Social

Within our private markets portfolio, we work to ensure the continuity and improvement of essential community services. This includes developing and operating critical digital infrastructure that connects around 128 million people, powers around 14 million households with gas, treats around 6 billion litres of water daily, and processes 2.9 million tonnes of waste every year.⁵

We also engage with community groups, customers, partners and tenants across our business through funding, volunteering and in-kind support. During the COVID-19 pandemic, many of our portfolio companies provided support for community members facing financial difficulty, funding for medical supplies, free meals for frontline staff, and volunteered time to charities supporting those suffering hardship.

Explore our work in action: Supporting our communities through COVID-19, KCOM (UK)

Recognising many people around the world face systemic barriers to employment, a significant proportion of the Macquarie Group Foundation’s funding – provided to over 30 non-profit partners – focuses on building effective pathways to employment. Macquarie volunteers, including MAM employees, further support these organisations by participating in mentoring, training, knowledge sharing and employability programs.

The Foundation also partners with Macquarie’s operating groups through shared value initiatives, which seek to align commercial value with driving social impact. The green jobs program, in partnership with Generation UK and France and our Green Investment Group, aims to provide the skills and knowledge required to work in several industries within the green energy sector. The program launched in the UK in 2021 and in France in 2023 and has already yielded positive results in its first years.

We believe that a truly inclusive workforce is fundamental to our success – and that of our investee companies. The diverse experiences, skills and views of our people allow us to make better decisions, deliver a broad range of services to clients around the world, and gain a deeper understanding of the communities in which we operate.

Within Macquarie, we are focused on achieving equitable outcomes by removing barriers to progression and valuing differences, enabling all colleagues to be included and to reach their full potential. In our Private Markets business, we embed diversity, equity and inclusion (DEI) considerations into our due diligence processes and support our assets to implement board-approved DEI strategies within 18 months of acquisition. And in our Public Investments business, we engage with companies on DEI considerations – including board quality and effectiveness, and the important role that diversity plays in the boardroom.

Learn more about our approach to DEI

Investing for a better future starts with everyone going home each day in the same condition they arrived. First and foremost, it's about making sure our activities are safe for workers, users, customers and communities. We believe a safe workplace is also a productive workplace, with a more engaged workforce and a better relationship with the broader community.

Our approach to safety within our private markets businesses starts with a thorough understanding of the company we are investing in. This encompasses a comprehensive transition plan to embed the standards that we know will reduce safety risks to an acceptable level and improve the reliability of the business. We then focus on ensuring an open and transparent culture in the business where employees are encouraged to raise issues and speak up.

Learn more about our approach to workplace health and safety

In recent years, the COVID-19 pandemic, armed conflicts and climate change have heightened the risk of modern slavery⁶. In addition to the tragic human consequences, human rights issues can expose companies to significant legal, regulatory, operational and reputational risks. This is why companies must implement processes to identify, manage and prevent adverse human rights impacts, and provide robust disclosures.

In our private markets businesses, modern slavery risks are considered as part of our investment screening and due diligence processes. We also provide targeted engagement and support to nominee directors on portfolio company boards that operate in sectors or markets which may have higher human rights risk. Within our public markets businesses, human and labour rights are considered as an important ESG factor in our company engagement and proxy voting activities.⁷

Learn more about our approach to human rights and modern slavery