In our world today, we all face the challenge of a transformation towards a sustainable and healthy society.

Teslin has been an actively engaged investor with a long-term outlook since its inception in 1991. We invest in small and medium-sized listed companies with sustainable value creation potential in the Netherlands and surrounding countries. We are convinced that sustainable value creation is only possible if a company takes into account the interests of all stakeholders. We therefore consider it a logical step to further integrate ESG ('Environmental, Social and Governance') into our investment policy and criteria.

What do we mean by sustainable and responsible investment?

It is our ambition to invest in companies that are well-positioned for a sustainable future, or at least have the ambition to become well-positioned. We are convinced that this is only possible if a company does business in a decent manner, which means that the company must take into account the interests of all stakeholders, the environment and society. In the long term, doing so will also benefit performance. Part of investing is identifying and managing risks. We do this through in-depth analysis of, and involvement in, a select number of companies. ESG forms an integral part of analyses.

How do we integrate ESG?

Sustainability forms an integral part of our investment process, both before and during the investment period. Our focus on North-West European small and mid caps results in relatively low exposure to a number of ESG risks, as country risks are low and certain high-risk industries such as mining and oil production do not feature in our investment universe. We explicitly exclude certain industries such as tobacco, weapons, pornography and gambling. Nor will we invest if we have reason to believe that in the long term a company will not be able to create value in a sustainable manner.

Our entrepreneurial shareholding in a concentrated portfolio with substantial equity interests requires first and foremost a careful selection of companies in which we invest. ESG is an important part of our fundamental analysis as it is our objective to determine whether the company is, or could become, future-proof. The condition for a company's growth is increasingly determined by the sustainability of its proposition. Once invested, we we aim to guide companies towards a sustainable future. Because of the size of our equity stake, we have influence and are well-positioned to challenge our companies in the field of ESG. We encourage companies to set specific ESG goals and we monitor improvement against these. Where we observe that a company is insufficiently successful in achieving its objectives, we will encourage the board to act. Exerting influence by means of exercising our voting rights is an important tool for us. If this does not lead to the desired result, we will reconsider the investment.

What does this mean for our companies in practice?

We ask the boards of 'our' companies to report (at least annually) on their ESG performance and disclose how they are contributing to the challenges we face as society. In doing so, we recognise that the relevant ESG factors differ from company to company and we therefore strive for tailor-made solutions. To increase comparability between companies in our portfolio, we look at a number of common factors that we believe are important for sustainable value creation regardless of industry and / or business model.

What are our objectives?

ESG provides a framework for analysing companies from different perspectives, identifying opportunities and formulating measurable and useful objectives. Where possible, we do this by collaborating with other shareholders and stakeholders (such as Eumedion – the Dutch organization that represents the interests of institutional investors in the field of corporate governance and sustainability), combining knowledge and influence.

• Regarding Environmental aspects, we focus in particular on the ways in which a company contributes to the achievement of public goals with respect to environmental improvements, as laid down in the Paris Agreement, among other things. Our analysis includes the use of energy, scarce resources and water as well as the processing of hazardous substances and waste streams.
• Regarding Social aspects, we focus on how a company interacts with its stakeholders. Whether customers receive safe products and services at a fair price that meet relevant quality requirements or guidelines; whether the company can be considered a good employer (i.e. healthy work environment fair wages) and whether social responsibility is fulfilled, for example by ensuring the protection of personal data and striving for fair and sustainable value chains.
• On the governance of listed companies, we have set out our own vision in the Stewardship policy 'Ondernemend Aandeelhouderschap’ (only available in Dutch). This policy sets out how we, as an active and entrepreneurial shareholder strive for good corporate governance by setting transparent rules and controls to align the interests of shareholders, management and supervisory board.

Example themes

How do we report on and communicate about ESG?

We have been signatories to the UN Principles for Responsible Investment (UNPRI) since 2015 and report annually on how we implement these principles. We will account for the implementation of our ESG policy in public documents, including our fund reports, annual reports and management reports.

You will find the ESG reports of our funds here »

What do we do ourselves?

We live up to the same standards as we consider relevant for our companies. Our internal ESG committee identifies and implements improvements on relevant ESG themes such as CO₂ emissions from commuting and sustainable procurement of materials and services.

As a company, we want to make a positive contribution to socially relevant initiatives. This can be done by making a financial contribution, but above all we want to actively encourage our employees to deploy their expertise and talents for the benefit of society at large. As a responsible employer, Teslin provides its employees the flexibility to devote time and energy to specific initiatives of their choice.