Our goal is to integrate sustainability across our investment strategies. We define our sustainability approach as follows: ESG (Environment, Social, Governance) integration, stewardship (voting and engagement), a responsible business conduct policy and the implementation of sector-based exclusions, a forward-looking perspective (the “3Es”: Energy transition, Environmental sustainability, Equality and inclusive growth).

Global Head of Sustainability
“Our investment philosophy reflects our belief that a sustainable approach is key when making investment decisions. As a major financial organisation, we are a firm believer in good governance, transparency and extensive reporting: both from the companies we invest in and from how we operate as a firm.”
The six pillars of our sustainable investor approach
ESG integration

By integrating a consideration of relevant ESG factors into our investment decisions, we can identify and assess areas of risk or opportunity, offering a relative advantage. Our ESG scoring and integration approach is applied across a wide range of investment strategies, and a firm-wide ‘sustainable education’ programme supports portfolio managers, analysts and other employees in evolving their knowledge.
Stewardship

We use stewardship –proxy voting, company engagement and public policy advocacy- to encourage companies and policy makers to improve ther performance on sustainability topics. Promoting good ESG standards is an essential part of our ownership responsibilities.
Responsible business conduct

We expect companies to meet their fundamental obligations in human and labour rights, protecting the environment and ensuring anti-corruption safeguards wherever they operate, in line with the UN Global Compact Principles. We engage with companies regarding areas in which they fall short, and exclude the worst offenders. We also have a series of sector policies that set out the conditions for investing in particular sectors and guide our screening requirements and engagement.
The “3Es”

We believe a better world is one with an economic model that includes a successful energy transition, is more environmentally sustainable, and more equitable and inclusive – our “3Es“, critical preconditions that are the focus of our sustainability efforts. We also believe that institutional investors – including both asset managers and asset owners – have the opportunity, indeed the obligation, to take action to help achieve the Sustainable Development Goals and the Paris Agreement.
Solutions to invest in sustainability

Our goal is to integrate sustainability across our investment strategies, according to the four core pillars of our sustainability approach.
For investors wishing to go further, we also offer a range of:
- promoting environmental and/or social characteristics (for example having ESG scoring better than investment universe)
- receiving one or several labels (delivered by independent organisations, such as “Label ISR (SRI – Socially Responsible Investment)” in France)
- having a sustainable investment objective (for example sustainable thematic strategies)
Our CSR approach

Walking the talk is critical to achieving excellence. As a sustainable asset manager, our corporate practices and disclosures should match or exceed the standards we expect from the entities in which we invest. To achieve this, we have a four-pronged approach to integrating sustainability into our operations and as an employer: decreasing our operational CO2 emissions and reducing our waste to landfill, achieving a more gender-balanced workforce, and focusing our community initiatives on youth inclusion.
References
ESG = Environmental, Social and Governance
Disclaimer
- Any views expressed here are those of the author as of the date of publication, are based on available information, and are subject to change without notice. Individual portfolio management teams may hold different views and may take different investment decisions for different clients. This material does not constitute investment advice.
- Investing in emerging markets, or specialised or restricted sectors is likely to be subject to a higher-than-average volatility due to a high degree of concentration, greater uncertainty because less information is available, there is less liquidity or due to greater sensitivity to changes in market conditions (social, political and economic conditions).