BNP Paribas Investment Partners signs Montreal Carbon Pledge to support investor moves to monitor carbon footprint
Ahead of COP21, BNP Paribas Investment Partners has become one of the first mainstream investment managers to sign the Montreal Carbon Pledge. The Montreal Carbon Pledge commits investors to measuring and publicly disclosing the carbon footprint of their investment portfolios on an annual basis, in accordance with the Portfolio Decarbonization Coalition (PDC).The PDC is a United Nations Environment Programme aimed at supporting asset owners as they work towards reducing their carbon exposure.
The Montreal Carbon Pledge is supported by the Principles for Responsible Investment (PRI) and the United Nations Environment Programme Finance Initiative (UNEP FI). Signatories are required to measure and publicly disclose on an annual basis the carbon footprint of portfolios managed on behalf of their clients.Overseen by the PRI, the Montreal Carbon Pledge aims to attract commitment from investment portfolios totalling US$3 trillion in time for the United Nations Climate Change Conference (COP 21) in December 2015 in Paris.
BNP Paribas Investment Partners has been actively involved in raising awareness of the need for a universal global climate agreement, requiring long-term engagement with investors and policymakers to support the transformation to a low carbon economy. Recent measures include engaging with the EU to improve the efficiency of the carbon market and to scale up energy efficiency financing, through membership of the Energy Efficiency Financial Institutions Group (EEFIG), and working with the Institutional Investors Group on Climate Change (IIGCC) to encourage companies to reduce their carbon emissions.
BNP Paribas Investment Partners’ CEO, Philippe Marchessaux, was present at the Business & Climate Summit in Paris on May 20-21, at which representatives from the worlds of industry and finance met with members of government to discuss strategies for working towards a low carbon economy.
Speaking at the Business & Climate Summit, Philippe Marchessaux, CEO of BNP Paribas Investment Partners, declared:
“By signing the Montreal Carbon Pledge we are demonstrating our long-term commitment to working towards a low carbon economy.As a responsible investor, we have a key role to play in helping to tackle climate change, and we are already active in this area. We have launched specialised funds, including the first low carbon ETF in 2008, we work closely with institutional investors to measure and monitor their carbon footprint, and help them reduce it, while we aim to disclose to our open-ended funds’ investors information about and an assessment of the carbon footprint of their investments.”
Fiona Reynolds, Managing Director of the Principles for Responsible Investment, added:
“BNP Paribas Investment Partners was one of the first signatories to the PRI, so it is particularly significant that they have now taken the decision to sign the Montreal Carbon Pledge as well.The addition of leading investment companies such as BNP Paribas Investment Partners to the list of signatories strengthens our case that investors are taking serious action on climate change.”
Press Contact - BNP Paribas Investment Partners
Sarah Marteleur +32 (0) 2 274 84 28 - sarah.marteleur@bnpparibas.com
About BNP Paribas Investment Partners
BNP Paribas Investment Partners is the BNP Paribas Group’s asset management specialist. BNP Paribas Investment Partners offers the full range of asset management services to both institutional and private investors around the world. The company adopts a client-focused approach and is structured around three business lines: Institutional, Distributors and Asia-Pacific & Emerging Markets. It has a total of more than 700 investment professionals(1), each specialised in a particular asset class or product type. With assets under management totalling EUR 548 billion(1), BNP Paribas Investment Partners is the 7th largest asset manager in Europe(1).
(1) Source: BNP Paribas Investment Partners at 31 March 2015, assets under management and advisory.
Further information about the organisations and initiatives mentioned above is available as follows:
Montreal Carbon Pledge
http://montrealpledge.org/
Portfolio Decarbonization Coalition
http://unepfi.org/pdc/
Business & Climate Summit
http://www.businessclimatesummit.com/#frontpage-wrap
Principles for Responsible Investment
http://www.unpri.org/
Energy Efficiency Financial Institutions Group
https://ec.europa.eu/energy/en/news/new-report-boosting-finance-energy-efficiency-investments-buildings-industry-and-smes
Institutional Investors Group on Climate Change
http://www.iigcc.org/