Reference materials

Printable version of CDC’S ESG Toolkit for Fund Managers

Each part of the Toolkit can be downloaded as a PDF by clicking ‘Download page’ on the right-hand side of the relevant page.

CDC policies, checklists, templates and guidance

• CDC policies

  • CDC’s Code of Responsible Investing
  • CDC’s Climate Change Strategy

• CDC checklists

  • CDC’s environmental and social checklist
  • CDC’s governance and business integrity checklist

• CDC templates

  • Annual ESG report template (general partners reporting to limited partners)
  • ESG action plan
  • Serious accidents reporting
  • ESG legal drafting guide for equity investments
  • Terms of reference for consultants: E&S due diligence
  • Terms of reference for human rights due diligence
  • E&S manager job description (fund level)
  • Anti-corruption officer job description (company level)

• CDC guidance

  • CDC Guidance Note: Heavy Fuel Oil Fired Power Plants
  • CDC Good Practice: Preventing Fatalities and Serious Accidents
  • CDC Good Practice: Environmental and social due diligence: mitigating risks, identifying opportunities
  • CDC Guidance: Adding value in healthcare
  • CDC Toolkit on ESG for Fund Managers (2010 – Historical version)
  • CDC Guidance: Mapping Gender Risks and Opportunities for Investors in Africa and South Asia
  • CDC Good Practice for the private sector: Social Risk Management in Ethiopia
  • CDC Group COVID-19 Guidance for Employers Important note: This guidance does not constitute medical advice and is not a substitute for professional advice from international public health organisations such as the World Health Organization (WHO), national public health authorities, and national governments, which should be consulted for qualified and more detailed information. We strongly encourage our investees to seek daily updates from these sources as COVID-19 spreads/evolves.
  • CDC Guidance: Returning to the Workplace during COVID -19 – Occupational Health and Safety considerations
  • CDC Guidance: Returning to the Workplace during COVID – 19 – Labour and workforce considerations
  • CDC Guidance: Managing a Remote Workforce during COVID-19
  • CDC Guidance: COVID-19 Guidance for Investors and FIs on Job Protection
  • CDC Guidance: COVID-19 and Business Integrity
  • CDC Guidance: Human Resources Management Assessment Tool
  • CDC Guidance: Disability Inclusion Guidance Note for CDC Investee Companies
  • CDC Guidance: Disability Inclusion Guidance Note for CDC Investee Companies (accessible format)

  Co-authored guidance

  • A good practice note for the private sector: Managing risks associated with modern slavery 
  • Brochure: Modern Slavery Risk in Private Sector Investments
  • Private equity’s role in delivering the SDGs: Current approaches and good practice
  • Investments in the Agricultural Value Chain: Expanding the Scope of Environmental and Social Due Diligence
  • Private Equity and Emerging Markets Agribusiness: Building Value Through Sustainability
  • A guidance note on managing legacy land issues in agribusiness investments
  • Good Practice Note: Responsible Venture Capital
  • Emerging Good Practice for the Private Sector: Addressing Gender Based Violence and Harassment

International standards and conventions

• International Finance Corporation (IFC) Performance Standards

  • IFC 2012 Performance Standards
  • IFC 2012 Guidance Notes

• World Bank Group Environmental, Health and Safety (EHS) Guidelines
  The World Bank Group EHS Guidelines
• International conventions, recommendations and guidance
  a) Environmental:

  • The Basel Convention on the Control of Transboundary Movements of Hazardous Wastes and their Disposal (1992)
  • The Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species of Wild Flora and Fauna (CITES) (1973)
  • The Montreal Protocol on Substances that Deplete the Ozone Layer (1999)
  • The UN Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC) (1994)
  • The Rotterdam Convention on the Prior Informed Consent Procedure for Certain Hazardous Chemicals and Pesticides in International Trade (2004)
  • The Stockholm Convention on Persistent Organic Pollutants (2004)
  • The Kyoto Protocol (2005)

  b) Social:

  The ILO Fundamental Conventions:

  • Freedom of Association and Protection of the Right to Organise Convention, 1948 (No. 87)
  • Right to Organise and Collective Bargaining Convention, 1949 (No. 98)
  • Forced Labour Convention, 1930 (No. 29)
  • Abolition of Forced Labour Convention, 1957 (No. 105)
  • Minimum Age Convention, 1973 (No. 138)
  • Worst Forms of Child Labour Convention, 1999 (No. 182)
  • Equal Remuneration Convention, 1951 (No. 100)
  • Discrimination (Employment and Occupation) Convention, 1958 (No. 111)
  • Table of ratifications of the fundamental conventions

  International guidance:

  • UN Guiding Principles on Business and Human Rights

  Other conventions:

  • Hours of Work (Industry) Convention, 1919 (No. 1)

  c) Anti-corruption:

  • The UN Convention against Corruption (2005)
  • The OECD Convention on Combating Bribery of Foreign Public Officials in International Business Transactions (2007)
  • OECD Recommendation for Further Combating Bribery of Foreign Public Officials in International Business Transactions (2009)
  • The UK Proceeds of Crime Act (2002)
  • The UK Bribery Act (2010)
  • The UK Money Laundering, Terrorist Financing and Transfer of Funds (Information on the Payer) Regulations (2017)
  • The US Foreign Corrupt Practices Act (1977)

Other ESG toolkits for private equity funds

• Other ESG Toolkits for private equity funds

  • IFC – FIRST for Sustainability
  • UN Principles for Responsible Investment – Integrating ESG in Private Equity: A guide for general partners (2014)
  • FMO – ESG Risk Management Tool for Private Equity Investments

• Environmental

  • ISO 14000 series – Environmental management

• Social

  • The Occupational Health and Safety Assessment Series (OHSAS) 18000
  • Social Accountability 8000 (SA8000) by Social Accountability International

• Governance and business integrity

  • The Business Anti-Corruption Portal
  • The Extractive Industries Transparency Initiative (EITI)
  • The Financial Action Task Force
  • The International Accounting Standards Board and the International Financial
  • The OECD Principles of Corporate Governance
  • The DFI Toolkit on Corporate Governance (IFC)
  • Transparency International’s Corruption Perceptions Index

• Other

  • Codex Alimentarius (food safety)
  • OECD Guidelines for Multinational Enterprises (2011)
  • The International Private Equity and Venture Capital Valuation Guidelines
  • The SMART Campaign Client Protection Principles
  • IFC: Environmental and Social Management System Implementation Handbook

Responsible investment codes, principles and guidelines

• Responsible investment codes, principles and guidelines

  • The United-Nations supported Principles for Responsible Investment
  • The Equator Principles

Associations and networks

• Associations and networks

  • African Private Equity and Venture Capital Association (AVCA)
  • British Venture Capital and Private Equity Association (BVCA)
  • East Africa Venture Capital Association (EAVCA)
  • European Private Equity and Venture Capital (EVCA)
  • Global Impact Investing Network (GIIN)