River and Mercantile (R&M) today announced that it has joined the Net Zero Asset Managers initiative, an international group of asset managers committed to backing global efforts to limit warming to 1.5 degrees Celsius, and to supporting investing aligned with net zero emissions by 2050 or sooner.

Launched in December 2020, the Net Zero Asset Managers initiative currently has 87 signatories with $37 trillion in assets under management. As part of the initiative, which is aligned with R&M’s Corporate Sustainability Pillars and approach to ESG, R&M has committed to:

• Work in partnership with clients on decarbonisation goals in line with a desire to reach net zero emissions by 2050 or sooner across all assets under management
• Set interim targets for the proportion of assets to be managed in line with the attainment of net zero emissions by 2030 or sooner
• Make net zero a core focus of existing and new funds

In addition to adapting existing strategies to promote sustainable characteristics R&M plans to launch new strategies which will feature sustainable objectives at their core. The firm intends to issue a roadmap within the next 12 months with clearly defined milestones for achieving net zero. This will involve a three stage process:

1. Data: getting investees’ emissions data
2. Reduction: engagement to lower emissions
3. Offset: carbon neutrality for investments

Roger Lewis, Head of ESG, River and Mercantile, said: “Eighteen months into what the UN has called the ‘decade of delivery’ for its 17 Sustainable Development Goals, it’s easy to see that #13 Climate Action is emerging as one of the most pressing issues, but also biggest opportunities, of our time. We recognise that financial institutions, especially asset managers as providers of debt or equity, have an important role to play in the process to net zero carbon. Beyond making this commitment, we have been listening to the needs and desired outcomes of our clients around greenhouse gas emissions. We fully understand the costs, benefits and implications of committing to net zero, and will have a credible, robust plan to reach this goal for all of our assets whilst also continuing to deliver strong returns for clients.”