BNP Paribas Asset Management (BNPP AM) announced today the release of its new Global Sustainability Strategy (GSS), updating its approach to applying sustainability considerations in its investments, and including goals to grow its ranges of sustainable and impact investment solutions across themes including climate, nature-based solutions and economic equality.

The new sustainability strategy follows the launch in 2019 of BNPP AM’s first GSS, focused on the integration of ESG factors into its investment processes and boosting its engagement and stewardship approach on ESG issues.

Highlighting the progress made in its sustainability strategy, BNPP AM noted that the integration of ESG considerations into its product offerings has led to more than 90% of its European-domiciled open-ended funds’ AUM to be classified as Article 8 or Article 9 under the EU’s SFDR regulation.

In a post announcing the new GSS, Jane Ambachtsheer, Global Head of Sustainability at BNPP AM, said:

“Since our first GSS in 2019, Covid-19, humanitarian, geopolitical and energy crises, and climate disasters have reshaped economies. Regulations including the Sustainable Finance Disclosure Regulation have shaped sustainability-related investing.

“Despite these transformational events, we found that the fundamentals of our approach have remained sound.”

The GSS includes a focus on achieving three key themes, or “3Es,” including Energy transition, healthy Ecosystems, and greater Equality. Key areas of focus detailed in the strategy under these themes include substantially increasing climate and environmentally themed investments, strengthening the firm’s range of nature-based solutions and establishing a new forestry fund, and developing new investment strategies linked to equality and social themes.

The thematic focus forms part of BNPP AM’s GSS’ “six pillars” approach, which also encompasses responsible business conduct expectations for investee companies, applying ESG integration principles and developing proprietary sustainability research, stewardship and engagement, integrating sustainability across the product range, and adding its own internal Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR) strategy to its sustainability approach.

The strategy also includes a series of internal priorities for the firm, including investing in its ESG data programme and supporting the development of its range of ESG research methodologies, providing educational opportunities to employees and clients, and sharpening communication and knowledge sharing, including avoiding the risk of greenwashing.

Ambachtsheer said:

“Over the coming years, we believe the asset management industry will face far-reaching change, driven by a wider need to reallocate capital to a more sustainable and inclusive economy, taking into account geopolitical dynamics, evolving regulation, technological transformation and changing demographics.

“This impending and interconnected transition will require long-term investors to not only reposition their portfolios for sustainable growth, but to become a source of funding for the needed transformation.”

Click here to access BNPP AM’s new Global Sustainability Strategy.