Press Release – The Hague, Netherlands, and Zurich, Switzerland, 28 March, 2017 – NN Investment Partners (NN IP) ensures that investment decisions are based on the best available information on carbon, waste and water by partnering with the leading service provider in the market, South Pole Group. This pioneering step allows NN IP to gain accurate insights across all asset classes into the emissions intensity of companies and to meet the most detailed information requirements posed by clients.
Climate change and an overexploitation of natural resources are likely to have an impact on companies around the world. Companies that are able to use resources efficiently are less likely to experience negative shocks due to resource scarcity, and are more likely to outperform inefficient peers in the event of new government legislation. By tailoring South Pole Group’s portfolio screening tool to NN IP’s specific requirements, NN IP is now better able to identify these companies and related risks and opportunities.
Jeroen Bos, Head of Equity Specialties at NN Investment Partners, commented: “We have a fiduciary duty towards our clients to invest in our client’s best interests. Sound investment decisions start with having the right information. The solution provided by South Pole Group provides an important add-on to the other ESG information on companies and countries that we have from other partners, brokers and proprietary internal research. Moreover, this tool allows us to further enhance the quality of our investment decisions as it provides wide-spread coverage of companies on Scope 1, 2 and 3* emissions as well as other environmental data such as water and waste.”
NN IP is committed to investing responsibly and meeting clients’ growing demand for products that generate solid financial returns while minimising social and environmental risks. NN IP’s ongoing goal is to have more comprehensive insight into the risks and opportunities that the companies and countries that they invest in are facing. To fully understand how resource-intensive companies and countries are, the most comprehensive carbon emissions data is required.
Alex Zuiderwijk, Senior Portfolio Manager Sustainable Investments, at NN Investment Partners commented: “By adding this environmental screening tool to our investment process, we are able to gain a complete overview of our investments’ carbon emissions across Scopes 1, 2 and 3 – beyond the current market standard scope of 1 and 2. The availability of reliable data on water and waste allows us to enrich our environmental risk framework to account for additional natural capital indicators. Also, we are better able to provide on-demand ESG-reporting to our clients and to meet current and future information needs.”
“Understanding the carbon and climate exposure of portfolios is slowly becoming a housekeeping item within the financial industry, but the true leaders will be the ones who build their actions on the most reliable, comprehensive carbon and environmental data,” emphasises Maximilian Horster, Partner, Financial Industry, South Pole Group.
