We have been working on sustainable investing for 20 years. In 2019, we crystallised our approach in our Global Sustainability Strategy. In 2021, we completed our transition to becoming a sustainable asset manager by changing our tagline to ‘The sustainable investor for a changing world’. A strong component of our strategy has been our pledge ‘to make a substantive contribution to the low-carbon energy transition’.
We have bolstered this pledge by signing up to the Net Zero Asset Managers (NZAM) initiative and, in this paper, we present our net zero commitments, covering investments, stewardship, and our operations.
Our commitments
Our commitments fall into three categories. Each plays an important role in realising our net zero ambition in a credible way.
Investments
1. Reduce the carbon footprint of selected investments
a. 30% by 2025
b. 50% by 2030
2. Align investments with net zero
a. 60% to be Achieving, Aligned or Aligning with Net Zero1 by 2030
b. 100% to be net zero aligned by 2040
3. Exit coal
We will stop investing in mining companies that do not have a strategy to exit thermal coal activities, and power generators that still use coal in energy generation, by 2030 for EU and OECD countries, and by 2040 for the rest of the world.
4. Substantially increase our climate and environmentally themed investments
5. Engage with our clients on their transition towards net zero investing
Stewardship
6. Voting policy
a. Vote for climate action to encourage companies to report on their carbon footprint, and for the largest greenhouse gas emitters to achieve net zero by 2050 or sooner
b. Vote for thoughtful shareholder proposals and submit our own proposals to accelerate corporate action on climate change
Engage with companies on net zero so that our investments achieve net zero emissions by 2050 or sooner
Advocate for net zero aligned climate policy and seek to ensure that our lobbying supports achieving global net zero emissions by 2050 or sooner
Operations
9. Reduce our operational emissions footprint
Improve energy efficiency, use more green energy, offset operational emissions.
10. Report on progress in TCFD-aligned reports2
For more on our 10 commitments and what’s covered by them, download Committed to climate: our Net Zero Roadmap
References
1 To learn about the NZ:AAA framework, read Committed to climate: our net zero roadmap
2 The Task Force on Climate-related Financial Disclosures seeks to improve and increase reporting of climate-related financial information. For more, see Task Force on Climate-Related Financial Disclosures | TCFD
