Mercia has a history of making a difference to the regions and within our communities.

That is as much a representation of our core values, which focus on generating long-term growth and a positive social impact, as it is a financial return motivation.

We believe this is the right thing to do and it is critical to the future of our business. We believe that:

  • Building businesses in a way that is sustainable will build better, more successful businesses;
  • Good ESG performance is associated with better business performance; and
  • ESG issues can have a material impact on our investments and on the communities in which we operate, which, in turn, has a material impact on the risks and opportunities generated by our investment activity.

 

Responsible investment reduces exposure to risk and identifies opportunities to create value

The Rainforest Trust and Slingshot Simulations users saved 121 acres of Rainforest in 3 days

Slingshot Simulations announced a partnership with the Rainforest Trust on a new sustainability initiative at this month’s Internet of Things Solutions World Congress (IoTSWC) in Barcelona- with immediate results.

In just three days, new user signups secured the protection of 121 acres of rainforest.

Read more on this here

Investing in Women Code

In order to make the most of everyone’s talents and maximise economic growth it is important that opportunities to start and grow businesses in the UK are open to everyone. Business creation and growth can increase levels of employment, increase productivity, grow the UK economy, and improve standards of living.

Therefore, Mercia is delighted to be supporting the ‘Investing in Women’s Code’, committed to sending a positive signal to female entrepreneurs who are looking for funding, support, resources and access to investment to build and grow their ambitious businesses.

Briefing on Mercia’s Impact approved EIS fund

With Jill Willimas, Gina Hood & Dr. Paul Mattick

Dr. Paul Mattick is joined by Deputy Fund Principal Jill Williams and EIS Fund Operations Manager, Gina Hood, to discuss why Mercia is focusing on Impact, and the benefits of the Knowledge-Intensive (KI) approved EIS fund.

We are responsible

We incorporate environmental, social and governance (ESG) factors while building and managing our portfolio to better identify and manage risk, in addition to creating value and generating sustainable, long-term returns.

A Responsible Investment Committee has been established which shapes and monitors our compliance with ESG policies, and includes both senior leadership and representatives from all areas of the business to ensure that all internal and external stakeholders are represented.

We encourage input from all Mercia employees to ensure ongoing balanced representation.

We are proactive in managing ESG issues and we will monitor the progress and activities of the portfolio companies, to enable reporting in a clear and transparent way as part of the regular reporting process.

Training is provided on an ongoing basis to ensure understanding of all Responsible Investment policies and underlying processes, and to ensure that Mercia is constantly aligned with industry best practice.

Guiding principles

 

We have established 3 guiding principles inspired by the UN’s Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs)

Alongside Mercia’s core values and mission statement, we have been inspired by the UN’s SDGs, a universal call to address the problems faced by humanity. We have identified three guiding principles that we consider particularly meaningful to Mercia’s aims and purpose:

 

 

Meet our ESG team

Our ESG policies have been designed by the committee that is representative of all divisions and teams with the Group, supported by a route map that ensures that achieving our goals has realistic and timely deadlines and will be readily adopted by all Mercia employees. This route map encompasses our values, using these as building blocks.

Alice Grieve
Sandy Reid
Nigel Owens
Alex Gwyther
Dr Mark Payton
Gina Hood
Paula Haigh
James Sly
Michelle Heaselgrave
Dr Natalia Blagburn
Rebecca Pickering
Adam Watts
Alison Dwyer

Sustainable economic growth

  • We deliver investment to the UK’s regions
  • We use technology efficiently to minimise negative environmental impact and avoid waste
  • We promote talent development and support job creation

 

Reducing inequalities within our communities

  • We adhere to an Equal Opportunities policy and support diversity amongst our team
  • We encourage volunteering and community engagement as demonstrated by Mercia Spirit
  • We engage with outreach programmes within our regions and the investment management industry

 

Health and wellbeing for all

  • We encourage Mercia employees to engage with physical and mental health and wellbeing programmes
  • We challenge ourselves to maintain a balanced approach between work and life

 

We will report on our progress and activities towards implementing our Responsible Investment strategy and practice

Our regular reporting procedures will include a review of ESG improvements across the portfolio, as well as our progress towards our own goals.

We intend to use KPIs to measure both our performance and that of portfolio companies, to track progress, and to communicate the results to our investors and other stakeholder communities.

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