Palatine Becomes an Accredited ‘B Corp’, Underlining its Commitment to Positive Equity

We have been awarded B Corp certification, reflecting our leading position in delivering sustainable business growth and our pioneering role in sustainable investing.

B Corporations (B Corps) are businesses that demonstrate the highest standards of social and environmental performance, transparency, and accountability through a rigorous assessment process.

We scored 111.3 out of a possible 200 in the B Impact Assessment, making us the fourth highest-scoring private equity firm in Europe to obtain the accreditation. The B Impact Assessment is a rigorous exercise that examines applicants across factors including governance, workers, community, environment and customers. Businesses need to score 80 or above to be accredited.

We performed particularly well in the ‘Governance’ category, with our score putting us well in contention of being included in B Corp’s 2023 ‘Best for the World’ list, based on the benchmark score for inclusion from last year. These are the top-performing Certified B Corps in overall mission, ethics, accountability and transparency. Their best practices are focused on how they engage employees, board members, and the community to achieve their mission, as well as employee access to financial information, customers’ opportunities to provide feedback, and the diversity of their governing bodies.

In the 17 years since Palatine was established we have led the mid-market in sustainable business practices, introducing a pioneering ESG framework implemented internally and across our investment portfolio and raising a first-of-its-kind, returns-focused Impact Fund which backs businesses with a positive impact on society or the environment.

Stephanie Wall, Sustainability Director at Palatine, said: “At Palatine we believe that when you do the right thing, with the right people, private equity is a force for good. We call that ‘positive equity’ and it underpins everything we do. It’s a belief that aligns with the aims of the B Corp community and so becoming accredited has been long term aspiration.

“We are excited to work with the B Corp community as we focus on continuous improvement and – far from resting on our laurels – look to achieve an even higher score in three years’ time.”

Gary Tipper, Managing Partner at Palatine, said: “Joining the B Corp community is another example of how Palatine is remaining at the forefront of sustainable investment across the mid-market. As a firm, we are committed to exploring new ways to enhance our value enhancement and ESG offering and to collaborate with other likeminded businesses.

“We’re thrilled and proud to not only join the community but to have achieved such a strong score through what was a rigorous assessment process. This is testament to the hard work of Steph and the whole team at Palatine as having an effective approach to sustainability is dependent on everyone not just our sustainability team.”

B Corp certification is awarded to companies that are leaders in their commitment to ESG and responsible business practices. Certification is administered by the non-profit B Lab and certified B Corps are reassessed every three years across all categories, to retain the certification. There are around 800 certified B Corps in the UK and more than 5,000 around the world.