our portfolio companies to gauge their ESG maturity, highlight key risks, and identify opportunities for value creation.
We ensure the initial screening of E&S aspects of the company. Apart from this, we also cover ESG aspects during the due diligence phase.
All companies report on their progress on ESG KPIs through internal ESG engagements or public regulatory reporting.
We plan to report regularly on our ESG integration efforts and share the same with our investors.

Objectives of our ESG Framework for Portfolio Assessment

Identifying key ESG material topics relevant based on the size, scale and, segment of the business of the company
Understanding potential ESG risks
Benchmarking management approach on ESG
Unlocking ESG value creation opportunities
Assessing regulatory compliance & maturity of ESG management practices
Tracking ESG performance on a yearly basis
Development of an ESG performance improvement plan
ESG performance assessment framework is developed for portfolio companies based on internationally recognized standards and frameworks such as Sustainable Accounting Standards Board (SASB), Dow Jones Sustainability Index (DJSI), Morgan Stanley Capital International (MSCI) and high level alignment to Sustainability Development Goals (SDG).