Climate change statement
An imperfect indication of how seriously we take decarbonisation is that the carbon footprint of each of our investment strategies has consistently been at least 80% below its respective benchmark index.*
We invest only in high-quality companies contributing to a more sustainable future. This leads us to seek out companies with exceptional cultures, run by responsible stewards, and whose products, services and operations help reduce ecological footprints, or advance human development, or both, wherever possible.
Some companies we invest in are delivering, or directly enabling, the emission reductions needed to help meet global 1.5oC warming targets. Obvious examples include renewable energy companies. Less obvious examples include companies operating further up or down the energy supply chain, and companies facilitating energy efficiency, waste reduction and recycling. But even companies supporting other aspects of sustainable development, such as improved health or reduced inequality, need to reduce business-as-usual carbon emissions in their supply chains and operations.
Stewart Investors - aggregate strategy carbon footprint through time
The chart above shows our equity share of scope 1 and 2 emissions for each investee company, aggregated across all of our strategies for each of the past 5 years. The benchmark comparisons use the same approach by assuming benchmarks hold the same total value of investments as the comparative strategy.
- We engage constructively as owners to encourage companies to do more and move faster to achieve sustainable development outcomes, including transitioning to a lower-carbon world. Our investment approach is bottom-up. We spend time understanding each company and its place in the economy from the ground up. We pick apart the fundamental attributes of each business. We do our best to understand the attitudes of the people who steward each company.