Sustainability & ESG at OCI

OCI believes in the value creation opportunities presented by sustainability initiatives. From a Governance perspective, OCI, following the same approach as its manager, Oakley, believes that transparency is at the core of being a responsible investor and as such OCI was particularly pleased to receive, for two consecutive years, industry awards and recognition for its annual reports, website, and factsheet. OCI is committed to maintaining high-standards of Governance and stakeholder communications.

The following sections highlight a selection of sustainability initiatives and activities undertaken by OCI and OCI’s manager, Oakley, in the first half of 2024.

Sustainability & ESG at Oakley

During the first half of 2024, Oakley has continued to make significant strides in its sustainability journey alongside its underlying portfolio companies; remaining focused on three key sustainability themes: Energy and climate change, Equity, diversity and inclusion, and Cybersecurity and data protection.

Energy & climate change

Oakley completed a full scope 1, 2 and operational scope 3 carbon footprint assessment for the 2023 calendar year. The footprint is based on actual data for scope 1 and 2, and a combination of activity-based and spend-based approaches dependent on data availability for the operational scope 3 assessment. In Oakley’s view, this has provided a credible baseline on which to create Oakley’s climate strategy for the year 2024.

Additionally, a growing number of Oakley’s portfolio companies expanded their in-house capabilities or engaged external partners to calculate their Scope 1, 2 and 3 emissions where data is available. For the portfolio companies that are not yet measuring their carbon footprint and were unable to provide data, an external partner supported Oakley in calculating estimates using sector intensity averages and specific company information and financial data.

In June 2024, Oakley’s inaugural TCFD report was published, outlining the approach to climate risk and opportunities. We believe that the report demonstrates Oakley’s commitment to transparency and alignment with globally recognised climate-related financial disclosure standards.

Equity, diversity and inclusion ('EDI')

Oakley’s EDI strategy continues to evolve. Based on the results of the annual employee survey conducted in 2023, the Oakley EDI Committee pivoted the EDI strategy to focus on three pillars: fair management, career development, and inclusive culture. During the relevant period, Oakley has made encouraging progress across these pillars including the rollout of inclusive feedback training for all managers, the launch of a new Company-wide mentoring pilot and the introduction of an Emergency Family Care Allowance.

Oakley is committed to fostering an open and inclusive workplace for employees and continuing its efforts in diversifying its workforce. In 2023, 56% of Oakley’s total new hires were women and the total number of women employed grew to 48%. Oakley also understands that diversity goes beyond female representation and has developed policies to reflect this as they continue to seek ways to evaluate its hiring process to ensure the incorporation of individuals from a wide range of backgrounds. As an example, in 2021, Oakley began asking employees to share their ethnicity if they were comfortable doing so. Between 2021 and 2023, the representation of people from minority ethnic groups has risen from 16% to 23% of the Oakley workforce.

Cybersecurity and data protection

Oakley has continued to strengthen cybersecurity and data protection measures, ensuring that systems remain resilient against the ever-evolving threat landscape. Oakley’s IT team has grown to seven people, led by an experienced IT Director who was appointed in October 2023. Significant progress has been made in the delivery of Oakley’s cybersecurity strategy, including comprehensive cybersecurity training to all new joiners and annual refresher courses for the entire Oakley team. By aligning business support capabilities with IT infrastructure, Oakley considers that they have created a robust foundation for the future growth and security of operations.

Our Sustainability & ESG partners

Oakley is extremely proud that the sustainability initiatives undertaken at firm and portfolio level have resulted in receiving a UNPRI score of 4/5 stars in the 2023 for both the Private Equity and Policy, Governance and Strategy Modules, outperforming the PRI median in both categories.

Oakley’s efforts to promote sustainability integration would not be possible without the support and leadership of industry organisations and initiatives. From Level20 to the Initiative Climat International, Out Investors and the ESG Data Convergence Initiatives, these organisations continue to provide communities and pathways for Oakley and its portfolio companies to continue to make progress on sustainability.

Active stewardship

Oakley aims to empower management teams during the ownership phase. By establishing trust and collaborating with the management teams of rapidly expanding businesses, there is an opportunity to develop and integrate robust sustainability practices during a pivotal stage of a company’s growth. Oakley’s objective is to help companies understand how sustainability can fit into their business strategy, formalise an approach and support implementation.

Oakley’s sustainability themes, as mentioned above, are also where Oakley focuses its attention for the portfolio. In the first half of 2024, Oakley’s portfolio companies have been increasingly making use of the sustainability tools and partnerships that Oakley offers to help its portfolio companies with their carbon accounting endeavours, to help companies measure and report their GHG emissions and perform a carbon footprint assessment, an employee engagement survey tool designed to conduct employee surveys and capture EDI data, and a new cybersecurity assessment programme platform.

Following Oakley’s annual data collection exercise, the portfolio companies were brought together to share insights and experiences at the third annual Oakley Sustainability Forum in June 2024. This event brought together our management teams and external experts to discuss key sustainability themes and challenges through presentations and collaborative workshops.

More information on Oakley’s sustainability journey and approach to responsible investment can be found in the Responsible Investment Report.