(3BL Media/Justmeans) – Impact investing now accounts for about $150 billion of assets under management and is doubling approximately every two years. This increased scale has moved impact investing beyond a niche practice confined to the activities of foundations and philanthropists, to a broader range of asset classes and a wider group of investors than ever before.
WHEB Asset Management has now reported the positive social and environmental impacts of the FP WHEB Sustainability Fund in conjunction with financial return. The report details how all the fund’s investments directly support the attainment of seven of the UN’s Sustainable Development Goals.
This includes 35 percent of the fund invested in companies that help to Ensure Healthy Lives and Promote Well-being (Goal 3). A further 15 percent is invested in companies providing Access to Affordable, Reliable, Sustainable and Modern Energy for All (Goal 7).
The report provides an absolute measure of positive environmental impact from investing in the FP WHEB Sustainability Fund. For every £1 million invested in the Fund in 2016, 1,200 MWh of renewable energy was generated; 1,600 tons of CO2 was avoided; 1.6 million liters of waste water was treated; 30 million liters of drinking water was provided; and, 140 tons of waste material was recycled or recovered.
In addition to the avoided CO2 emissions, the Fund’s structure and stock selection process ensure that scope 1 and 2 carbon emissions are 45 percent lower than the MSCI World benchmark. During 2016, WHEB engaged with 70 percent of the companies held in the fund and judged 58 percent of these engagements to be either successful or partially successful.
During 2016, WHEB received several awards, ratings and certifications. Prominent among these was the Sustainable Finance Award that it received from the City of London’s Sustainability Awards Program. The company also won the award for Best Sustainability Fund from Investment Week in 2016.
Alongside these awards, the Fund has retained its five-star rating with 3D Investing and is listed for the third year on the ImpactBase database of impact investment funds. WHEB also secured top ratings in the annual assessment of the UN’s Principles for Responsible Investment (UN-PRI) and from the UK’s Financial Reporting Council in their assessment of firms’ Stewardship Code responses.
Source: WHEB
Image Credit: 3BL Media
This post was originally published on Justmeans.com
Visit the Invest With Values - Resource Directory to access leading investor information, opportunities, organizations, events, groups and tools.