Institutional investor KBI Global Investors has welcomed the announcement by brewing giant Anheuser-Busch InBev (AB InBev) that it has committed to the Climate Group’s RE100 initiative, and to transition to 100 per cent renewable electricity by 2025.
This is part of a wider engagement that has already garnered support from a coalition of 34 institutional investors across eight countries, responsible for managing more than USD1 trillion in assets.
Launched at Climate Week NYC 2014 in partnership with CDP as part of the We Mean Business coalition, RE100 is a global, collaborative initiative of influential businesses committed to using 100 per cent renewable electricity – which will accelerate the transformation of the global energy market and aid the transition towards a low carbon economy.
Already 89 of the world’s most influential companies have joined RE100, including global brands such as Google, Unilever, and Tata Motors.
Eoin Fahy (pictured), head of responsible investing, KBI Global Investors, says: “This is a very welcome and encouraging commitment from AB InBev, and it sends a very clear message – that rational and right-thinking companies are simply not prepared to wait for regulators and/or governments to take action on climate change. They are not waiting for new regulations and/or directives, forcing them to take action but pressing ahead with real and substantive changes to the way they do business. This is clearly in the best interests of the environment and society at large, and importantly, AB InBev shareholders/stakeholders as well.
“As pioneers of renewable energy investing, signatories of the United Nations Principles for Responsible Investment and members of the Carbon Disclosure Project – and long-time champions of companies adopting ESG criteria in their daily practices – KBI Global Investors continues to work hand in hand with other investors to show companies that a move to Renewable Energy is not only entirely feasible, but in the best interests of all parties. At a time when a new US administration seems unlikely to be supportive of moves to mitigate the impact of climate change, it is more important than ever that investors work together to encourage policy change in the companies in which they invest.”
Part of a network of investors which support and promote the long-term benefits of sustainable investment within the context of their individual investment processes and fiduciary duties, KBI Global Investors is part of a vanguard movement, working to build ESG criteria into its investment processes from an early stage.
The company’s flagship global equities suite has a strong ESG focus, with the breakout Global ESG Equity Strategy integrating environmental, social and governance factors into its investment process – excluding holdings deemed inconsistent with its ESG guidelines – and maintaining a targeted overall ESG score as calculated by an independent external ESG rating provider.
