At the same time, the model used for actively including companies is improved and refined so that greater consideration for example is given to long-term sustainability aspects in business models, based on an updated climate strategy. This is part of the fund company’s continuous work to address the threat posed by climate change and contribute to the transition that is necessary to achieve the Paris Agreement and contribute to the UN Development Goals.
SEB Investment Management sustainability work is in continuous development. Stricter requirements regarding the exclusion of fossil fuels were for example introduced for index-tracking funds during 2020.
A further step will now be taken through an updated sustainability policy, which was decided by SEB Investment Management’s board in December 2020 and which will be implemented during the first quarter of 2021. At the same time, a brand new and own model is introduced to strengthen the analysis of all companies in the investment portfolio, with focus on material sustainability risks and opportunities. In addition, a new climate strategy means, among other things, that the fund company’s total capital should be invested carbon neutral by 2040 and that investments in companies that contribute to solutions or enable transition shall increase.
”We now take another leap forward when it comes to future-proofing our funds based on our view of sustainable development and future return possibilities,” says Javiera Ragnartz, Head of SEB Investment Management. “Our ambition is to invest in companies with long-term sustainable business models, while all funds will at the same time exclude fossil fuels.”
The new sustainability policy means that SEB Investment Management during the first quarter of 2021 will introduce the exclusion rules that previously were used only for the sustainable and ethical funds to all funds, for example fossil fuels, tobacco and commercial gaming operations. At the same time, the exclusion criteria regarding fossil fuels is broadened and all funds managed by SEB Investment Management will in the future exclude extraction and production of fossil fuels as well as power generation and distribution connected to fossil fuels.
As part of this change, some fund names will be changed during the coming year. That means that words such as sustainable and sustainability will disappear from the names.
”When we now raise our ambitions and they will become the same for all funds, there is no longer a need to distinguish between sustainable funds and other funds,” says Javiera Ragnartz.
Read more about the updated sustainability policy and the new climate strategy