Riverside strives to create long-term value while considering how its activities affect all of its stakeholders. Riverside’s stakeholders include its limited partners, employees, portfolio company employees and other vendors and business partners, as well as the neighborhoods and communities where Riverside and its portfolio companies operate or that are otherwise affected by Riverside’s work. Riverside believes that adherence to responsible investment principles can improve the value of its portfolio companies, thereby benefitting all of its stakeholders.
Riverside has a Responsible Investment Committee staffed by senior leaders in the Firm and chaired by its Chief Sustainability Officer. While Riverside strategy managers are ultimately responsible for determining the strategy of each of their products, the Responsible Investment Committee coordinates efforts for the Firm’s responsible investment practices, policies and processes, as well as the sharing of best practices and responsible investment guidelines. The Riverside Responsible Investment Guidelines are the framework to foster responsible investment practices across Riverside’s buyout strategies, but also serve as advice for managers of Riverside’s non-control products.
Responsible Investing and Values
Riverside believes it has the duty to behave responsibly to the environment, mitigate the impact of climate change as well as the pollution of water and air. These efforts reflect Riverside’s commitment to addressing the long-term and systemic challenges of climate change and ecological degradation, while also recognizing that this also offers potential economic opportunities. Riverside supports and respects the protection of internationally proclaimed human rights.
Riverside refines its responsible investment approach by engaging and cooperating with capital partners, international organizations, national and regional trade bodies, and the communities the firm operates in. Collective engagement channels are pursued with other private market investors to coordinate value creation efforts. As an integral part of Riverside’s approach to Stewardship, Riverside collaborates with organizations, as mentioned above, and is a member of industry associations shown below. Building a diverse workforce is a priority and Riverside has a formal strategy in place, including working with a variety of universities and organizations such as Level20, Girls Who Invest, and 51Vets. Riverside believes that diverse teams achieve better results and attract and retain high-quality talent.
Riverside believes that good governance is foundational for any successful business. A strong governance structure has clearly defined roles and responsibilities backed by a set of business values that build a culture of transparency and accountability.
