ClearBridge Investments LLC
ClearBridge Investments is a well-established global investment manager with a legacy dating back 60 years. ClearBridge joined the Net Zero Asset Managers Initiative in July 2021 and made its Initial Target Disclosure in November 2022.
Percentage of assets covered by the Net Zero Asset Managers Commitment Statement
29.5% of total AUM (USD $46.4 billion)
Information on interim target(s) covering the proportion of assets to be managed in line with net zero
Baseline(s):
36% of in-scope assets are aligned to a net zero pathway.
Target(s):
By 2030, achieve at a minimum 66% of current in-scope assets net zero aligned or subject to engagement, consistent with a linear increase from the portfolio’s 2021 baseline value to 100% by 2040. We consider net zero alignment to be companies with a science-based target from well-accepted net zero methodologies such as the Science Based Target initiative or the Climate Action 100+ (or equivalent as assessed by ClearBridge Investments) or pure-play climate solutions providers.
GHG scopes included:
Under the SBTi portfolio coverage approach, scope 1 and 2 are always included as well as scope 3 when scope 3 emissions
are more than 40% of a company’s total scope 1, 2 and 3 emissions.
Methodology:
Net Zero Investment Framework
Science Based Target initiative for Financial Institutions
Scenario(s):
ClearBridge Investments’ target follows a combination of SBTi’s portfolio coverage approach and PAII Net Zero Investment
Framework. Under SBTi, individual companies set targets that are verified as science-based by the Science Based Target
Initiative. As part of this verification process, each company will disclose the net zero scenario with which their target is aligned. Under NZIF, an acceptable alignment assessment includes Climate Action 100+ and their Net Zero Company Benchmark derived from Transition Pathway Initiative data. The benchmark assesses a company’s short, medium, and long term targets for alignment to a 1.5° pathway.
Additional information
Proportion of AUM committed:
We believe it is prudent as responsible fiduciaries to use this first year to pilot our approach with a select group of investment
teams with the commitment to reach 100% AUM coverage by 2040 or sooner. As NZAM is a new initiative that requires the
application of new target-setting methodologies to the client assets that we manage, it is not feasible for us to include all
investment teams across the firm in this first year. For this first year of our NZAM commitment we have selected 3 of the firm’s key portfolios across core, value, and growth with a diverse range of sector allocation and thus varying portfolio emission levels to credibly test our approach to reduce real world emissions.
Policy on coal and other fossil fuel investments:
No. While we do not have an investment policy that mandates our approach to coal and fossil fuels at this time, we have a firm-wide ESG policy, that helps us identify ESG risks for all stocks that we own. This ESG policy will identify climate risks where relevant. In addition to considering these risks in our investment process, we consider engagement to be a more effective tool than divestment or exclusion in driving real world emissions reductions. ClearBridge ESG policy can be found here.
Further information:
Please find details to our commitment to NZAM within our 2022 Stewardship Report.