Making progress on our strategy - Sustainability

Ahead of our Full year results for 2022 on February 28 we’ve been looking back at the progress we’ve been making against our strategic priorities. With sustainability at the forefront of our client-led growth plans, here we spotlight some of the key developments delivered in this area over the last 12 months.

Sustainability   

At abrdn we have been integrating environmental, social and governance (ESG) factors into our investment process since the 1990s to enable our clients to navigate sustainability topics.

It's important to note that integration is not the same as a specific investment objective - integration serves different client profiles and outcomes.

Detailed information on our approach is available on our website, and one area of specific focus in 2022 was active ownership. We engage actively with the companies we invest in because we want to make a difference for our clients, society and the planet.

Over the past year, we have recorded hundreds of active engagements with companies, many resulting in improvements, or specific commitments to improve. These engagements cover a wide range of topics across numerous sectors. To bring to life what this looks like, here are just a few examples from the last 12 months. 

Mining

The mining industry is central to the transition to a low carbon economy but has often been criticised for its social impact. During 2022, we have engaged with some of the world’s largest mining companies following incidents of unacceptable workplace behaviour in the sector, including sexual harassment and assault. As a result, we created a statement with recommendations aimed at ensuring the wellbeing of employees, which has been endorsed by both the International Council on Mining and Metals and the CEOs of some of the world’s largest miners.

We’ve seen positive steps as a result of this engagement and have recommended further action for companies. These include expanding established health and safety mechanisms, including governance oversight, plus linking remuneration, monitoring and reporting to assure the psychological wellbeing of employees.

"Our key conclusion is that mining companies should use all the tools they have available to them – governance, performance incentives, oversight, monitoring and reporting – to improve workplace behaviour, diversity, equity and inclusion, and apply the same rigour of existing health and safety regimes to psychological safety."

Andy Mason, Head of Active Ownership

Climate

We have been working on how best to maximise the impact of our engagement with, and voting on, the companies we are invested in. Going forward, we will focus our resources on encouraging improvements among abrdn’s highest-financed emitters. We will also take voting action at the annual general meetings of companies that we identify as climate laggards.

For more information on our voting policies, you can read our recent guide here.

Whether it’s active ownership, the wide range of work we do to provide sustainable investing solutions for our clients, or the actions we’re taking to manage our own footprint – sustainability and ESG will all continue to be at the forefront of what we do in 2023.