Impax Environmental Markets (Ireland) Fund

SRI Style:

Environmental Style

SDR Labelling:

Not eligible to use label

Product:

SICAV/Offshore

Fund Region:

Global

Fund Asset Type:

Equity

Launch Date:

09/12/2004

Last Amended:

Aug 2023

Dialshifter ():

Fund Size:

£448.48m

(as at: 31/12/2024)

Total Screened Themed SRI Assets:

£39717.00m

(as at: 30/06/2023)

Total Assets Under Management:

£39717.00m

(as at: 30/06/2023)

ISIN:

IE00B04R3307, IE00BZ1LW551, IE00BYQNSD98, IE00BJKWYN92, IE00BJKWYP17, IE00BJKWYQ24, IE00BJKWYR31

Objectives:

The Impax Environmental Markets (Ireland) Fund seeks to achieve sustainable, above market returns over the longer term by investing globally in companies that are developing innovative solutions to resource challenges in environmental markets. These markets address a number of long term macro-economic themes: growing populations, rising living standards, increasing urbanization, rising consumption, and depletion of limited natural resources.

 

Investments are made in “pure play” small and mid-cap companies which have >50% of their underlying revenue generated by sales of products or services in the energy efficiency, renewable energy, water, waste and sustainable food and agriculture markets.

Sustainable, Responsible
&/or ESG Overview:

Please note: This fund is soft closed and is not currently available to new investors. Existing investors may continue to invest in the fund.

Awaiting update from fund manager (July 2024)

Impax Asset Management is solely focused on investing in the transition to a more sustainable global economy. Impax's listed equity strategies seek out mispriced companies that are set to benefit from the long-term trends of rising global populations and wealth, changing demographics, urbanisation, increasing consumption, and the resultant increases in resource demand.

 

Impax aspires to best practices across all aspects of the management of its listed and private equity investments. Environmental, Social and Governance (“ESG”) considerations are embedded within our rigorous ten step investment process for listed equities. Failure by a company to reach the required ESG score will prevent our investment

Primary fund last amended:

Aug 2023

Information directly from fund manager.

Fund Filters

Sustainability - General
Sustainability policy

Funds that have 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 fund information.

Sustainability focus

Find funds which substantially focus on sustainability issues

Sustainable transport policy or theme

Find funds that have documented policies or thematic investment approaches relating to 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. See fund information for further detail.

Encourage more sustainable practices through stewardship

A core element of these funds aim to encourage higher sustainability standards across business practices through responsible ownership / stewardship / engagement / voting activity

UN Global Compact linked exclusion policy

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

Transition focus

The delivery of the shift to a sustainable future is a core feature of this fund and its investment strategy. See eg https://www.transitionpathwayinitiative.org/

Report against sustainability objectives

Find funds that publicly report their performance against specifically named sustainability objectives (in addition to reporting their financial performance)

Circular economy theme

Fund has a theme or investment strand focused on the shift to a circular economy (where products are reused and recycled not incinerated or dumped). See eg https://www.ellenmacarthurfoundation.org/topics/circular-economy-introduction/overview

Environmental - General
Environmental policy

Funds that have policies which relate to environmental issues. These will typically set out the fund's stance on issues such as pollution, climate change, resource management, biodiversity loss, carbon emissions, plastics and/or additional environmental impacts. Strategies vary. See fund information for further information.

Resource efficiency policy or theme

Find funds that have a policy or theme that relates to managing natural resources more efficiently. Funds with this policy will be likely to favour companies that make (or enable the) more efficient use of resources - and either avoid or encourage change amongst companies with lower standards. Strategies vary. See fund information for further detail.

Favours cleaner, greener companies

Funds that aim to invest in companies with strong or market leading environmental policies and practices. Strategies vary - in particular the balance between 'financial' aspects and environmental benefits. Some may invest substantially in solutions or 'positive impact' companies - others may invest in more conventional companies providing certain environmental criteria are met. See fund information for further detail.

Waste management policy or theme

Find funds that have a written policy or theme on waste management - typically a view to encouraging higher levels of recycling and better efficiency / reducing waste.

Nature & Biodiversity
Biodiversity / nature policy

Find funds that have a written biodiversity policy or theme aimed at encouraging and improving environmental protection and safeguarding the natural world (sometimes referred to as the preservation or enhancement of 'natural capital'). See eg https://www.un.org/en/climatechange/science/climate-issues/biodiversity

Nature / biodiversity based solutions theme

A significant focus on investments that aim to protect, improve and, or restore natural habitat.

Nature / biodiversity focus

Fund has a significant focus or emphasis on investment in nature and biodiversity related opportunities

Deforestation / palm oil policy

Find funds that have policies in place designed to ensure they do not invest in companies that are significantly involved in deforestation. This typically relates to palm oil plantations where biodiversity loss is a major concern (as well as other issues). Strategies vary. See fund information for further detail.

Avoids genetically modified seeds/crop production

Find funds that aim to avoid investing in companies that produce genetically modified seeds or crops. (This does not typically include avoiding companies such as supermarkets). See fund literature for further information.

Climate Change & Energy
Climate change / greenhouse gas emissions policy

Funds that have 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. Read fund details for further information.

Coal, oil & / or gas majors excluded

Funds that avoid investing in major coal, oil and/or gas (extraction) companies. Funds vary: some may exclude all companies that extract oil. Others may have exposure to oil extraction via more diversified energy companies. See fund literature to confirm details.

Fracking and tar sands excluded

Funds that avoid companies involved in fracking and tar sands - which are widely regarded as controversial methods of oil and gas extraction. Strategies vary. See fund information for further information.

Arctic drilling exclusion

Funds that avoid companies that are involved in extracting oil from the Arctic regions. See fund literature for further details.

Fossil fuel reserves exclusion

Funds that avoid investing in companies with coal, oil and gas reserves. See fund information for further details.

Clean / renewable energy theme or focus

Find funds where investment in clean / renewable energy companies an other assets is central to their investment selection strategy. The proportion of the fund that is directly or indirectly invested in renewable energy varies between funds and over time. See fund information for further details.

Encourage transition to low carbon through stewardship activity

A core element of these funds will aim to encourage the transition to lower carbon activities through responsible ownership / stewardship / engagement / voting activity

Energy efficiency theme

Fund funds that have an energy efficiency theme - typically meaning that a fund manager is focused on investing in organisations that manage - or help others to manage - energy use more carefully and less wastefully - and so reduce greenhouse gas emissions.

Invests in clean energy / renewables

Funds that hold companies in the clean energy and renewable energy sectors (at the time research was supplied). Fund strategies vary, in particular the proportion of investment in these areas may vary significantly. Check fund literature for details.

Nuclear exclusion policy

Find funds that have policies which say they avoid or limit their investment in the nuclear industry. Strategies vary. See fund information for further detail.

Fossil fuel exploration exclusion - direct involvement

The fund manager excludes companies with direct involvement in fossil fuel exploration (eg coal, oil and gas companies)

Paris aligned fund strategy

This fund has a strategy that aims ensure its holdings will gradually reduce their greenhouse gas emissions in line with targets set at COP21 in Paris. The ultimate aim is to achieve ‘net zero emissions by 2050’ and a ‘maximum global temperature increase of +1.5 to +2 degrees above preindustrial levels’. Strategies and opinions vary. Read fund information.

Require net zero action plan from all/most companies

Find funds that require all, or almost all, of the companies it invests in to have a ‘net zero action plan’ - meaning that the companies they invest in have worked out how they will, over time, reduce their total carbon (and other greenhouse gas) emissions to nil.

TCFD reporting requirement (Becoming IFRS)

Will only invest in companies that report greenhouse gas emissions reduction strategies in line with the framework set out the by the Taskforce for Climate Related Financial Disclosure, which is increasingly becoming mandatory. See https://www.fsb-tcfd.org/ https ://www.ifrs.org/sustainability/tcfd/

Social / Employment
Social policy

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

Favours companies with strong social policies

Find funds that invest in line with positive strategies that relate to 'people' issues - such as having strong human rights, labour standards and equal opportunities practices. Such funds are likely to invest in companies that have market leading standards with regard to employee and supplier practices. Read fund literature for further information.

Ethical Values Led Exclusions
Tobacco and related product manufacturers excluded

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.

Armaments manufacturers avoided

Find funds that avoid companies that manufacture products intended specifically for military use. Fund strategies vary - particularly with regard to non-strategic military products. See fund literature for fund specific details.

Pornography avoidance policy

Find funds that avoid companies that derive significant income from pornography and related areas. Strategies vary. See fund details for further information.

Animal welfare policy

Find funds with policies that require specific animal welfare standards to be met. These may reference well-known welfare standards (3Rs - Replace, Reduce, Refine) or certification schemes. Strategies vary. See fund information for further detail.

Animal testing - excluded except if for medical purposes

Find funds that avoid companies that test their products on animals for purposes other than medical benefit (e.g. for cosmetics). Strategies vary. See fund literature for further information.

Human Rights
Human rights policy

Find funds that have policies relating to human rights issues. Funds of this kind typically require companies to demonstrate higher standards, although some fund managers work to encourage improvements. Investee companies are often judged against internationally agreed norms or standards. Strategies vary. See fund information for further detail.

Child labour exclusion

Find funds that have policies in place to ensure they do not invest in companies that employ children.

Oppressive regimes (not free or democratic) exclusion policy

Find funds with policies that exclude companies or other assets where regimes are not democratic, or where people may be oppressed. May use eg. Freedom House research. Strategies vary. See fund literature for further information.

Responsible supply chain policy or theme

Find funds that have 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. See fund literature for further information.

Modern slavery exclusion policy

The fund has a policy which excludes assets with involvement in Modern Slavery

Meeting Peoples' Basic Needs
Responsible food production or agriculture theme

Fund has a responsible food production or agriculture theme or strand of investment. Funds may have a single theme or many themes. See fund information.

Governance & Management
Governance policy

Find fund options that have 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. See fund literature for further information.

Avoids companies with poor governance

Find funds that aim to avoid 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. See fund literature for further information.

UN sanctions exclusion

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

Anti-bribery and corruption policy

Find funds that have 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. See fund literature for further information.

Digital / cyber security policy

Find funds that have policies explaining how the fund managers take into account digital/cyber security related risks. Funds with cyber policies will typically favour companies with higher standards or that are helping to solve problems - but strategies vary. See fund literature for further information.

Encourage board diversity e.g. gender

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

Encourage TCFD alignment for banks & insurance companies

Find fund managers that encourage the banks and insurance companies they invest in to publish climate change related financial information - as set out by the Task Force on Climate Related Financial Disclosures (with the aim of helping investors measure and respond to climate risk).

Encourage higher ESG standards through stewardship activity

A core element of these funds will aim to encourage higher ESG standards through responsible ownership / stewardship / engagement /voting activity

Fund Governance
ESG integration strategy

Find funds 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.

Asset Size
Over 50% small / mid cap companies

Find funds where more than half of the funds' assets are invested in smaller or medium sized companies (i.e. below around £5 -10 billion).

Invests in small, mid and large cap companies / assets

Find a fund that invests in a combination of small, medium and larger (potentially multinational)companies.

Targeted Positive Investments
Invests >25% of fund in environmental/social solutions companies

Find funds that invest >25% of their capital towards companies where a major part of their business is focused on helping to address environmental or social challenges.

Invests >50% of fund in environmental/social solutions companies

Find funds that invest >50% of their capital in companies where a major part of their business is focused on helping to address environmental or social challenges.

EU Sustainable Finance Taxonomy holdings 5-25% of fund assets

Find funds that have calculated the proportion of fund asset that meet the new EU Taxonomy requirements and that they total 5-25% of assets. This will typically require adding up the proportion of each individual company's activity that is regarded as 'green' so that the fund manager can produce an overall total for the whole fund / portfolio.

Impact Methodologies
Measures positive impacts

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

Positive environmental impact theme

Find funds that specifically set out to help deliver positive environmental impacts, benefits or 'real world' outcomes.

Invests in environmental solutions companies

Find funds that direct investment towards companies where a major part of their business is about solving environmental challenges. e.g. companies helping to address climate change.

Invests in sustainability / ESG disruptors

Find funds that specifically set 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.

Aim to deliver positive impacts through engagement

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

Over 50% in assets providing environmental or social ‘solutions’

50% of fund assets are regarded by the fund manager as being significantly focused on providing solutions to environmental or social challenges. Strategies vary.

How The Fund Works
Positive selection bias

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

Significant harm exclusion

Aims to avoid companies that do significant harm. This originates from the EU’s sustainable finance ‘DNSH’ (do no significant harm) work, which is not necessarily used by UK investors.

Assets mapped to SDGs

Find funds that have 'mapped' (reviewed) their investment selection and management strategies to identify which of the UN Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) the fund is helping to address.

Combines norms based exclusions with other SRI criteria

Find funds that make significant use of internationally agreed 'norms' (e.g. United Nations Global Compact - UNGC - or the UN Sustainable Development Goals - SDGs) as part of their investment selection process alongside additional SRI criteria such as positive or negative stock selection policies and/or stewardship strategies.

Combines ESG strategy with other SRI criteria

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

Focus on ESG risk mitigation

A major focus of these funds is 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).

SRI / ESG / Ethical policies explained on website

Find funds that have published explanations of their ethical, social and/or environmental policies online (i.e. fund decision making strategies/ buy/sell &/or asset management strategies).

Unscreened Assets & Cash
All assets (except cash) meet published sustainability criteria

All assets held in the fund - except cash - meet the sustainability criteria published in fund documentation.

Intended Clients & Product Options
Intended for investors interested in sustainability

Finds funds designed to meet the needs of individual investors with an interest in sustainability issues.

Available via an ISA (OEIC only)

Find funds that are available via a tax efficient ISA product wrapper.

Labels & Accreditations
SFDR Article 9 fund / product (EU)

Finds funds classified under Article 9 of the EU’s SFDR (Sustainable Finance Disclosure Requirements). Article 9 of the SFDR applies to financial products that have sustainable investment 'objectives' - including emissions reduction objectives. (These may currently be referred to as 'impact' funds or aiming to deliver clear, specific positive outcomes.) These rules do not currently apply in the UK so fund managers may leave this field blank.

Fund Management Company Information

About The Business
Boutique / specialist fund management company

Find fund management companies that are smaller or specialise in particular areas - notably, ideally ESG related. Strategies vary.

Specialist positive impact fund management company

Find fund management companies (or subsidiaries) that specialise in - or focus entirely on - investing in assets that are helping to deliver positive environmental and / or social impacts.

Responsible ownership / stewardship policy or strategy (AFM company wide)

Finds fund 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.

ESG / SRI engagement (AFM company wide)

Find fund 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.

Vote all* shares at AGMs / EGMs (AFM company wide)

Find fund 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.)

Responsible ownership / ESG a key differentiator (AFM company wide)

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

Senior management KPIs include environmental goals (AFM company wide)

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

Integrates ESG factors into all / most (AFM) fund research

Find fund 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.

In-house diversity improvement programme (AFM company wide)

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.

Diversity, equality & inclusion engagement policy (AFM company wide)

Find fund 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).

Invests in new sustainability linked bond issuances (AFM company wide)

Asset management company has investments in bonds designed to meet sustainability requirements - however these assets may not be 'ringfenced' for this purpose. See fund manager website for details.

Collaborations & Affiliations
PRI signatory

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

UKSIF member

Find fund management companies that are members of UKSIF - the UK Sustainable Investment and Finance association

TNFD forum member (AFM company wide)

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

Investment Association (IA) member

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

Resources
In-house responsible ownership / voting expertise

Find fund 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.

Employ specialist ESG / SRI / sustainability researchers

Find a fund 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.

Use specialist ESG / SRI / sustainability research companies

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

ESG specialists on all investment desks (AFM company wide)

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

Accreditations
PRI A+ rated (AFM company wide)

Finds organisations / fund managers that have an A+ PRI rating - meaning they are highly rated according to the 'Principles of Responsible Investment'

UK Stewardship Code signatory (AFM company wide)

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

Engagement Approach
Regularly lead collaborative ESG initiatives (AFM company wide)

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

Encourage responsible corporate taxation (AFM company wide)

Find fund management companies that are working with the companies they invest in to encourage more responsible corporate taxation.

Engaging on climate change issues

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

Engaging with fossil fuel companies on climate change

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.

Engaging to reduce plastics pollution / waste

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

Engaging on biodiversity / nature issues

The 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

Engaging to encourage a Just Transition

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/

Engaging on human rights issues

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

Engaging on labour / employment issues

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)

Engaging on diversity, equality and / or inclusion issues

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

Engaging on governance issues

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

Engaging on mental health issues

Asset manager has stewardship strategy in place which involves discussing mental health issues with investee companies - with the aim of raising standards

Engaging on responsible supply chain issues

Has a stewardship / responsible ownership strategy that encourages responsible supply chain - ie the managers will discuss environmental, social and governance issues with investee companies with the aim of raising standards

Company Wide Exclusions
Controversial weapons avoidance policy (AFM company wide)

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

Review(ing) carbon / fossil fuel exposure for all funds (AFM company wide)

Find funds / fund 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.)

Climate & Net Zero Transition
Net Zero commitment (AFM company wide)

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

Voting policy includes net zero targets (AFM company wide)

Fund manager AGM / EGM voting strategy has processes in place that mean they will normally be expected to vote in a way that will encourage the transition to net zero greenhouse gas emissions.

Net Zero - have set a Net Zero target date (AFM company wide)

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

Encourage carbon / greenhouse gas reduction (AFM company wide)

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

Carbon transition plan published (AFM company wide)

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.

‘Forward Looking Climate Metrics’ published / ITR (AFM company wide)

Finds organisations / fund managers that have published ‘forward looking climate metrics’ e.g. 'implied temperature rise' data that are a total of the asset management company's share (% owned) of all the investee company emissions of the assets they manage, as well as their own direct and other indirect emissions.

Carbon offsetting – do NOT offset carbon as part of net zero plan (AFM company wide)

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

In-house carbon / GHG reduction policy (AFM company wide)

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

Working towards a ‘Net Zero’ commitment (AFM company wide)

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'.

Transparency
Publish responsible ownership / stewardship report (AFM company wide)

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

Full SRI / responsible ownership policy information on company website

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

Publish full voting record (AFM company wide)

Fund 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.

Paris Alignment plan publicly available (AFM company wide)

This asset management company has published a plan that explains how they will align to the climate change commitments made at the Paris Climate Talks, COP21.

Net Zero transition plan publicly available (AFM company wide)

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

Dialshifter statement

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

Sustainable, Responsible &/or ESG Policy:

All of Impax Asset Managements’ investments are aligned to the transition to a more sustainable economy. Activities with lower sustainability risks and higher opportunities are set to benefit from a transition to a more sustainable, low-carbon economy and are well positioned for the long-term. They are less at risk of disruption from new technologies, changing consumer preferences or legislation. These well-positioned areas of the economy are sought and prioritised for investment across the Manager’s listed investment strategies.

 

ESG-analysis is an integral part of the Manager’s investment process. All investee companies must meet financial and environmental, social and governance (“ESG”) criteria before entering the Fund’s universe of investable companies. The investment team members of the Investment Manager are responsible for integrating ESG analysis into the investment process. Through screening, the Investment Manager intends to avoid companies involved in significant controversies that violate global norms related to human rights, labour, environment and corruption, and through ESG analysis, the Investment Manager conducts a detailed, proprietary ESG analysis of new investee companies considered for the investable universe and reviews the ESG analysis on a periodic basis.

 

Stewardship through active ESG engagement and proxy voting are important parts of the investment process. They enable monitoring of the investee companies more effectively and aim at further enhancing the structures, processes and disclosures of the companies. Impax Asset Management takes into account relevant regulations when considering the approach to sustainability and ESG, especially as it relates to reporting and disclosures.

 

Further details on how sustainability risks are integrated into the investment decision making process for the Fund are provided in the Investment Manager’s ESG Policy, available on the Investment Manager’s website at www.impaxam.com.

 

The full ESG Sub-Policy can be found on the Investment Manager’s website impax-esg-sub-policy.pdf (impaxam.com)

Process:

1.Idea generation – identifying interesting companies

Impax’s thematic environmental market strategies invest in companies that provide solutions to environmental and resource challenges. Inclusion in the Impax Environmental Markets Universe is contingent upon the resource efficiency and environmental markets business typically having >50% of group revenue, profitability or invested capital. Ideas are sourced from an investment universe that captures the following broad themes: Energy (Alternative Energy/Energy Management & Efficiency) | Clean and Efficient Transport | Sustainable Food | Water (Infrastructure & Technologies) | Circular Economy (Resource Efficiency & Waste Management) | Smart Environment (Environmental Services & Resources and Digital Infrastructure). 

 

 

2.ESG-analysis.

Impax conducts a detailed, proprietary ESG-analysis of new companies considered for the investable universe and review the ESG-analysis on a periodic basis. IAM considers five main pillars within its ESG analysis:

  • Governance: Impax analyses companies’ governance structures, taking into account common and best practice in the areas of board structure, compensation, shareholder rights, internal controls and governance of sustainability.

 

  • Material Environmental, Social, and Other Risks: Impax analyses companies’ and issuers’ environmental and social policies, processes and disclosures, identifying the most material risks. Materiality is defined as the sustainability issues or risks that may most materially disrupt a company’s operations through financial, physical, or reputational loss or disruption. These risks can include: Resource use and dependencies, biodiversity risks, waste and pollution externalities, health and safety, supply chain complexities, and product liabilities including cyber risks and data privacy. Impax seeks investments in companies or issuers that have addressed the material risks with robust policies, processes, management systems and incentives that are scaled appropriately to the importance of the risk.

 

  • Climate Change: Climate change is a systemic issue for all companies and this pillar assesses the preparedness, management, target-setting, performance and disclosures by companies in terms of both climate transition risks and physical climate risks.

 

  • Human Capital Management and Equity (Equality), Diversity & Inclusion (E, D&I): Human capital and E, D&I are systemic and critical issues for all companies. This pillar assesses the management, target-setting, performance and disclosures by companies for aspects of diversity in leadership (gender, racial/ethnic diversity in board and management teams), workplace equity (hiring/retention efforts, goals, targets, disclosures), and human capital (talent pipeline, compensation/benefits and employee engagement).

 

  • Controversies: This includes analysis of companies’ past and on-going controversies, seeking strong processes and management systems to address and avoid any repeat events. Analysis includes types of controversies or incidents (repeats, reputational, financial, operational), severity (widespread, systematic, isolated incident), and timeframe and status of issues (ongoing, closed, company has responded or addressed). Company disclosures and reports are analysed by Impax, with external ESG-research as input and support in the analysis.

 

When all the data is gathered, an ESG report is written, and the company is assigned a proprietary ESG-score. Impax does not seek to exclude a certain number or percentage of companies, but rather seeks an absolute level of ESG-quality. Where this is not achieved, a company is excluded from the investable universe.

 

ESG scoring

Upon completion of analysis, an ESG report is submitted and a proprietary ESG score assigned by members of the Sustainability & Stewardship team. Ultimately, all companies must be approved on both a financial and an ESG basis before being added to the investable universe as part of Impax’s research and approval process.

The five pillars (corporate governance, material environmental, social, and other risks, climate, human capital/E,D&I, and controversies) are each scored based on tiering of performance, management and disclosures. Each of the five pillars, including sub-pillars, have guidance documents describing what represents best practice from first tier down to the lowest tier. The pillar weights are adjusted where relevant for materiality.

 

Based on the five pillar scores, companies are assigned an overall rating: Excellent, Good, Average, Fair and Excluded. The Impax ESG scoring system is “absolute” (not a sector best-in-class approach) and is intended to enable a comparison of company ESG quality across countries, sectors, company sizes, etc.

 

Companies categorised as ‘Excluded’ are not eligible for investment, while those categorized as ‘Fair’ have a cap for the maximum allowed weighting within portfolios, for risk management purposes. Impax does not seek to exclude a certain number or percentage of companies, but rather seeks an absolute level of ESG-quality in companies/issuers eligible for investment (the “A-list” for active listed equities). An improving ESG rating trajectory can give the investment team and portfolio managers further conviction in a company.

 

Stewardship and engagement

All portfolio managers and analysts are involved in engagement activities and Impax’s Investment Committee has a standing “ESG and Engagement” agenda item to continuously inform and discuss engagement issues across the investment teams.

 

Engagements are conducted as part of regular meetings with company management teams, or through additional conference calls, meetings, email exchanges, or as part of joint communications with the investment community. Engagements are also regularly conducted together with other investors and partners with or without a lead or coordination from expert organisations. Collaborative engagements are conducted across several ESG issues, specific sectors and companies and can be prioritised where outreach may particularly benefit from a larger group of shareholder involvement or in cases where an issue is being escalated. Impax also conducts public policy advocacy, engaging with public policymakers.

 

Where material concerns or anomalies at an investee company are identified, Impax will intervene to mitigate risks and preserve shareholder value. The investee company management team is immediately contacted and, where possible, members of the company board.

 

If the investee company is unresponsive to engagement or unwilling to consider alternative, less risky options, Impax will escalate the dialogue by:

  • Seeking alternative or more senior contacts within the company
  • Intervening or engaging together with other shareholders
  • Intervening or engaging together with other institutions or organisations (multi-stakeholder)
  • Highlighting the issue and/or joint engaging regarding the issue through institutional platforms
  • Filing or co-filing resolutions at General Meetings

           

If interventions are unsuccessful and Impax considers that the risk profile of the company has significantly deteriorated or company strategy/governance structures have altered because of an incident, to a degree where the return outlook and the company’s strategy and quality no longer meet expectations, the company would be excluded from the investable universe and/or sold.

 

Impax seeks to follow up on previous engagements after six months to one year, depending on the nature of the issue and situational context (e.g., reporting cycles). While some engagements may be one-off, as investee companies’ ESG processes mature over time, engagement series often continue over years.

 

Resources, Affiliations & Corporate Strategies:

Impax's most valuable research is generated internally, with external research being used to challenge assumptions and conclusions made by the investment team. Much of Impax’s research, especially top-down, global macroeconomic views and analysis is shared across investment teams and used firm-wide. This includes views on changes in credit markets, government and consumer spending, policy announcements, industrial production and commodity prices, sector and industry dynamics, technological disruptions, and similar themes. Impax strives to maintain its competitive advantage by continuing to invest in its personnel and research resources, and by staying ahead of dynamic technology and regulatory changes.

External data is sourced from a variety of sources including sell side research, Bloomberg, MSCI, Sustainalytics, Glass Lewis, industry publications, databases, conferences, industry contacts, etc. Impax uses external research and service providers as an input to its ESG analysis. Impax has developed its own proprietary methodology for analysing and scoring companies on ESG quality and does not rely on external ESG ratings.

With regards to external ESG research, there is a general concern of the opaqueness of methodologies and that data is increasingly coming through “automated data gathering”, thereby reducing its value. Impax also has concerns about the method of using sector-level materiality analysis as in many cases material risks are company specific. Impax’s own proprietary analysis and scoring methodology is relevant and appropriate for the types of companies in which it invests.

External research and data are used when monitoring investee companies’ behaviour and controversies, as well as for norms-based screening. This relates both to normative controversies, such as human rights breaches and more common controversies, such as litigation or labour relations. Impax also uses external research providers’ data to monitor any potential controversial activities, such as revenue exposure to controversial weapons, fossil fuels or tobacco. Impax reviews external ESG research providers on an annual basis, to understand any changes to research methodologies, and to understand areas of priority for the research providers.

 

ESG research resources:

Impax has a dedicated team of Sustainability and Stewardship analysts, led by Lisa Beauvilain.

 

Fully integrated within the global investment team, the 12-strong Sustainability & Stewardship team is responsible for leadership and oversight of sustainability research, thematic universes, and proprietary tools, fundamental and systematic ESG analysis, ESG policies, and stewardship including proxy voting and company engagement.

 

The team’s key responsibilities include:

  • Sustainability research for Impax’s proprietary tools and frameworks including the Impax Sustainability Lens and Gender Lens, Impax’s thematic universes, and the Impax Systematic ESG Rating
  • Development of methodologies, such as the proprietary ESG 2.0 analysis, and oversight, peer-review and scoring of security-level ESG analysis in the investment team
  • Stewardship including proxy voting and company engagement – including coordination of focus engagement areas and external collaboration
  • Development and implementation of policies such as Biodiversity and Nature Policy and Proxy Voting Guidelines
  • Lead on sustainability methodologies, measurement, and metrics, including for impact, client and regulatory reporting as part of Impax’s ‘Beyond Financial Returns’ (BFR) working group
  • Continuous further development of sustainability and stewardship approaches and methodologies, and training and development on sustainability and stewardship topics

 

For each prospective and current investment holding, the respective lead analyst from the broader investment team completes the proprietary 10-Step analysis which includes the in-depth ESG analysis. This is accompanied by oversight, review and approval of the scoring by the Sustainability & Stewardship Team to ensure consistency across sectors and companies.

 

All portfolio managers and analysts conduct proprietary in-house ESG analysis under the supervision of the Head of Sustainability & ESG, an experienced member of the investment team dedicated to ESG research. Impax has the following team members: Lisa Beauvilain, Head of Sustainability & ESG and Miriam Benarey-Meisel, Sustainability & ESG Analyst.

 

Company ESG characteristics are continually discussed between team members and ESG is a standing item on the weekly Investment Committee agenda. Importantly, while the respective stock’s analyst is informing and leading the ESG analysis and discussion around ESG outcomes, outstanding questions and concerns are continuously discussed with the portfolio managers and Head of Sustainability & ESG. Ultimately, all companies have to be approved by the Investment Committee on both a financial and an ESG basis as part of Impax’s research and approval process.

 

ESG Training

Impax strives to maintain its competitive advantage by continuing to invest in its personnel and research resources. The Head of Sustainability & ESG leads the continual development and training of the Firm’s investment team on ESG competency and training includes emerging risk factors such as cyber risk, plastic exposures or general ESG topics such as the long-lasting value destruction from fraud, shareholder structure and oversized influence, management turnover, and the importance of management attitude during engagement. All new analysts are trained on, and dedicate time to, ESG analysis alongside financial analysis. The team is seasoned, collegial and multi-disciplinary in nature and brings a range of ESG training and experience.

 

Impax works on ESG engagement collaborations with clients, partners, and industry organisations to promote sustainable investing and ESG considerations across the globe. Impax is proud to be a part of:

  • 2001- UK Sustainable Investment and Finance Association (“UKSIF”)
  • 2003 - NH Businesses for Social Responsibility
  • 2007 - Interfaith Centre on Corporate Responsibility (ICCR)
  • 2007 - CERES
  • 2008 - Institutional Investors Group on Climate Change (IIGCC)
  • 2008- Principles for Responsible Investment (‘PRI’)
  • 2009 – Carbon Disclosure Project
  • 2009 - Investor Network on Climate Risk (INCR)
  • 2010 - UK Stewardship Code
  • 2011 - Thirty Percent Coalition
  • 2011 - Silicon Valley Toxics Coalition (SVTC)
  • 2012 - Access to Nutrition Index
  • 2013 - Investor Environmental Health Network (IEHN)
  • 2013 - Sustainable Stock Exchanges Initiative (PRI)
  • 2014 - World Resources Institute
  • 2015 – Global impact Investor Network (GIIN)
  • 2016 - Shareholder Rights Group
  • 2016 - Access to Medicine Index
  • 2016 – FAIRR
  • 2017 - Task Force on Climate-related Financial Disclosures (TCFD)
  • 2018 – Council of Institutional Investors (CII)
  • 2019 – Impact in Listed Equities working group (GIIN)
  • 2019 – Just Transition
  • 2019 – Northeast Investors Diversity Initiative
  • 2019 – Asian Corporate Governance association (ACGA)
  • 2019 – Plastic Solutions Investor Alliance (As You Sow)
  • 2020- Confederation of British Industry (CBI)
  • 2020 – PRI EU Taxonomy Practitioners Group
  • 2020 – Climate Financial Risk Forum (CFRF)
  • 2020 – Energy Transitions Commission (ETC)
  • 2020 – Finance to Accelerate the Sustainable Transition-Infrastructure (FAST-Infra)
  • 2020 - Taskforce for Nature-related Financial Disclosure (TNFD)
  • 2021 - Net Zero Asset Managers Initiative (“NZAM”)
  • 2022 - Natural Capital Investment Alliance (“NCIA”)
  • 2023 – The Investment and Saving Alliance (‘TISA’)
  • 2023 - Women's Empowerment Principles

           

  • Investment Association
  • Forum for Sustainable and Responsible Investment (“USSIF”)
  • PRI Financial Institutions Commitment to Tackle Deforestation
  • PRI Global Policy Reference Group

 

 

Dialshifter

Our organisation is helping to support the Paris Climate Agreement and the Race to Net Zero by…

As an asset manager, Impax supports meeting the goals of the Paris Agreement by:

  • Pricing climate risk accurately: adjusting portfolios, screening-out fossil-fuel investments and using tools to minimize exposure to transition risks
  • Engaging carbon-intensive companies: identifying priority sectors/companies and engaging on detail of transition plans
  • Investing in climate solutions: generally calculated as a share of AUM, linked to definitions of green/taxonomies, with avoided emissions as a key metric of impact

Impax focuses particularly on investing in climate solutions. As a signatory of the Net Zero Asset Managers Initiative, we support the goal of net-zero emissions by 2050 or sooner.

SDR Labelling:

Not eligible to use label

Voting Record

Disclaimer

Disclaimer

This document (the “Document”) contains information that has been provided at the specific request of the intended recipient and is for discussion purposes only. This Document has been issued by Impax Asset Management (“Impax”) which means one of the following entities depending on the location of the recipient:

  • For recipients based outside the European Economic Area (the “EEA”): Impax Asset Management Limited (FRN 197008) and/or Impax Asset Management (AIFM) Limited (FRN 613534) which are authorised and regulated by the Financial Conduct Authority.
  • For recipients based inside the EEA: Impax Asset Management Ireland Limited which is authorised and regulated by the Central Bank of Ireland.

The information and any opinions contained in this Document have been compiled in good faith, but no representation or warranty, express or implied, is made to their accuracy, completeness or correctness. Impax, its officers, employees, representatives and agents expressly advise that they shall not be liable in any respect whatsoever for any loss or damage, whether direct, indirect, consequential or otherwise however arising (whether in negligence or otherwise) out of or in connection with the contents of or any omissions from this Document. The information in the Document has not been independently verified and is subject at all times to the conditions, caveats and limitations described in the Document. All opinions, projections and estimates constitute the judgment of Impax as of the date of the Document and are subject to change without notice.

 

This Document does not constitute an offer to sell, purchase, subscribe for or otherwise invest in units or shares of any fund managed by Impax. It may not be relied upon as constituting any form of investment advice and prospective investors are advised to ensure that they obtain appropriate independent professional advice before making any investment. This information is in no way indicative of how the strategy will perform and is not intended as a statement as to the likelihood of Impax achieving particular results in the future. Past performance of a strategy is no guarantee as to its performance in the future. This Document is not an advertisement and is not intended for public use or distribution.

The information contained in the Document is not investment, tax, accounting or legal advice and does not take into consideration the investment objectives, financial situation or particular needs of the recipient. Investing entails certain risks, including the possible loss of the entire principal amount invested. The recipient of this Document should seek its own financial, tax, accounting and legal advice in connection with any proposed investment.

 

The Document is strictly confidential and is only intended for the intended recipient(s) and must not be forwarded by such intended recipient to anyone else. It must not be copied, reproduced or distributed in whole or in part at any time. The Document may contain proprietary information and any further confidential information made available to the recipient must be held in complete confidence and documents containing such information may not be reproduced, used or disclosed without the prior written consent of Impax.

The Document is not intended to be distributed in any jurisdiction where such distribution is not permitted by the local law.

 

Fund Name SRI Style SDR Labelling Product Region Asset Type Launch Date Last Amended

Impax Environmental Markets (Ireland) Fund

Environmental Style Not eligible to use label SICAV/Offshore Global Equity 09/12/2004 Aug 2023

Objectives

The Impax Environmental Markets (Ireland) Fund seeks to achieve sustainable, above market returns over the longer term by investing globally in companies that are developing innovative solutions to resource challenges in environmental markets. These markets address a number of long term macro-economic themes: growing populations, rising living standards, increasing urbanization, rising consumption, and depletion of limited natural resources.

 

Investments are made in “pure play” small and mid-cap companies which have >50% of their underlying revenue generated by sales of products or services in the energy efficiency, renewable energy, water, waste and sustainable food and agriculture markets.

Fund Size: £448.48m

(as at: 31/12/2024)

Total Screened Themed SRI Assets: £39717.00m

(as at: 30/06/2023)

Total Assets Under Management: £39717.00m

(as at: 30/06/2023)

ISIN: IE00B04R3307, IE00BZ1LW551, IE00BYQNSD98, IE00BJKWYN92, IE00BJKWYP17, IE00BJKWYQ24, IE00BJKWYR31

Contact Us: clientservices@impaxam.com

Sustainable, Responsible &/or ESG Overview

Please note: This fund is soft closed and is not currently available to new investors. Existing investors may continue to invest in the fund.

Awaiting update from fund manager (July 2024)

Impax Asset Management is solely focused on investing in the transition to a more sustainable global economy. Impax's listed equity strategies seek out mispriced companies that are set to benefit from the long-term trends of rising global populations and wealth, changing demographics, urbanisation, increasing consumption, and the resultant increases in resource demand.

 

Impax aspires to best practices across all aspects of the management of its listed and private equity investments. Environmental, Social and Governance (“ESG”) considerations are embedded within our rigorous ten step investment process for listed equities. Failure by a company to reach the required ESG score will prevent our investment

Primary fund last amended: Aug 2023

Information received directly from Fund Manager

Please select what you would like to read:

Fund Filters

Sustainability - General
Sustainability policy

Funds that have 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 fund information.

Sustainability focus

Find funds which substantially focus on sustainability issues

Sustainable transport policy or theme

Find funds that have documented policies or thematic investment approaches relating to 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. See fund information for further detail.

Encourage more sustainable practices through stewardship

A core element of these funds aim to encourage higher sustainability standards across business practices through responsible ownership / stewardship / engagement / voting activity

UN Global Compact linked exclusion policy

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

Transition focus

The delivery of the shift to a sustainable future is a core feature of this fund and its investment strategy. See eg https://www.transitionpathwayinitiative.org/

Report against sustainability objectives

Find funds that publicly report their performance against specifically named sustainability objectives (in addition to reporting their financial performance)

Circular economy theme

Fund has a theme or investment strand focused on the shift to a circular economy (where products are reused and recycled not incinerated or dumped). See eg https://www.ellenmacarthurfoundation.org/topics/circular-economy-introduction/overview

Environmental - General
Environmental policy

Funds that have policies which relate to environmental issues. These will typically set out the fund's stance on issues such as pollution, climate change, resource management, biodiversity loss, carbon emissions, plastics and/or additional environmental impacts. Strategies vary. See fund information for further information.

Resource efficiency policy or theme

Find funds that have a policy or theme that relates to managing natural resources more efficiently. Funds with this policy will be likely to favour companies that make (or enable the) more efficient use of resources - and either avoid or encourage change amongst companies with lower standards. Strategies vary. See fund information for further detail.

Favours cleaner, greener companies

Funds that aim to invest in companies with strong or market leading environmental policies and practices. Strategies vary - in particular the balance between 'financial' aspects and environmental benefits. Some may invest substantially in solutions or 'positive impact' companies - others may invest in more conventional companies providing certain environmental criteria are met. See fund information for further detail.

Waste management policy or theme

Find funds that have a written policy or theme on waste management - typically a view to encouraging higher levels of recycling and better efficiency / reducing waste.

Nature & Biodiversity
Biodiversity / nature policy

Find funds that have a written biodiversity policy or theme aimed at encouraging and improving environmental protection and safeguarding the natural world (sometimes referred to as the preservation or enhancement of 'natural capital'). See eg https://www.un.org/en/climatechange/science/climate-issues/biodiversity

Nature / biodiversity based solutions theme

A significant focus on investments that aim to protect, improve and, or restore natural habitat.

Nature / biodiversity focus

Fund has a significant focus or emphasis on investment in nature and biodiversity related opportunities

Deforestation / palm oil policy

Find funds that have policies in place designed to ensure they do not invest in companies that are significantly involved in deforestation. This typically relates to palm oil plantations where biodiversity loss is a major concern (as well as other issues). Strategies vary. See fund information for further detail.

Avoids genetically modified seeds/crop production

Find funds that aim to avoid investing in companies that produce genetically modified seeds or crops. (This does not typically include avoiding companies such as supermarkets). See fund literature for further information.

Climate Change & Energy
Climate change / greenhouse gas emissions policy

Funds that have 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. Read fund details for further information.

Coal, oil & / or gas majors excluded

Funds that avoid investing in major coal, oil and/or gas (extraction) companies. Funds vary: some may exclude all companies that extract oil. Others may have exposure to oil extraction via more diversified energy companies. See fund literature to confirm details.

Fracking and tar sands excluded

Funds that avoid companies involved in fracking and tar sands - which are widely regarded as controversial methods of oil and gas extraction. Strategies vary. See fund information for further information.

Arctic drilling exclusion

Funds that avoid companies that are involved in extracting oil from the Arctic regions. See fund literature for further details.

Fossil fuel reserves exclusion

Funds that avoid investing in companies with coal, oil and gas reserves. See fund information for further details.

Clean / renewable energy theme or focus

Find funds where investment in clean / renewable energy companies an other assets is central to their investment selection strategy. The proportion of the fund that is directly or indirectly invested in renewable energy varies between funds and over time. See fund information for further details.

Encourage transition to low carbon through stewardship activity

A core element of these funds will aim to encourage the transition to lower carbon activities through responsible ownership / stewardship / engagement / voting activity

Energy efficiency theme

Fund funds that have an energy efficiency theme - typically meaning that a fund manager is focused on investing in organisations that manage - or help others to manage - energy use more carefully and less wastefully - and so reduce greenhouse gas emissions.

Invests in clean energy / renewables

Funds that hold companies in the clean energy and renewable energy sectors (at the time research was supplied). Fund strategies vary, in particular the proportion of investment in these areas may vary significantly. Check fund literature for details.

Nuclear exclusion policy

Find funds that have policies which say they avoid or limit their investment in the nuclear industry. Strategies vary. See fund information for further detail.

Fossil fuel exploration exclusion - direct involvement

The fund manager excludes companies with direct involvement in fossil fuel exploration (eg coal, oil and gas companies)

Paris aligned fund strategy

This fund has a strategy that aims ensure its holdings will gradually reduce their greenhouse gas emissions in line with targets set at COP21 in Paris. The ultimate aim is to achieve ‘net zero emissions by 2050’ and a ‘maximum global temperature increase of +1.5 to +2 degrees above preindustrial levels’. Strategies and opinions vary. Read fund information.

Require net zero action plan from all/most companies

Find funds that require all, or almost all, of the companies it invests in to have a ‘net zero action plan’ - meaning that the companies they invest in have worked out how they will, over time, reduce their total carbon (and other greenhouse gas) emissions to nil.

TCFD reporting requirement (Becoming IFRS)

Will only invest in companies that report greenhouse gas emissions reduction strategies in line with the framework set out the by the Taskforce for Climate Related Financial Disclosure, which is increasingly becoming mandatory. See https://www.fsb-tcfd.org/ https ://www.ifrs.org/sustainability/tcfd/

Social / Employment
Social policy

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

Favours companies with strong social policies

Find funds that invest in line with positive strategies that relate to 'people' issues - such as having strong human rights, labour standards and equal opportunities practices. Such funds are likely to invest in companies that have market leading standards with regard to employee and supplier practices. Read fund literature for further information.

Ethical Values Led Exclusions
Tobacco and related product manufacturers excluded

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.

Armaments manufacturers avoided

Find funds that avoid companies that manufacture products intended specifically for military use. Fund strategies vary - particularly with regard to non-strategic military products. See fund literature for fund specific details.

Pornography avoidance policy

Find funds that avoid companies that derive significant income from pornography and related areas. Strategies vary. See fund details for further information.

Animal welfare policy

Find funds with policies that require specific animal welfare standards to be met. These may reference well-known welfare standards (3Rs - Replace, Reduce, Refine) or certification schemes. Strategies vary. See fund information for further detail.

Animal testing - excluded except if for medical purposes

Find funds that avoid companies that test their products on animals for purposes other than medical benefit (e.g. for cosmetics). Strategies vary. See fund literature for further information.

Human Rights
Human rights policy

Find funds that have policies relating to human rights issues. Funds of this kind typically require companies to demonstrate higher standards, although some fund managers work to encourage improvements. Investee companies are often judged against internationally agreed norms or standards. Strategies vary. See fund information for further detail.

Child labour exclusion

Find funds that have policies in place to ensure they do not invest in companies that employ children.

Oppressive regimes (not free or democratic) exclusion policy

Find funds with policies that exclude companies or other assets where regimes are not democratic, or where people may be oppressed. May use eg. Freedom House research. Strategies vary. See fund literature for further information.

Responsible supply chain policy or theme

Find funds that have 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. See fund literature for further information.

Modern slavery exclusion policy

The fund has a policy which excludes assets with involvement in Modern Slavery

Meeting Peoples' Basic Needs
Responsible food production or agriculture theme

Fund has a responsible food production or agriculture theme or strand of investment. Funds may have a single theme or many themes. See fund information.

Governance & Management
Governance policy

Find fund options that have 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. See fund literature for further information.

Avoids companies with poor governance

Find funds that aim to avoid 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. See fund literature for further information.

UN sanctions exclusion

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

Anti-bribery and corruption policy

Find funds that have 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. See fund literature for further information.

Digital / cyber security policy

Find funds that have policies explaining how the fund managers take into account digital/cyber security related risks. Funds with cyber policies will typically favour companies with higher standards or that are helping to solve problems - but strategies vary. See fund literature for further information.

Encourage board diversity e.g. gender

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

Encourage TCFD alignment for banks & insurance companies

Find fund managers that encourage the banks and insurance companies they invest in to publish climate change related financial information - as set out by the Task Force on Climate Related Financial Disclosures (with the aim of helping investors measure and respond to climate risk).

Encourage higher ESG standards through stewardship activity

A core element of these funds will aim to encourage higher ESG standards through responsible ownership / stewardship / engagement /voting activity

Fund Governance
ESG integration strategy

Find funds 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.

Asset Size
Over 50% small / mid cap companies

Find funds where more than half of the funds' assets are invested in smaller or medium sized companies (i.e. below around £5 -10 billion).

Invests in small, mid and large cap companies / assets

Find a fund that invests in a combination of small, medium and larger (potentially multinational)companies.

Targeted Positive Investments
Invests >25% of fund in environmental/social solutions companies

Find funds that invest >25% of their capital towards companies where a major part of their business is focused on helping to address environmental or social challenges.

Invests >50% of fund in environmental/social solutions companies

Find funds that invest >50% of their capital in companies where a major part of their business is focused on helping to address environmental or social challenges.

EU Sustainable Finance Taxonomy holdings 5-25% of fund assets

Find funds that have calculated the proportion of fund asset that meet the new EU Taxonomy requirements and that they total 5-25% of assets. This will typically require adding up the proportion of each individual company's activity that is regarded as 'green' so that the fund manager can produce an overall total for the whole fund / portfolio.

Impact Methodologies
Measures positive impacts

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

Positive environmental impact theme

Find funds that specifically set out to help deliver positive environmental impacts, benefits or 'real world' outcomes.

Invests in environmental solutions companies

Find funds that direct investment towards companies where a major part of their business is about solving environmental challenges. e.g. companies helping to address climate change.

Invests in sustainability / ESG disruptors

Find funds that specifically set 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.

Aim to deliver positive impacts through engagement

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

Over 50% in assets providing environmental or social ‘solutions’

50% of fund assets are regarded by the fund manager as being significantly focused on providing solutions to environmental or social challenges. Strategies vary.

How The Fund Works
Positive selection bias

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

Significant harm exclusion

Aims to avoid companies that do significant harm. This originates from the EU’s sustainable finance ‘DNSH’ (do no significant harm) work, which is not necessarily used by UK investors.

Assets mapped to SDGs

Find funds that have 'mapped' (reviewed) their investment selection and management strategies to identify which of the UN Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) the fund is helping to address.

Combines norms based exclusions with other SRI criteria

Find funds that make significant use of internationally agreed 'norms' (e.g. United Nations Global Compact - UNGC - or the UN Sustainable Development Goals - SDGs) as part of their investment selection process alongside additional SRI criteria such as positive or negative stock selection policies and/or stewardship strategies.

Combines ESG strategy with other SRI criteria

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

Focus on ESG risk mitigation

A major focus of these funds is 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).

SRI / ESG / Ethical policies explained on website

Find funds that have published explanations of their ethical, social and/or environmental policies online (i.e. fund decision making strategies/ buy/sell &/or asset management strategies).

Unscreened Assets & Cash
All assets (except cash) meet published sustainability criteria

All assets held in the fund - except cash - meet the sustainability criteria published in fund documentation.

Intended Clients & Product Options
Intended for investors interested in sustainability

Finds funds designed to meet the needs of individual investors with an interest in sustainability issues.

Available via an ISA (OEIC only)

Find funds that are available via a tax efficient ISA product wrapper.

Labels & Accreditations
SFDR Article 9 fund / product (EU)

Finds funds classified under Article 9 of the EU’s SFDR (Sustainable Finance Disclosure Requirements). Article 9 of the SFDR applies to financial products that have sustainable investment 'objectives' - including emissions reduction objectives. (These may currently be referred to as 'impact' funds or aiming to deliver clear, specific positive outcomes.) These rules do not currently apply in the UK so fund managers may leave this field blank.

Fund Management Company Information

About The Business
Boutique / specialist fund management company

Find fund management companies that are smaller or specialise in particular areas - notably, ideally ESG related. Strategies vary.

Specialist positive impact fund management company

Find fund management companies (or subsidiaries) that specialise in - or focus entirely on - investing in assets that are helping to deliver positive environmental and / or social impacts.

Responsible ownership / stewardship policy or strategy (AFM company wide)

Finds fund 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.

ESG / SRI engagement (AFM company wide)

Find fund 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.

Vote all* shares at AGMs / EGMs (AFM company wide)

Find fund 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.)

Responsible ownership / ESG a key differentiator (AFM company wide)

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

Senior management KPIs include environmental goals (AFM company wide)

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

Integrates ESG factors into all / most (AFM) fund research

Find fund 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.

In-house diversity improvement programme (AFM company wide)

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.

Diversity, equality & inclusion engagement policy (AFM company wide)

Find fund 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).

Invests in new sustainability linked bond issuances (AFM company wide)

Asset management company has investments in bonds designed to meet sustainability requirements - however these assets may not be 'ringfenced' for this purpose. See fund manager website for details.

Collaborations & Affiliations
PRI signatory

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

UKSIF member

Find fund management companies that are members of UKSIF - the UK Sustainable Investment and Finance association

TNFD forum member (AFM company wide)

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

Investment Association (IA) member

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

Resources
In-house responsible ownership / voting expertise

Find fund 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.

Employ specialist ESG / SRI / sustainability researchers

Find a fund 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.

Use specialist ESG / SRI / sustainability research companies

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

ESG specialists on all investment desks (AFM company wide)

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

Accreditations
PRI A+ rated (AFM company wide)

Finds organisations / fund managers that have an A+ PRI rating - meaning they are highly rated according to the 'Principles of Responsible Investment'

UK Stewardship Code signatory (AFM company wide)

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

Engagement Approach
Regularly lead collaborative ESG initiatives (AFM company wide)

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

Encourage responsible corporate taxation (AFM company wide)

Find fund management companies that are working with the companies they invest in to encourage more responsible corporate taxation.

Engaging on climate change issues

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

Engaging with fossil fuel companies on climate change

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.

Engaging to reduce plastics pollution / waste

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

Engaging on biodiversity / nature issues

The 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

Engaging to encourage a Just Transition

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/

Engaging on human rights issues

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

Engaging on labour / employment issues

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)

Engaging on diversity, equality and / or inclusion issues

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

Engaging on governance issues

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

Engaging on mental health issues

Asset manager has stewardship strategy in place which involves discussing mental health issues with investee companies - with the aim of raising standards

Engaging on responsible supply chain issues

Has a stewardship / responsible ownership strategy that encourages responsible supply chain - ie the managers will discuss environmental, social and governance issues with investee companies with the aim of raising standards

Company Wide Exclusions
Controversial weapons avoidance policy (AFM company wide)

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

Review(ing) carbon / fossil fuel exposure for all funds (AFM company wide)

Find funds / fund 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.)

Climate & Net Zero Transition
Net Zero commitment (AFM company wide)

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

Voting policy includes net zero targets (AFM company wide)

Fund manager AGM / EGM voting strategy has processes in place that mean they will normally be expected to vote in a way that will encourage the transition to net zero greenhouse gas emissions.

Net Zero - have set a Net Zero target date (AFM company wide)

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

Encourage carbon / greenhouse gas reduction (AFM company wide)

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

Carbon transition plan published (AFM company wide)

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.

‘Forward Looking Climate Metrics’ published / ITR (AFM company wide)

Finds organisations / fund managers that have published ‘forward looking climate metrics’ e.g. 'implied temperature rise' data that are a total of the asset management company's share (% owned) of all the investee company emissions of the assets they manage, as well as their own direct and other indirect emissions.

Carbon offsetting – do NOT offset carbon as part of net zero plan (AFM company wide)

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

In-house carbon / GHG reduction policy (AFM company wide)

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

Working towards a ‘Net Zero’ commitment (AFM company wide)

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'.

Transparency
Publish responsible ownership / stewardship report (AFM company wide)

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

Full SRI / responsible ownership policy information on company website

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

Publish full voting record (AFM company wide)

Fund 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.

Paris Alignment plan publicly available (AFM company wide)

This asset management company has published a plan that explains how they will align to the climate change commitments made at the Paris Climate Talks, COP21.

Net Zero transition plan publicly available (AFM company wide)

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

Dialshifter statement

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

Sustainable, Responsible &/or ESG Policy:

All of Impax Asset Managements’ investments are aligned to the transition to a more sustainable economy. Activities with lower sustainability risks and higher opportunities are set to benefit from a transition to a more sustainable, low-carbon economy and are well positioned for the long-term. They are less at risk of disruption from new technologies, changing consumer preferences or legislation. These well-positioned areas of the economy are sought and prioritised for investment across the Manager’s listed investment strategies.

 

ESG-analysis is an integral part of the Manager’s investment process. All investee companies must meet financial and environmental, social and governance (“ESG”) criteria before entering the Fund’s universe of investable companies. The investment team members of the Investment Manager are responsible for integrating ESG analysis into the investment process. Through screening, the Investment Manager intends to avoid companies involved in significant controversies that violate global norms related to human rights, labour, environment and corruption, and through ESG analysis, the Investment Manager conducts a detailed, proprietary ESG analysis of new investee companies considered for the investable universe and reviews the ESG analysis on a periodic basis.

 

Stewardship through active ESG engagement and proxy voting are important parts of the investment process. They enable monitoring of the investee companies more effectively and aim at further enhancing the structures, processes and disclosures of the companies. Impax Asset Management takes into account relevant regulations when considering the approach to sustainability and ESG, especially as it relates to reporting and disclosures.

 

Further details on how sustainability risks are integrated into the investment decision making process for the Fund are provided in the Investment Manager’s ESG Policy, available on the Investment Manager’s website at www.impaxam.com.

 

The full ESG Sub-Policy can be found on the Investment Manager’s website impax-esg-sub-policy.pdf (impaxam.com)

Process:

1.Idea generation – identifying interesting companies

Impax’s thematic environmental market strategies invest in companies that provide solutions to environmental and resource challenges. Inclusion in the Impax Environmental Markets Universe is contingent upon the resource efficiency and environmental markets business typically having >50% of group revenue, profitability or invested capital. Ideas are sourced from an investment universe that captures the following broad themes: Energy (Alternative Energy/Energy Management & Efficiency) | Clean and Efficient Transport | Sustainable Food | Water (Infrastructure & Technologies) | Circular Economy (Resource Efficiency & Waste Management) | Smart Environment (Environmental Services & Resources and Digital Infrastructure). 

 

 

2.ESG-analysis.

Impax conducts a detailed, proprietary ESG-analysis of new companies considered for the investable universe and review the ESG-analysis on a periodic basis. IAM considers five main pillars within its ESG analysis:

  • Governance: Impax analyses companies’ governance structures, taking into account common and best practice in the areas of board structure, compensation, shareholder rights, internal controls and governance of sustainability.

 

  • Material Environmental, Social, and Other Risks: Impax analyses companies’ and issuers’ environmental and social policies, processes and disclosures, identifying the most material risks. Materiality is defined as the sustainability issues or risks that may most materially disrupt a company’s operations through financial, physical, or reputational loss or disruption. These risks can include: Resource use and dependencies, biodiversity risks, waste and pollution externalities, health and safety, supply chain complexities, and product liabilities including cyber risks and data privacy. Impax seeks investments in companies or issuers that have addressed the material risks with robust policies, processes, management systems and incentives that are scaled appropriately to the importance of the risk.

 

  • Climate Change: Climate change is a systemic issue for all companies and this pillar assesses the preparedness, management, target-setting, performance and disclosures by companies in terms of both climate transition risks and physical climate risks.

 

  • Human Capital Management and Equity (Equality), Diversity & Inclusion (E, D&I): Human capital and E, D&I are systemic and critical issues for all companies. This pillar assesses the management, target-setting, performance and disclosures by companies for aspects of diversity in leadership (gender, racial/ethnic diversity in board and management teams), workplace equity (hiring/retention efforts, goals, targets, disclosures), and human capital (talent pipeline, compensation/benefits and employee engagement).

 

  • Controversies: This includes analysis of companies’ past and on-going controversies, seeking strong processes and management systems to address and avoid any repeat events. Analysis includes types of controversies or incidents (repeats, reputational, financial, operational), severity (widespread, systematic, isolated incident), and timeframe and status of issues (ongoing, closed, company has responded or addressed). Company disclosures and reports are analysed by Impax, with external ESG-research as input and support in the analysis.

 

When all the data is gathered, an ESG report is written, and the company is assigned a proprietary ESG-score. Impax does not seek to exclude a certain number or percentage of companies, but rather seeks an absolute level of ESG-quality. Where this is not achieved, a company is excluded from the investable universe.

 

ESG scoring

Upon completion of analysis, an ESG report is submitted and a proprietary ESG score assigned by members of the Sustainability & Stewardship team. Ultimately, all companies must be approved on both a financial and an ESG basis before being added to the investable universe as part of Impax’s research and approval process.

The five pillars (corporate governance, material environmental, social, and other risks, climate, human capital/E,D&I, and controversies) are each scored based on tiering of performance, management and disclosures. Each of the five pillars, including sub-pillars, have guidance documents describing what represents best practice from first tier down to the lowest tier. The pillar weights are adjusted where relevant for materiality.

 

Based on the five pillar scores, companies are assigned an overall rating: Excellent, Good, Average, Fair and Excluded. The Impax ESG scoring system is “absolute” (not a sector best-in-class approach) and is intended to enable a comparison of company ESG quality across countries, sectors, company sizes, etc.

 

Companies categorised as ‘Excluded’ are not eligible for investment, while those categorized as ‘Fair’ have a cap for the maximum allowed weighting within portfolios, for risk management purposes. Impax does not seek to exclude a certain number or percentage of companies, but rather seeks an absolute level of ESG-quality in companies/issuers eligible for investment (the “A-list” for active listed equities). An improving ESG rating trajectory can give the investment team and portfolio managers further conviction in a company.

 

Stewardship and engagement

All portfolio managers and analysts are involved in engagement activities and Impax’s Investment Committee has a standing “ESG and Engagement” agenda item to continuously inform and discuss engagement issues across the investment teams.

 

Engagements are conducted as part of regular meetings with company management teams, or through additional conference calls, meetings, email exchanges, or as part of joint communications with the investment community. Engagements are also regularly conducted together with other investors and partners with or without a lead or coordination from expert organisations. Collaborative engagements are conducted across several ESG issues, specific sectors and companies and can be prioritised where outreach may particularly benefit from a larger group of shareholder involvement or in cases where an issue is being escalated. Impax also conducts public policy advocacy, engaging with public policymakers.

 

Where material concerns or anomalies at an investee company are identified, Impax will intervene to mitigate risks and preserve shareholder value. The investee company management team is immediately contacted and, where possible, members of the company board.

 

If the investee company is unresponsive to engagement or unwilling to consider alternative, less risky options, Impax will escalate the dialogue by:

  • Seeking alternative or more senior contacts within the company
  • Intervening or engaging together with other shareholders
  • Intervening or engaging together with other institutions or organisations (multi-stakeholder)
  • Highlighting the issue and/or joint engaging regarding the issue through institutional platforms
  • Filing or co-filing resolutions at General Meetings

           

If interventions are unsuccessful and Impax considers that the risk profile of the company has significantly deteriorated or company strategy/governance structures have altered because of an incident, to a degree where the return outlook and the company’s strategy and quality no longer meet expectations, the company would be excluded from the investable universe and/or sold.

 

Impax seeks to follow up on previous engagements after six months to one year, depending on the nature of the issue and situational context (e.g., reporting cycles). While some engagements may be one-off, as investee companies’ ESG processes mature over time, engagement series often continue over years.

 

Resources, Affiliations & Corporate Strategies:

Impax's most valuable research is generated internally, with external research being used to challenge assumptions and conclusions made by the investment team. Much of Impax’s research, especially top-down, global macroeconomic views and analysis is shared across investment teams and used firm-wide. This includes views on changes in credit markets, government and consumer spending, policy announcements, industrial production and commodity prices, sector and industry dynamics, technological disruptions, and similar themes. Impax strives to maintain its competitive advantage by continuing to invest in its personnel and research resources, and by staying ahead of dynamic technology and regulatory changes.

External data is sourced from a variety of sources including sell side research, Bloomberg, MSCI, Sustainalytics, Glass Lewis, industry publications, databases, conferences, industry contacts, etc. Impax uses external research and service providers as an input to its ESG analysis. Impax has developed its own proprietary methodology for analysing and scoring companies on ESG quality and does not rely on external ESG ratings.

With regards to external ESG research, there is a general concern of the opaqueness of methodologies and that data is increasingly coming through “automated data gathering”, thereby reducing its value. Impax also has concerns about the method of using sector-level materiality analysis as in many cases material risks are company specific. Impax’s own proprietary analysis and scoring methodology is relevant and appropriate for the types of companies in which it invests.

External research and data are used when monitoring investee companies’ behaviour and controversies, as well as for norms-based screening. This relates both to normative controversies, such as human rights breaches and more common controversies, such as litigation or labour relations. Impax also uses external research providers’ data to monitor any potential controversial activities, such as revenue exposure to controversial weapons, fossil fuels or tobacco. Impax reviews external ESG research providers on an annual basis, to understand any changes to research methodologies, and to understand areas of priority for the research providers.

 

ESG research resources:

Impax has a dedicated team of Sustainability and Stewardship analysts, led by Lisa Beauvilain.

 

Fully integrated within the global investment team, the 12-strong Sustainability & Stewardship team is responsible for leadership and oversight of sustainability research, thematic universes, and proprietary tools, fundamental and systematic ESG analysis, ESG policies, and stewardship including proxy voting and company engagement.

 

The team’s key responsibilities include:

  • Sustainability research for Impax’s proprietary tools and frameworks including the Impax Sustainability Lens and Gender Lens, Impax’s thematic universes, and the Impax Systematic ESG Rating
  • Development of methodologies, such as the proprietary ESG 2.0 analysis, and oversight, peer-review and scoring of security-level ESG analysis in the investment team
  • Stewardship including proxy voting and company engagement – including coordination of focus engagement areas and external collaboration
  • Development and implementation of policies such as Biodiversity and Nature Policy and Proxy Voting Guidelines
  • Lead on sustainability methodologies, measurement, and metrics, including for impact, client and regulatory reporting as part of Impax’s ‘Beyond Financial Returns’ (BFR) working group
  • Continuous further development of sustainability and stewardship approaches and methodologies, and training and development on sustainability and stewardship topics

 

For each prospective and current investment holding, the respective lead analyst from the broader investment team completes the proprietary 10-Step analysis which includes the in-depth ESG analysis. This is accompanied by oversight, review and approval of the scoring by the Sustainability & Stewardship Team to ensure consistency across sectors and companies.

 

All portfolio managers and analysts conduct proprietary in-house ESG analysis under the supervision of the Head of Sustainability & ESG, an experienced member of the investment team dedicated to ESG research. Impax has the following team members: Lisa Beauvilain, Head of Sustainability & ESG and Miriam Benarey-Meisel, Sustainability & ESG Analyst.

 

Company ESG characteristics are continually discussed between team members and ESG is a standing item on the weekly Investment Committee agenda. Importantly, while the respective stock’s analyst is informing and leading the ESG analysis and discussion around ESG outcomes, outstanding questions and concerns are continuously discussed with the portfolio managers and Head of Sustainability & ESG. Ultimately, all companies have to be approved by the Investment Committee on both a financial and an ESG basis as part of Impax’s research and approval process.

 

ESG Training

Impax strives to maintain its competitive advantage by continuing to invest in its personnel and research resources. The Head of Sustainability & ESG leads the continual development and training of the Firm’s investment team on ESG competency and training includes emerging risk factors such as cyber risk, plastic exposures or general ESG topics such as the long-lasting value destruction from fraud, shareholder structure and oversized influence, management turnover, and the importance of management attitude during engagement. All new analysts are trained on, and dedicate time to, ESG analysis alongside financial analysis. The team is seasoned, collegial and multi-disciplinary in nature and brings a range of ESG training and experience.

 

Impax works on ESG engagement collaborations with clients, partners, and industry organisations to promote sustainable investing and ESG considerations across the globe. Impax is proud to be a part of:

  • 2001- UK Sustainable Investment and Finance Association (“UKSIF”)
  • 2003 - NH Businesses for Social Responsibility
  • 2007 - Interfaith Centre on Corporate Responsibility (ICCR)
  • 2007 - CERES
  • 2008 - Institutional Investors Group on Climate Change (IIGCC)
  • 2008- Principles for Responsible Investment (‘PRI’)
  • 2009 – Carbon Disclosure Project
  • 2009 - Investor Network on Climate Risk (INCR)
  • 2010 - UK Stewardship Code
  • 2011 - Thirty Percent Coalition
  • 2011 - Silicon Valley Toxics Coalition (SVTC)
  • 2012 - Access to Nutrition Index
  • 2013 - Investor Environmental Health Network (IEHN)
  • 2013 - Sustainable Stock Exchanges Initiative (PRI)
  • 2014 - World Resources Institute
  • 2015 – Global impact Investor Network (GIIN)
  • 2016 - Shareholder Rights Group
  • 2016 - Access to Medicine Index
  • 2016 – FAIRR
  • 2017 - Task Force on Climate-related Financial Disclosures (TCFD)
  • 2018 – Council of Institutional Investors (CII)
  • 2019 – Impact in Listed Equities working group (GIIN)
  • 2019 – Just Transition
  • 2019 – Northeast Investors Diversity Initiative
  • 2019 – Asian Corporate Governance association (ACGA)
  • 2019 – Plastic Solutions Investor Alliance (As You Sow)
  • 2020- Confederation of British Industry (CBI)
  • 2020 – PRI EU Taxonomy Practitioners Group
  • 2020 – Climate Financial Risk Forum (CFRF)
  • 2020 – Energy Transitions Commission (ETC)
  • 2020 – Finance to Accelerate the Sustainable Transition-Infrastructure (FAST-Infra)
  • 2020 - Taskforce for Nature-related Financial Disclosure (TNFD)
  • 2021 - Net Zero Asset Managers Initiative (“NZAM”)
  • 2022 - Natural Capital Investment Alliance (“NCIA”)
  • 2023 – The Investment and Saving Alliance (‘TISA’)
  • 2023 - Women's Empowerment Principles

           

  • Investment Association
  • Forum for Sustainable and Responsible Investment (“USSIF”)
  • PRI Financial Institutions Commitment to Tackle Deforestation
  • PRI Global Policy Reference Group

 

 

Dialshifter (Fund)

Our organisation is helping to support the Paris Climate Agreement and the Race to Net Zero by…

As an asset manager, Impax supports meeting the goals of the Paris Agreement by:

  • Pricing climate risk accurately: adjusting portfolios, screening-out fossil-fuel investments and using tools to minimize exposure to transition risks
  • Engaging carbon-intensive companies: identifying priority sectors/companies and engaging on detail of transition plans
  • Investing in climate solutions: generally calculated as a share of AUM, linked to definitions of green/taxonomies, with avoided emissions as a key metric of impact

Impax focuses particularly on investing in climate solutions. As a signatory of the Net Zero Asset Managers Initiative, we support the goal of net-zero emissions by 2050 or sooner.

SDR Labelling:

Not eligible to use label

Voting Record

Disclaimer

Disclaimer

This document (the “Document”) contains information that has been provided at the specific request of the intended recipient and is for discussion purposes only. This Document has been issued by Impax Asset Management (“Impax”) which means one of the following entities depending on the location of the recipient:

  • For recipients based outside the European Economic Area (the “EEA”): Impax Asset Management Limited (FRN 197008) and/or Impax Asset Management (AIFM) Limited (FRN 613534) which are authorised and regulated by the Financial Conduct Authority.
  • For recipients based inside the EEA: Impax Asset Management Ireland Limited which is authorised and regulated by the Central Bank of Ireland.

The information and any opinions contained in this Document have been compiled in good faith, but no representation or warranty, express or implied, is made to their accuracy, completeness or correctness. Impax, its officers, employees, representatives and agents expressly advise that they shall not be liable in any respect whatsoever for any loss or damage, whether direct, indirect, consequential or otherwise however arising (whether in negligence or otherwise) out of or in connection with the contents of or any omissions from this Document. The information in the Document has not been independently verified and is subject at all times to the conditions, caveats and limitations described in the Document. All opinions, projections and estimates constitute the judgment of Impax as of the date of the Document and are subject to change without notice.

 

This Document does not constitute an offer to sell, purchase, subscribe for or otherwise invest in units or shares of any fund managed by Impax. It may not be relied upon as constituting any form of investment advice and prospective investors are advised to ensure that they obtain appropriate independent professional advice before making any investment. This information is in no way indicative of how the strategy will perform and is not intended as a statement as to the likelihood of Impax achieving particular results in the future. Past performance of a strategy is no guarantee as to its performance in the future. This Document is not an advertisement and is not intended for public use or distribution.

The information contained in the Document is not investment, tax, accounting or legal advice and does not take into consideration the investment objectives, financial situation or particular needs of the recipient. Investing entails certain risks, including the possible loss of the entire principal amount invested. The recipient of this Document should seek its own financial, tax, accounting and legal advice in connection with any proposed investment.

 

The Document is strictly confidential and is only intended for the intended recipient(s) and must not be forwarded by such intended recipient to anyone else. It must not be copied, reproduced or distributed in whole or in part at any time. The Document may contain proprietary information and any further confidential information made available to the recipient must be held in complete confidence and documents containing such information may not be reproduced, used or disclosed without the prior written consent of Impax.

The Document is not intended to be distributed in any jurisdiction where such distribution is not permitted by the local law.