Just over a year after the incoming Donald Trump administration in the US kicked the Net Zero Asset Managers (NZAM) initiative into the long grass, the coalition is back offering a revised platform on which the industry can discuss climate related investing.
NZAM, a voluntary initiative for asset managers committed to supporting investing in line with the global goal of net zero greenhouse gas emissions, announced its relaunch on 25 February 2026 garnering support from 250 signatories in a move it says demonstrates a continued recognition that asset managers want “to take steps to address climate-related financial risks and opportunities”.
The reboot comes 13 months after NZAM suspended activities – which coincided with Trump’s official inauguration as President of the US – declaring that “recent developments in the US and different regulatory and client expectations in investors’ respective jurisdictions” had caused the collective to examine if it remained “fit for purpose in the new global context”.
The relaunch sees NZAM dial back its commitment statement, shifting the tone from one of prescriptive targets to that of a more collegiate and idea sharing approach.
Under the old commitment, signatories were expected to support investing aligned with achieving net-zero greenhouse gas emissions by 2050 and set interim targets and implementation plans consistent with that goal.
The revamped version removes explicit requirements to align all investments with a 2050 net-zero target. Instead, it allows asset managers to independently set their own timelines and strategies for net-zero or climate-related action.
Tara Irwin, senior ESG analyst at Hargreaves Lansdown, describes the revised approach as pragmatic, allowing for flexibility across diverse regulatory environments, but without defined benchmarks the initiative significantly reduces formal signatory requirements.
“The signalling value of the NZAM membership has changed. It’s no longer a clear indicator of climate best practice and now functions more as a general statement of intent and vehicle for transparency,” Irwin says. “For investors, the implication is that greater emphasis must be placed on direct analysis of firm-level targets, strategy-level alignment, stewardship outcomes, and the transparency of reporting, rather than relying on NZAM signatory status as the sole indicator of climate credibility.”
Even though more than 250 managers have signed up to the revised initiative, it does not include big-hitters such as BlackRock, which withdrew its support last year, and some observers see the shift away from a unified, target-driven framework as symbolic of ESG’s shrinking influence in some regions.
However, Edward Mason, Partner and Head of Public Markets Engagement at Generation Investment Management which signed the latest NZAM commitment, says: “NZAM remains the robust route for asset managers globally to be clear and transparent about how they manage climate-related financial risks and opportunities on behalf of clients.”
Asset owners are also backing the new look NZAM, with more than 50 signatories worth a total of USD3.7 trillion in assets under management announcing their support.
In a joint statement from investors including several of the UK’s Local Authority Pension Funds, they say: “The updated NZAM commitment statement presents an opportunity for asset managers to reaffirm their commitment to supporting investing aligned with the global goal of net zero emissions. This sends an important and public signal to the asset owner community and the wider market on how they are managing climate-related financial risks and opportunities on behalf of their clients.”
