Our ESG due diligence is always risk- and opportunity-based. That means a customised scope of work focused on the matters of greatest potential impact for a business and its stakeholders. We analyse these areas in terms of materiality and likelihood before assessing what has been done to mitigate threats and seize opportunities. Our clients receive pragmatic and actionable recommendations based on this assessment – for building ESG value and competence, as well as limiting risk and ensuring compliance. Priorities are made clear through heat mapping, suggested implementation timelines, and key metrics for impact. We take the time to understand our clients’ ESG frameworks, KPIs and visions, and tailor our reporting accordingly which can be critical in high-pressured and time-sensitive M&A processes.
Outsourcing and globalisation have stretched supply chains across the globe, making them far more complex and intransparent than before. Consumers and regulators are demanding that companies make their supply chains more transparent and ensure they “do no significant harm”. This, together with disruptions to global supply chains – due to the Covid-19 pandemic and shifting geopolitics – are also seeing many companies “near-shore” their suppliers closer to home. Yet this, too, can have hidden labour and environmental risks. fp advises investors and corporations on how to navigate supply chain challenges by drawing on our in-house regional expertise in emerging markets, deep understanding of legal diligence requirements, and supply chain & lifecycle mapping tools.
Businesses often have a significant impact on people in their value chains and the communities they are part of. Yet, with such a wide array of potential impacts and stakeholders – from labour rights to gender equality and intergeneration climate equity – ensuring positive impact can be challenging. fp draws on expertise in ESG advisory and integrity intelligence to assist businesses to understand, safeguard, and improve their impact on human rights.
Our objective is to support our clients in developing sustainable ESG value and competences. We present pragmatic and actionable recommendations that emphasise value creation in addition to risk mitigation and compliance. This means a customised scope of work focused on the matters of greatest potential impact for a business and its stakeholders. Our analysis highlights materiality and likelihood in light of existing and proposed mitigation efforts.
ESG risks and opportunities are dynamic and influenced by a range of external factors. Understanding sector and jurisdictional risk, third-party and supply chain exposures, lifecycle impacts, and consumer trends are core to our due diligence assessments. We also benchmark against key competitors to identify best industry practice and help chart a path for ESG development. Crucially, our evaluations are conducted in line with key ESG frameworks and regulations including CSRD and CSDDD. Initiatives such as the UN Sustainable Development Goals, Science Based Targets, and the Task Force on Climate-related Financial Disclosures are fundamental to our approach. We are also well-versed in assessing alignment with the EU Taxonomy and the Sustainable Finance Disclosure Regulation, compliance with mandatory supply chain diligence directives, and exposure to sanctions and anti-bribery enforcement.
Much of our ESG work is part of M&A and other investment processes. We are highly adept at drawing on Data Room information and conducting Q&A interviews with key members of target company management to understand ESG exposure and opportunities from an internal, pragmatic perspective. In parallel, we triangulate this information through in-depth, investigative research in media and public records, as well as interviews with industry experts who are well-placed to provide strategic insight. We also collaborate with legal and other due diligence streams and consult underwriters, insurers and other key client service providers to ensure clarity on key matters of materiality. Most importantly, we serve as trusted advisors to our corporate and private equity clients on how to strategise ESG so their investments mature both in terms of commercial and stakeholder impact, and are therefore best positioned for future exit environments.
How can fair working conditions be guaranteed and negative impacts on the environment by avoided, despite geographical distance? Many companies have already committed themselves to both stricter checks and the United Nations Guiding Principles on Business and Human Rights – thus far, often on a voluntary basis. Yet now, legislators across Europe are requiring companies to conduct and document risk-based impact due diligence on their supply chains. It will also be important for many companies to conduct supply chain due diligence to meet “do no significant harm” requirements of the EU Taxonomy and the Sustainable Finance Disclosure Regulation. Mapping out supply chains beyond Tier 1 is essential for understanding and reducing GHG emissions, too, as most Scope 3 emissions are often the largest component of a company’s emissions footprint.
Our expertise enables us to evaluate supply chain risk across these dimensions, but also to conduct targeted investigations. For example, we can assess whether key suppliers in emerging markets are ensuring appropriate working conditions for employees; assess allegations of modern slavery or child labour; and investigate whether there have been violations of local environmental regulations in the factory of a subsidiary. Importantly, at fp, we go beyond simply identifying risk. We place great importance on developing measures and processes in cooperation with our clients that mitigate risk and seek out opportunities for greater impact in a long-term, sustainable manner. We have provided clients with insight for: near-sourcing to reduce risk and costs; strategic product shifts to improve sustainability, margins and compliance; diligence programmes, certification schemes and impact metrics to create more transparency and trust for consumers and investors.
Our approach not only seeks to provide insight and advice that enables businesses to safeguard rights and meet compliance requirements. We also help develop strategies for deepening positive impact and demonstrating a commitment to company values and the UN Sustainable Development Goals, around 90 percent of which involve human rights factors.
fp draws on its long-standing expertise in integrity investigations, supply chain evaluation, political risk analysis and broader ESG advisory to enable businesses to understand and improve their human rights impact. We have helped clients examine potential violations by corroborating deep research with on-the-ground insight down to the factory or farm level.
We also provide strategic guidance to businesses looking to map, document and manage their impact across the value chain on an ongoing, long-term basis.