Mirabaud Asset Management is a Swiss asset manager that has participated in CDP’s Non-Disclosure Campaign (NDC) for seven consecutive years. As an active asset manager, Mirabaud Asset Management recognizes the critical importance of sustainable development and climate resilience.
Participating in CDP's NDC campaign aligns with their commitment to sustainable and responsible investment, as well as long-term value creation. It reflects their dedication to fostering a sustainable future by ensuring that investment strategies contribute positively to global climate objectives and support the transition to a low-carbon economy.
Harnessing the power of collaborative engagement
Mirabaud Asset Management dedicates time and resources to supporting collaborative initiatives, such as CDP's NDC, that encourage best practice and mitigate investment risks. “We believe this collaborative, well-resourced approach enables us to fully realize the potential of our engagement activity, acting as a supplement to direct dialogue. It allows us to play a key role in sharing our knowledge and expertise while also learning from others”, says Sara Bourhime, Deputy Head of Sustainable and Responsible Investment at Mirabaud Asset Management.
Through collaborating with CDP, and by joining forces with other investors, Mirabaud Asset Management can better assess and manage climate-related risks across their portfolio. Bourhime explains: “As stewards of our clients’ assets, we aim to use our active voice individually or with other investment managers and enter dialogue with companies on ESG matters. Our aim is to encourage behavioral change to protect and increase the value of our clients’ assets. Such dialogue can also enhance our understanding of a company’s sustainability practices, which we feed back into investment processes.”
Fostering a direct dialogue
The NDC aims to incentivize corporate environmental transparency through direct engagement from financial institutions. Engagement through the NDC can open the door to a direct dialogue between FIs and their portfolio companies on the benefits of disclosure through CDP.
Bourhime highlights how this mechanism can work in practice, explaining that “Mirabaud Asset Management had a successful engagement with an industrial company operating in the building products industry that proactively reached out to us to discuss their environmental practices following a letter sent to them during the NDC campaign. They offered a walkthrough of their sustainability initiatives and sought to understand our expectations for CDP disclosure.”
She continues: “This dialogue allowed us to explain the importance of transparency and the specific data points we value. The company shared insights into their upcoming environmental and climate plans, demonstrating their commitment to aligning with best practices.”
Bourhime also explains how CDP data offers insights at the company-level, for example CDP’s climate change scores, that can be useful for guiding Mirabaud Asset Management’s engagement priorities and decision-making. “The company-specific responses to the CDP questionnaire are particularly insightful for evaluating individual practices and informing our engagement strategies”, says Bourhime. “This approach allows us to comprehensively assess and engage with companies, ensuring our investments align with our sustainability goals and adjusted risk-return criteria, therefore ensuring long-term value creation for our clients.”
Holistic environmental stewardship
Beyond disclosure, Mirabaud Asset Management’s engagement priorities with portfolio companies on environmental issues are also focused on ensuring that they have low-carbon transition plans and science-based environmental targets.
Financial institutions also have a role to play in driving action and progress toward a sustainable economy. For example, “financial institutions are integrating climate risk considerations into their investment decisions, promoting sustainable projects, and improving transparency”, Bourhime says. “However,” she continues, “there is a need for more collaborative efforts to drive innovation, build resilient infrastructure, and adopt sustainable practices. Such comprehensive strategies are essential for mitigating these interdependent risks and ensuring long-term global resilience.”
Going forwards, Mirabaud Asset Management hopes to look at how companies are performing on a wider range of environmental metrics and the actions they are taking to adapt. Bourhime explains that they wish to monitor “how companies are protecting biodiversity, complying with environmental regulations, investing in resilient technologies, and monitoring their progress”. Bourhime adds that it is increasingly important to consider environmental risk from a holistic standpoint, explaining that Mirabaud Asset Management “view environmental risks such as climate change, water scarcity, and deforestation as deeply interconnected, each intensifying the impact of the others. Addressing these complex challenges requires a multifaceted and polycentric approach involving various stakeholders”.
A collaborative approach among stakeholders will continue to be important, says Bourhime, as opportunities to “share best practices and drive collective action are essential to promote proactive environmental stewardship”.
Learn more about CDP's Non-Disclosure Campaign including further case studies and financial institutions involved in the campaign.