22nd February, 2007

Trucost, the environmental research organisation, is delighted to have won the Sustainable and Ethical Investment and Asset Management Category at the City of London Corporation’s Sustainable City Awards 2006/7.

The prize was awarded for Trucost’s unique research into the carbon footprints of UK investment funds. ‘Carbon Counts: The Trucost Carbon Footprint Ranking of UK Investment Funds,’ published in June 2006 is the first ever ranking of UK funds by the carbon intensity of their investments. The study ranked 44 of the largest UK investment trusts and mutual funds managed by 28 different fund managers, amounting to approximately £$5bn and included both SRI and mainstream funds. The research showed that the impact of moving a £10,000 investment from the worst fund to the best is 14 tonnes of CO2 emissions per annum. As the average UK household emits six tonnes of CO2 per annum, it is easy to appreciate the importance of investment decisions to the overall level of emissions for which households are responsible.

Trucost’s research also revealed that by re-weighting stocks within sectors according to their carbon intensity a ‘carbon optimised’ fund can be created. An eight year backtest showed that the Trucost Carbon Optimised Portfolio matched the financial performance of the benchmark index (+/- 0.5%) while reducing the carbon footprint by at least 25%.

The Sustainable and Ethical Investment and Asset Management Category of the awards aims to recognise and reward innovation and best practice in investment and asset management with a focus on the best contribution to the development of climate-friendly investment. Previous winners include Morley Fund Management, ISIS Asset Management Plc and the Carbon Disclosure Project.

Simon Thomas, Chief Executive of Trucost, said:

“I am delighted and proud to accept this award on behalf of Trucost’s expert and committed staff. The City of London is fast becoming a centre of excellence for the rapidly growing carbon markets. Trucost’s ‘Carbon Counts’ research shows that it is possible to measure and understand the carbon emissions within investment portfolios. Investors now have the ability to reward carbon efficient companies with a lower cost of capital thus creating a powerful incentive for business to meet the climate change challenge.”

About Trucost

Trucost Plc is an environmental research organisation, which helps companies and investors understand the environmental impacts of business activities. Trucost provides data and analysis on company emissions and natural resource usage. It presents these in financial as well as quantity terms, providing the basis for an improved dialogue between companies, investors and other stakeholders. Trucost offers expert advice and research to major corporations, both public and private, institutional investors and to Government departments and associated agencies.

Over the past seven years, Trucost has built a database of the environmental impacts and disclosures of over 3,200 companies including the world’s largest database of greenhouse gas disclosure. Trucost's comprehensive coverage ensures that all companies in an index are included, not just those that disclose environmental information. Coverage includes the FTSE All-Share, S&P 500, Russell 1000, Nikkei 225, DJ EuroSTOXX and MSCI indices.

Trucost has developed considerable experience and expertise in the area of environmental performance, analysis and reporting having researched and written the environmental reporting guidelines for UK business with the UK Government, released in January 2006.
The company has worked with leading multinational companies in a range of business sectors including Avis, Bloomsbury Publishing, BSKYB, Burren Energy, Christian Salvesen, Prudential, LogicaCMG, Legal & General and Total SA.

Prudential Plc“Trucost Plc was commissioned to carry out research into the environmental impacts of our business activities, and to present the findings in financial terms. As a result of this research, we were able to rank our environmental impacts in order of significance and materiality.”

Fund managers and analysts increasingly need to understand how environmental issues may have a financially material impact on companies' future earnings and make comparisons between companies in a given sector. Trucost’s investor clients include BlackRock, CalPERS, CCLA Investment Management, Crédit Agricole Asset Management, Environment Agency Pension Fund, Fond de Réserve pour les Retraites (FRR), Fortis Investment Management, Governance for Owners, Henderson Global Investors’ Hermes Pensions Management Ltd and VicSuper.

Mercer Investment Consulting “The interest being shown in Trucost’s research helps to show the speed at which the climate change debate is moving.”

Institutional investors also use the information to assess the environmental footprint of their portfolios, to highlight poor performance and to better understand where environmental risk lies in portfolios.

Hermes Pensions Management Ltd “Trucost’s ability to dig out the data about the environmental consequences of production is absolutely second to none anywhere in the globe.”