Fiera Capital Corporation (Fiera Capital) has joined the Net Zero Asset Managers initiative, committing to work proactively towards the goal of reaching net zero greenhouse gas emissions by 2050 or sooner and to support broader efforts to limit global warming to 1.5 degrees Celsius.
The international initiative aims to compel the asset management industry to commit to playing a more active role in battling climate change. It is managed by the United Nations-supported Principles for Responsible Investment (PRI), of which the Company has been a signatory since 2009, and five other founding partner investor networks. A total of 128 signatories, with collective assets under management of USD43 trillion, are now part of the initiative.
As part of its commitment to further reinforce its responsible investing approach, Fiera Capital will set an initial target for a portion of its assets to be managed in line with achieving net zero emissions. This target will then be reviewed at least every five years, with a view to adding more investment strategies until all assets are included by 2050.
“In joining the Net Zero Asset Managers initiative, we are proud to be strengthening our contribution to the global effort to tackle climate change. Global warming presents profound risks, both for our clients and for society more broadly. We firmly believe that committing to achieving net zero emissions across our portfolios by 2050 will reinforce the manner in which we carry out our fiduciary responsibilities and enhance our ability to protect our clients’ portfolios from systemic risk,” says Jean-Philippe Lemay, Global President and Chief Operating Officer.
“While ESG considerations are currently integrated into our investment analysis and processes, our decision to join this initiative puts the full strength of the organisation behind our commitment to expand our ESG efforts further,” he adds.
All of Fiera Capital’s Irish UCITS funds are classified as Article 8 under the Sustainable Finance Disclosure Regulation (SFDR). As part of its participation in the annual Global Real Estate Sustainability Benchmark (GRESB) assessment for seven of its funds, the Company successfully achieved four GRESB “Green Star” rankings in 2020, in addition to being awarded the Planet Mark accreditation, for its wholly-owned subsidiary Fiera Real Estate.
