Sustainable investment report Q4 2023

Andy Howard, Schroders Global Head of Sustainable Investment:

In the fourth quarter report we share insights from our roundtable discussions with FTSE 350 board directors, and our conversations bringing investees and clients together to discuss supply chain living wages. At Schroders, our commitment to active ownership does not end with our Active Ownership Team. This quarter, we highlight three examples of engagements undertaken by our equity and credit teams. We also look at how active ownership works in practice when investing in infrastructure assets.

In the same quarter as COP28, the energy transition remained at the top of our research agenda. Our research looks to an alternative energy source, lithium, to understand whether the benefits of lithium’s use in electric vehicle batteries and energy storage outweigh the upstream negative externalities, or vice versa. We also look at the practical implications of the energy transition and rapid electrification to come, proposing solutions for the congested grid.

As the world grapples with the urgent need to address climate change, pension funds will be close to the epicentre of the disruptions that will stem from decarbonisation efforts. However, we explain in our investor’s guide to decarbonisation they have an opportunity to tackle the implications proactively.

Finally, we look at the challenges of reporting sustainability data for infrastructure debt, and look forward to enhanced disclosures as a result of the Corporate Sustainability Reporting Directive (CSRD).

Read the full report here