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Fund Filters
SustainabilityEnvironmental policy Limits exposure to carbon intensive industries Environmental damage and pollution policy Favours cleaner, greener companies Nature & BiodiversityDeforestation / palm oil policy Unsustainable / illegal deforestation exclusion policy Avoids genetically modified seeds/crop production Climate Change & EnergyNuclear exclusion policy Coal, oil & / or gas majors excluded Climate change / greenhouse gas emissions policy Invests in clean energy / renewables Fracking and tar sands excluded Fossil fuel reserves exclusion Human RightsHuman rights policy Child labour exclusion Responsible supply chain policy or theme Oppressive regimes (not free or democratic) exclusion policy Social / EmploymentSocial policy Health & wellbeing policies or theme Favours companies with strong social policies Meeting Peoples' Basic NeedsWater / sanitation policy or theme Ethical Values Led ExclusionsEthical policies Animal welfare policy Animal testing exclusion policy Tobacco and related product manufacturers excluded Armaments manufacturers avoided Alcohol production excluded Gambling avoidance policy Pornography avoidance policy Governance & ManagementGovernance policy Anti-bribery and corruption policy Avoids companies with poor governance Encourage board diversity e.g. gender Fund GovernanceESG integration strategy Employ external (fund) oversight or advisory committee Asset Size & MetricsOver 50% small / mid cap companies Invests in small, mid and large cap companies How The Fund WorksBalances company 'pros and cons' / best in sector Strictly screened ethical fund Positive selection bias Norms focus SRI / ESG / Ethical policies explained on website Impact MethodologiesAims to generate positive impacts (or 'outcomes') Positive environmental impact theme Invests in environmental solutions companies Labels & AccreditationsRSMR rated (OEIC funds only) Intended Clients & Product OptionsFaith friendly Available via an ISA (OEIC only) Fund management company informationAbout The BusinessESG / SRI engagement (AFM company wide) Responsible ownership / stewardship policy or strategy (AFM company wide) Responsible ownership policy for non SRI funds (AFM company wide) Responsible ownership / ESG a key differentiator (AFM company wide) Vote all* shares at AGMs / EGMs (AFM company wide) Diversity, equality & inclusion engagement policy (AFM company wide) Integrates ESG factors into all / most fund research SDG aligned aims / objectives (AFM company wide) ResourcesIn-house responsible ownership / voting expertise Employ specialist ESG / SRI / sustainability researchers Use specialist ESG / SRI / sustainability research companies Collaborations & AffiliationsPRI signatory UKSIF member Climate Action 100+ or IIGCC member Fund EcoMarket partner AccreditationsUK Stewardship Code signatory (AFM company wide) Engagement ApproachRegularly lead collaborative ESG initiatives (AFM company wide) Company Wide ExclusionsControversial weapons avoidance policy (AFM company wide) Tobacco avoidance policy (AFM company wide) Climate & Net Zero TransitionEncourage carbon / greenhouse gas reduction (AFM company wide) In-house carbon / GHG reduction policy (AFM company wide) TransparencyPublish full voting record (AFM company wide) Publish responsible ownership / stewardship report (AFM company wide) Full SRI policy information on company website
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Sustainable, Responsible &/or ESG Policy:
While we recognise the personal nature of everyone’s ethics, we aim to ensure that the funds are reflective of the wider views of those who invest in them. We regularly review the criteria, both positive and negative, through customer surveys and consultations to ensure they remain relevant and industry leading. This approach is overseen by the Ethical Funds Advisory Group, consisting of both independent external members and key members of staff. Positive Criteria Using positive criteria, we allocate the majority of the funds to companies or issuers that are involved in activities that benefit society and the environment. We use the UN Global Compact (www.unglobalcompact.org) to define the four areas where we seek to invest in companies with positive business practices and services. Corporate Governance The funds adopt a formal corporate governance policy. We actively vote at the AGMs of the companies held in the funds. Due consideration is given to issues such as board independence, excessive remuneration and audit issues. Voting is conducted within the terms of the Ethical Funds Sustainability Approach and in the best of interests of the investors in the funds. In addition, the funds will adopt a policy of voting: - against the Chair of any company where the board fails to have set policy, have oversight or take responsibility for environmental, social, health & safety and human rights issues
- against members of any health, safety and environment committee where insufficient oversight has resulted in poor performance in these areas.
Engagement The funds pursue an active engagement policy. We engage with companies on a range of environmental, social and governance issues with the aim that good corporate behaviour is adopted by the companies in which the funds invest. Where engagement proves ineffective and concerns remain over corporate behaviour and oversight of these issues, we will disinvest from a company. It is our ambition that this active engagement will challenge and encourage companies in which the funds invest to improve their environmental, social and governance performance and practices. Negative criteria We also use negative criteria to avoid investing in companies involved in certain industries and activities that our customers are concerned with. We will avoid investment in companies involved in the activities listed below:1 - Alcohol production: companies that derive 10% or more of revenue from alcohol production.
- Animal testing: companies that manufacture products or ingredients that have been tested on animals.
- Animal husbandry: companies with significant exposure to activities which may lead to poor animal husbandry, such as intensive or factory farming, where there is evidence of poor practices or that do not respect the five freedoms (freedom from hunger and thirst; from discomfort; from pain, injury and disease; to express normal behaviour; from fear and distress).
- Environmental protection: companies that –
- fail to recognise the environmental responsibilities associated with their activities
- have a significant or unmitigated harmful effect on the environment or its inhabitants
- are involved in highly carbon intensive activities or have high greenhouse gas emissions and have failed to show commitment to address climate change issues
- have significant carbon intensive mining operations, such as in coal or tar-sands
- manufacture chemicals of concern (such as ozone depleting chemicals and pesticides) without stringent policies, processes and practices to mitigate the harmful impact of their processes and products
- have a business model based on the production of fossil fuels (such as oil & gas exploration and production companies)
- are involved in GMOs for agricultural crop or livestock production
- have operations that produce, manufacture or use commodities (such as cotton, timber, soya, palm oil or cattle) without sufficient processes in place to ensure their activities do not contribute to significant or unmitigated deforestation, significant biodiversity loss, or harm to the environment or communities.
- Employment: companies that have a harmful effect on their employees. This will include, but is not limited to, companies that –
- use child or forced labour
- demonstrate a lack of regard for their employees’ health & safety
- have been linked to bad employment practices, such as modern slavery, lack of collective bargaining, not paying the minimum wage, or other abuses of employees.
- Fur: companies that manufacture or sell fur products that are not a by-product of the meat industry (e.g. wool or leather).
- Gambling: companies that derive 10% or more revenue from involvement in gambling.
- Human rights: companies that –
- operate in any country with a poor record of human rights and fail to have mechanisms in place to uphold human rights
- face continued accusations of human rights abuses, no matter where they operate
- have been involved in controversial projects that have been linked to human rights abuses
- are deemed to be supporting controversial regimes.
- Marketing breast milk substitutes: companies that market breast milk substitutes and have failed to adopt industry-leading marketing practices (such as those defined under the World Health Organisation’s International Code of Marketing of Breast-Milk Substitutes).
- Nuclear: companies involved in the mining of uranium, and operators and owners of nuclear power stations, deriving more than 5% revenue from nuclear power generation.
- Poor business practices: companies with evidence of poor business practices that cause harm to society or their employees that have not already been captured under other criteria (such as predatory lending and high interest rate lenders which have demonstrated poor business practices).
- Pornography: companies that derive 3% or more revenue from adult entertainment services, including publishing and distributing pornographic magazines or newspapers, or violent video games.
- Tobacco: companies that produce tobacco products or grow or process raw tobacco leaves. Equally, companies that derive more than 20% of revenue from supplying products essential to the tobacco industry.
- UN Global Compact: companies that have failed one or more of the ten principles of the UN Global Compact (www.unglobalcompact.org)
- Weapons: companies that manufacture or sell whole or strategic parts of weapons systems and weapons platforms. Equally, companies that derive more than 20% of revenue from non-offensive military sales, such as vehicles or support to the military.
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Process
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Resources, Affiliations & Corporate Strategies
ESG integration is a strategic priority for Aberdeen Standard Investments and is actively supported and promoted by senior executives, from our CEO downwards. In recognition of the importance of ESG, Euan Stirling, Global Head of Stewardship and ESG Investment, reports directly to Rod Paris, Chief Investment Officer, and Euan regularly attends the Investment Management Committee, chaired by the CIO. Reporting to Euan is the ESG leadership team, which focuses on maximising the quality and value of ESG engagement, research and analysis across all asset classes. Our ESG Investment Team is a centralised resource of 22 people that is dedicated to ESG analysis and engagement and available to all asset classes. The team has a number of functions including: quality assurance and consistency of the ESG regional analysts’ research and analysis, the consideration of governance issues, highlighting themes and emerging risks in ESG, consultation and support to all of ASI’s asset classes on ESG issues, and reflection and promotion of ASI’s positions on key ESG issues externally. In addition, we have dedicated ESG analysts and ESG expertise embedded within asset-class teams to ensure the greatest integration of ESG factors within investment decisions, who sit on the regional equity, real estate and fixed income desks. Furthermore, our proxy voting team, based in Edinburgh, is also part of the ESG Investment Team and manages ASI’s proxy voting approach, which is an integral part of our overall stewardship function. The central team and asset specific ESG investment analysts are listed below: Core team members - Euan Stirling: Head of Stewardship and ESG Investment (Edinburgh), (18 years at Firm, 23 years in Industry)
- Amanda Young: Global Head of Responsible Investment (Edinburgh), (5 Years at Firm, 21 years in Industry)
- Jamie Govan: Senior Manager ESG – Clients (Edinburgh), (11 years at Firm, 11 years in Industry)
- Katy Grant: Senior Manager ESG Investment - Research (Edinburgh), (7 years, at Firm, 7 years in Industry)
- Bill Hartnett: Stewardship Director (London), (<1 year at Firm, 24 years in Industry)
- Andrew Mason: Senior Manager – Stewardship (Edinburgh), (6 years at Firm, 13 years in Industry)
- Elizabeth Meyer: ESG Investment Analyst (Edinburgh), (5 years at Firm, 5 years in Industry)
- Eva Cairns: Senior ESG Investment Analyst (Edinburgh), (8 years at Firm, 13 years in Industry)
- Claire Leighton: ESG Investment Analyst (Edinburgh), (8 years at Firm, 14 years in Industry)
- Ziggy You: ESG Investment Analyst (Edinburgh), (<1 year at Firm, 6 years in Industry)
- Stuart Riddick: ESG Investment Analyst (Edinburgh), (<1 year at Firm, <1 year in Industry)
- Danielle Welsh-Rose: ESG Investment Director – APAC (Edinburgh), (<1 year in Firm, 18 years in Industry)
- Mike Everett: Stewardship Director Policy & Voting (Edinburgh), (21 years at Firm, 33 years in Industry)
- Alison Kennedy: Stewardship Director (Edinburgh), (13 years at Firm, 34 years in Industry)
- Rachel Rotheram: ESG Investment Analyst (Edinburgh), (<1 year at Firm, 1 year in Industry)
- Ben Holden: ESG Investment Analyst (Edinburgh), (3 years at Firm, 3 Years in Industry)
- Douglas Wilson: Senior Manager – Stewardship (Edinburgh), (19 years at Firm, 26 years in Industry)
- Joanna Sulc: Senior Manager - Stewardship (Edinburgh), (3 years at Firm, 15 years in Industry)
- Nick Duncan: Senior Manager - Stewardship (Edinburgh) (3 years at Firm, 21 years in Industry)
- Zander Reid: Strategic Business Development Manager (Edinburgh), (8 years at Firm, 8 years in Industry)
- Kathleen Dewandeleer: Stewardship Manager (Edinburgh), (<1 year at Firm, 27 years in Industry)
- Eilidh Duncan: Sustainable Investment Product Analyst (Edinburgh),(<1 year at Firm, 1 year in Industry)
Equity specific resource - Fionna Ross: Senior ESG Investment Analyst (Philadelphia), (11 years at Firm, 11 years in Industry)
- Jerry Goh: Investment Manager (Singapore), (3 years in Firm, 3 years in Industry)
- Rosie French: ESG Analyst (London), (3 years in Firm, 3 years in Industry)
- David A Smith: Head of Corporate Governance – Asia (Singapore), (7 years at Firm, 12 years in Industry)
- Peter Silver: ESG Analyst (Edinburgh), (12 years at Firm, 13 years in Industry)
- Daniel Ng: Investment Analyst (Singapore), (1 year at Firm, 1 year in Industry)
- Fraser Harle: ESG Analyst (London), (>1 year at Firm, 2 years in Industry)
Source: Aberdeen Standard Investments, 31 May 2020 *includes continuous service
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