Has policies that consider (environmental and social) sustainability issues. Strategies vary but are likely to consider environmental issues like climate change, carbon emissions, biodiversity loss, resource management, environmental impacts; and social issues like equal opportunities, human rights, labour standards, diversity and adherence to internationally recognised codes. See individual entry information.

Has a significant focus on sustainability issues

Has documented policies or thematic investment approaches supporting investment in more sustainable, greener transport methods. These will typically set out a preference for companies that run, enable or support more sustainable methods of transport.

Aim to encourage higher sustainability standards through responsible ownership / stewardship / engagement / voting activity

Use the UN Global Compact to inform or help direct where they can or cannot invest. Will typically not invest in companies with significant breaches (low standards) - strategies vary. (The UNGC covers a wide range of issues - search 'UNGC'). See https://unglobalcompact.org/

Publicly report performance against named sustainability objectives

Has policies which relate to environmental issues. These will typically set out their stance on issues such as pollution, climate change, resource management, biodiversity loss, carbon emissions, plastics and/or additional environmental impacts. Strategies vary.

Options that limit or 'reduce' their exposure to carbon intensive industries (ie sectors which are major contributors to climate change). Strategies vary.

Aims to invest in companies with strong or market leading environmental policies and practices. Strategies vary. See individual entry information for more detail.

Has a written policy or theme focused on waste management - typically to support or encouraging higher levels of recycling and better efficiency / reducing waste. Strategies vary.

Has a written biodiversity policy or theme typically aimed at supporting, encouraging and improving environmental protection and safeguarding the natural world (sometimes referred to as 'natural capital'). See eg https://www.un.org/en/climatechange/science/climate-issues/biodiversity

Has policies (documented strategies that explain their position) on climate change related issues such as greenhouse gas/carbon emissions, net zero, transitioning to lower carbon. Strategies vary.

Avoid investment in major coal, oil and/or gas (extraction) companies. Strategies vary.

Avoid companies involved in fracking and tar sands - which are widely regarded as controversial methods of oil and gas extraction. Strategies vary.

Invest (or may invest) in clean / renewable energy companies and other assets. The proportion directly or indirectly invested in renewable energy may vary over time.

Encourage the transition to lower carbon activities through asset selection and / or responsible ownership activity.

Invest in renewable energy companies and / or companies where renewable energy is a significant part of their business. Strategies vary.

Has a supply chain decarbonisation policy which sets out their position on the need to reduce carbon emissions.

Will only invest in companies that report greenhouse gas emissions in line with this international reporting framework. See https://www.fsb-tcfd.org/ https ://www.ifrs.org/sustainability/tcfd/

Requires all, or most of, the assets they invest in to have a ‘net zero action plan’ - describing how they will reduce their greenhouse gas emissions.

Has policies which set out their approach to social issues (e.g. human rights, labour standards, equal opportunities, child labour and/or adherence to internationally recognised codes such as the UN Global Compact). Strategies with social policies typically avoid companies with low standards and/or work to encourage higher standards. See fund information for detail.

Has a labour standards policy - likely to mean they will invest in / favour companies that have higher employment related standards and avoid those with low standards. Strategies vary. See eg https://www.ilo.org/international-labour-standards

Aims to invest in assets with high social values - this may include strong human rights, labour standards and equal opportunities or safety related practices.

Has a written diversity policy – where the manager will aim to select companies with a carefully considered, positive employment standards. This may cover a range of issues including gender, ethnicity, disability, beliefs and sexual orientation.

All mining companies excluded

Has policies that set out their position on ethical or 'personal values' based issues. Strategies vary.

Companies are excluded if they are involved in any aspect of the production chain for tobacco products, including cigarettes, vaping, e-cigarettes, chewing tobacco and cigars.

Excludes companies which make controversial weapons such as landmines, cluster munitions and chemical weapons.

Avoids companies that manufacture weapons intended specifically for military use. Strategies vary - may or may not include non-strategic military products.

Avoids companies with military contracts. This may include medical supplies, food, safety equipment, housing, technology etc

Has a written civilian firearms exclusion policy - meaning that they will not invest in companies that make (or perhaps also sell) handguns made for non-military users.

Avoids companies with significant involvement in the gambling industry. Some may allow a small proportion of revenues to come from this area.

Avoids companies that derive significant income from pornography and related areas. Strategies vary.

Has policies relating to human rights issues. Typically require companies to demonstrate higher standards, although some managers work to encourage improvements. Investee companies are often judged against internationally agreed norms or standards. Strategies vary.

Has policies to avoid companies that employ children.

Has policies or a theme that relates to the responsible management of supply chains. These may relate to employment issues, notably people employed by their suppliers, as well as the sourcing of materials and products.

Has a policy which excludes assets with involvement in Modern Slavery

Has a policy on ‘antimicrobial resistance’ - which is when organisms that cause infection can survive treatment - which is commonly associated with the overuse of antibiotics in factory farming.

Does not invest in / excludes 'sovereigns' - debt issued by governments. See eg https://www.investopedia.com/terms/s/sovereign-debt.asp

Can include banks as part of their holdings / portfolio.

May invest in insurance companies.

Has policies that relate to corporate governance issues such as board structure, executive remuneration, bribery and/or corporate corruption. These funds will typically avoid companies with poor practices. Strategies vary.

Avoids investing in companies with poor governance practices.(e.g. board structure, management practices etc.) Views may however vary on what counts as 'poor' practices - and funds may not immediately divest as they may prefer to work to encourage higher standards.

Exclude companies that are subject to United Nations sanctions. See eg https://main.un.org/securitycouncil/en/content/un-sc-consolidated-list

Has policies explaining how managers will respond to assets / companies that do not comply with relevant anti-bribery and anti-corruption standards or laws. Strategies vary; options include stewardship/ engagement and divestment - or a combination.

Encourage the companies they invest in to have more diverse board structures (e.g. more women on boards)

Find fund / asset managers that factor in 'environmental, social and governance' issues as part of their investment decision making process. A focus on 'ESG' typically means a fund is carrying out additional research to help reduce ESG related risks. It does not necessarily mean a focus on sustainability. Strategies vary. See fund literature.

Invests more than half of their money into what are commonly regarded as 'large companies'. This will typically mean that the market capitalisation (or value) of the companies they hold is in excess of £5 to £10 billion.

Invests mainly in larger companies / assets. (e.g. over circa £5-£10bn)

Has policies that aim to help or support the delivery of positive social or environmental impacts (or societal/real world outcomes) by investing in companies they regard as beneficial to people and / or the planet. Strategies vary.

Aims to measure the positive real world environmental and / or social benefits that are associated with their investment strategy. Investments that aim to deliver positive impacts and measure those impacts may be referred to as 'Impact' - although impact measurement is not restricted to Impact investments. Strategies vary.

Specifically sets out to help deliver positive environmental impacts, benefits or 'real world' outcomes.

Specifically states that they aim to deliver positive social (i.e. people related) impacts and/or outcomes.

Specifically sets out to invest in companies that are regarded as 'disrupting' existing business practices - typically through the development of innovative (sustainability aware) products and/or practices.

Aims to deliver positive environmental and or social impacts (real world benefits) through its engagement with investee assets

Focuses on finding and investing in companies with positive / beneficial attributes. This strategy can be applied in addition to exclusion criteria and engagement/stewardship activity.

Invest more heavily in assets which have higher ESG ratings/standards or scores and less heavily in companies with lower ESG ratings. Where this is central to the strategy you should expect assets in most sectors. Strategies vary.

Only uses an investment index to direct where they can invest. Fund strategies and indices vary.

Invests in assets which have an ESG strategy (which is typically focused on avoiding companies that pose environmental, social or governance related risks) together with additional criteria such as positive and/or negative screens, themes and stewardship strategies.

Focuses on the careful management of environmental, social and governance (ESG) related risks - typically by avoiding or being underweight in companies seen as posing major risks in these areas (i.e. not necessarily by using themes, exclusions etc).

Publish explanations of their ethical, social and/or environmental policies online (i.e. investment decision making strategies/ buy/sell &/or asset management strategies).

Does not use stock lending for performance or risk purposes.

Holds between 70-79% of assets which align to the sustainability objectives; which are not being held purely for risk management purposes, such as derivatives and cash equivalent assets.

Holds between 80-89% of assets which align to the sustainability objectives; which are not being held purely for risk management purposes, such as derivatives and cash equivalent assets.

Designed to meet the needs of individual investors with an interest in sustainability issues.

Designed for clients who care about ethical and values-based issues, often alongside sustainability issues also.

A voluntary corporate culture standard for investment managers, see https://www.investorsact.com/ - City Hive

Finds fund / asset management companies that have a published company wide stewardship, engagement and / or responsible ownership policy or strategy that covers all investments. Stewardship typically involves encouraging higher ESG standards through voting and dialogue.

Find fund / asset management companies that actively encourage higher 'environmental, social and governance' and / or 'sustainable and responsible investment' practices across investee companies - typically where the aim is to encourage positive change that is aligned with the best interests of investors. Strategies vary. See additional information and options.

Find fund / asset managers that vote all* the shares they own at Annual General Meetings and Extraordinary General Meetings. A commitment to voting shares is a key indicator of 'responsible share ownership' demonstrating their support for or disagreement with management policy. (*situations can legitimately, occasionally occur where voting proves impossible, but in principle all shares should be voted.)

Find fund / asset managers that consider responsible ownership and ESG to be a key differentiator for their business.

Find fund / asset management companies that take sustainability criteria into account when selecting and/or managing all of their property / real estate investments.

The leadership team of this fund / asset manager have performance targets linked to environmental goals.

Find options run by managers that apply Responsible ownership or 'Stewardship' policies to all or most of their investment assets. This means active involvement (e.g. voting, dialogue) with the companies across all or most funds, products and services.

Find fund / asset management companies that consider environmental, social and governance (ESG) issues when deciding whether or not to invest in a company for all / almost all of their funds and other assets. This is increasingly seen as part of sound risk management.

Finds organisations / fund managers that have an in-house (company wide) diversity improvement programme - meaning that they are working to ensure that within their own businesses they employ people from diverse backgrounds - often typically focused on ethnicity and/or sex.

Find fund / asset management companies that encourage the companies they invest in to have strong diversity, race, gender and other equality policies across all assets held, not simply screened or themed SRI/ESG funds. (ie Asset Management company wide).

This fund / asset management company invests in companies which have recently listed on a stock exchange (which is important as it can help grow new businesses).

Find fund / asset management companies that have signed up to the UN backed 'Principles of Responsible Investment'.

A member of the Taskforce for Nature Related Financial Disclosures group which aims to aid risk management and shift money towards nature-positive outcomes.

Fund management entity is a member of the Investment Association https://www.theia.org/

Find fund / asset management companies that employ people to steer and support fund managers in voting shares at company AGM's and EGMs in ways that are consistent with encouraging higher ESG/sustainability standards.

Find a fund / asset management company that directly employs specialist ESG/SRI/sustainability researchers or analysts. This allows asset managers to discuss environmental, social and governance risks and opportunities directly with companies.

Find fund / asset management companies that makes use of expert external research companies. This can help deliver specialist expertise and means resources are pooled with other investors.

Finds organisations / fund managers that have one or more ESG/sustainability experts on all investment teams or 'desks' (all asset types)

Find fund / asset managers that are signatories to the FRC UK Stewardship Code, which sets out a framework for constructive investor / investee relations where managers are encouraged to behave like responsible, typically longer term 'company owners'.

Find fund / asset management companies that regularly initiate or run industry wide (collaborative) investor projects aimed at raising environmental, social and governance standards amongst investee companies.

Fund / asset manager has stewardship /responsible ownership strategy that is focused on addressing climate change with investee assets.

Fund / asset manager has a stewardship /responsible ownership strategy that involves working with fossil fuel companies on climate change related issues. See fund manager website for details.

Fund / asset manager has stewardship /responsible ownership strategy with involves encouraging investee asset to reduce plastic waste and pollution.

Fund / asset manager has a stewardship / responsible ownership policy that means they are working to encourage more responsible mining practices - where environmental and social issues are properly dealt with by the companies they invest in.

The fund / asset manager has a responsible ownership / stewardship strategy that focuses on biodiversity and nature issues relating to the assets they invest the aim of which will be to reduce harm and or deliver improvement. Strategies vary. https://tnfd.global

Fund / asset manager has a responsible ownership / stewardship strategy which means they are working to encourage the shift to more sustainable business practices in ways that respect and are sensitive to social issues and the impact change has on people effected by the changes that are taking place. https://www.transitionpathwayinitiative.org/ https://transitiontaskforce.net/

Fund / asset manager has responsible ownership / stewardship strategy in place which aims to address human rights issues in investee companies (and potentially their suppliers) with the aim of raising standards

Fund / asset manager has responsible ownership / stewardship strategy in place that aims to improve labour standards for the benefit of employees in investee companies (and potentially their suppliers)

Fund / asset management company has a stewardship strategy in place which involves working to raise diversity, equality and inclusion standards across investee assets

Fund / asset manager is working with the assets they hold to help stamp out modern slavery - where direct or indirect company employees are exploited for business benefits.

Fund / asset managers have stewardship strategies in place that focus on improving governance standards across investee assets

Find fund / asset management companies (not funds) that avoid investment in 'controversial weapons' across all of their funds and other investment vehicles.

Find funds / asset managers that are reviewing, or have reviewed, their exposure to carbon intensive industries including (but not only) mining, oil and gas companies. (Typically with reference to climate change.)

This fund / asset manager excludes direct investment in the coal mining industry. Managers ability to do this may depend on the geographic regions in which they invest.

Fund / asset management organisations that have pledged to reduce their greenhouse gas emissions to ‘net zero’. Strategies vary - this area is changing rapidly.

This fund / asset management company has set a date by which they plan to achieve net zero greenhouse gas / CO2e emissions.

Find fund / asset management companies that are working with the companies they invest in to encourage reductions in carbon dioxide and other greenhouse gas emissions.

Finds organisations / fund managers that have a company wide carbon transition plan - meaning that they have plotted a path to how they will move away from activities that produce or use carbon based energy sources (that emit greenhouse gases) towards clean, alternative, renewable energy sources.

This fund / asset management company plans to achieve net zero greenhouse gas (CO2e) emissions by reducing their emissions. Calculations and scope vary.

Find fund / asset management companies that are working to reduce their own (fund management company) carbon/greenhouse gas emissions.

Finds organisations / fund management companies that are in the process of working out how to make a ‘net zero commitment’ - meaning that when that is finalised they will have started the process of reducing their total greenhouse gas emissions to 'zero'.

See https://sciencebasedtargets.org/

Find fund / asset management companies that publish a report detailing their responsible investment ownership - also known as 'Stewardship' - activity.

Find fund / asset management companies that publish information about their sustainable and responsible investment strategies on their company website.

Find fund / asset management companies that will supply information about their sustainable and responsible investment activity on request.

Fund / asset management companies that publish a full record of how they vote their shares at AGMs (annual general meetings) and EGMs (extraordinary general meetings). Voting strategies have an important role to play encouraging higher environmental, social and governance standards.

This fund / asset management company has published a plan that explains how they are going to achieve net zero greenhouse gas / CO2e emissions.

Find fund / asset management companies that have supplied Dialshifter information. See Dialshifter tab within record for more information.