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The Trucost Carbon Counts Awards recognises the most carbon efficient investment funds in the UK.
London 18th September 2006:
The first Trucost Carbon Counts Awards ceremony acknowledges the most carbon efficient investment funds in the UK. These 'Trucost Carbon Accredited Funds' have carbon footprints which are at least 20% lower than the FTSE All Share benchmark as revealed in the report 'Carbon Counts: Trucost Carbon Footprint Ranking of UK Investment Funds' released in June this year.
The report ranks the carbon intensity of 44 main UK investment and mutual funds, revealing the best and worst performers in terms of their carbon footprint. The funds amount to approximately £45bn, and are managed by 28 different fund managers. The Trucost 'Carbon Counts' report is the first time that funds have been ranked according to the carbon intensity of the investments they make. It allows retail investors to understand how much carbon has been emitted on their behalf by companies and how exposed the companies in which they invest are to regulatory measures that control and impose costs on carbon emissions.
Recent research from independent research firm, IFA Promotion , shows there has been a 100% increase in demand for ethical investment advice over the last year, which means that IFAs are increasingly being asked for their opinion of the environmental impacts associated with equity investments. Trucost Carbon Accredited Funds are able to demonstrate that their investments are significantly less carbon intensive that standard equity portfolios. The investments of the best performing fund, Scottish Widows Investment Partnership (SWIP) UK & Income ICVC - Environmental Investor, emitted only a third as much carbon as the companies in the FTSE All Share.
The awards will be presented by Ian Pearson MP, Minister of State, and Climate Change & Environment. The winners of the awards are: SWIP – Environmental Investor: Winner of the Trucost Carbon Counts Awards, Socially Responsible Investment CategoryLazard Investment Funds – UK Alpha fund: Winner of the Trucost Carbon Counts Awards, Mainstream Investment CategoryThe Trucost Carbon Accredited Funds 2006 are: SWIP’s Ethical Fund, Norwich Union’s UK Growth Fund , F&C’s Stewardship Growth Fund, CIS Sustainable Leaders Trust, Henderson’s Global Care Income Fund, Aberforth Smaller Companies Trust, Standard Life’s UK Ethical Fund and Schroder’s UK Alpha Fund.
“Trucost is delighted to present these awards to the most carbon efficient funds in the UK and it will be interesting to see if the top performers can maintain their position in their ranking when it is updated next year. Investment managers can use this accreditation to demonstrate their carbon credentials to IFAs and retail investors. I believe it will be an important marketing tool and a means of attracting investments from customers that are increasingly conscious that we now live in a carbon constrained world.” Simon Thomas, Chief Executive, Trucost.
Minister Ian Pearson comments: "The influence of fund managers over the companies in which they invest has always been recognised as a key driver for change in corporate behaviour, including how a company pursues its environmental policy. The Trucost study shows that ….. fund managers do not have to sacrifice financial performance in reducing the environmental impact of their investments.
"Institutional investors need to understand the full exposure of their portfolio to environmental risks, including the financial risks embedded in energy use and supply, transport, logistics and the supply chain. Fund managers should also identify companies that recognise and act on the market opportunities presented by voluntary and regulatory efforts to mitigate climate change, and those that have actively achieved a reduction in their carbon footprint.
I believe the issue of climate change should now be material issue to all business. I would like to set down the challenge to all quoted companies, to include information on climate change in the Business Reviews. I would also like to extend this challenge to fund managers, particularly to those in the mainstream to engage with the companies they invest in, and request information from them on how they are managing their exposure to climate change risk:”
Joel Marks, UK equities fund manager at SWIP commented: "My primary goal is to pick good investments and the low carbon footprint is a welcome by-product of that stock picking process. Companies are not immune to pressure, both political and from the public, on how they run their business so it makes good commercial sense to build awareness of the impact on the environment into their business models. That in turn can contribute to making them a good investment for our clients.” Nick Robins, Head of SRI Funds: “Henderson has conducted carbon audits on two of its SRI funds, and believes that this is an important way of demonstrating environmental out-performance. In addition, the carbon intensity of funds could potentially become a source of valuable investment insights as carbon pricing becomes more established in the market”
For more information please contact Ashleigh Lezard on +44 20 7321 3731, ashleigh.lezard@trucost.com
About Trucost ( www.trucost.com)
Trucost Plc is an environmental research business which helps companies and investors understand the environmental impacts of business activities in financial terms. Trucost offers expert advice and research to major corporations, both public and private, institutional investors and to Government departments and associated agencies. Trucost wrote the environmental reporting guidelines for UK business with the UK government, released in January 2006.
Over the past six years Trucost has built up a database of the environmental impacts and disclosures of over 3000 major companies worldwide. Trucost’s database of climate change disclosures is the world’s largest. Trucost has developed unparalleled experience and expertise in the area of environmental performance, analysis and reporting, working with leading multinational companies in a range of business sectors including Avis, Bloomsbury, Christian Salvesen, Prudential, LogicaCMG, Legal & General and Land Securities Plc.
Institutional investors use Trucost’s research to support due diligence and active engagement, incorporating environmental performance measurement into their investment decisions. Clients include Hermes, Standard Life, Henderson Global Investors, Fortis Investments and Merrill Lynch Investment Managers. Institutional investors also use the information to assess the environmental footprint of their portfolios, and therefore better understanding their environmental risk.