River Global
River Global, formerly River and Mercantile, is an investment manager specialising in equity and infrastructure investment. River Global 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
19% of total AUM (USD $0.63 billion)
Information on interim target(s) covering the proportion of assets to be managed in line with net zero
Baseline(s):
Our baseline figure is 135.73 tonnes CO2e/million USD for 31st December 2019. Note – this is the weighted average of funds in scope by AUM as of our submission in 2022 – this means funds in scope that were not live as of 31st December 2019 do not contribute to the baseline figure.
Target(s):
Emission targets: 50% reduction in WACI (weighted average carbon intensity) by 2030 vs 2019 baseline for portfolio scope 1 and 2 emissions. We plan to include scope 3 targets in the near future.
GHG scopes included:
The weighted average carbon intensity (WACI) for portfolio scopes 1 and 2 have been calculated as per the 2021 TCFD Annex updates: Implementing the Recommendations of the TCFD, expressed in tons of CO2e/$M revenue. We source our emissions data of our underlying holdings from third party ESG data providers (MSCI, Bloomberg and Sustainalytics). We are monitoring our portfolio scope 3 emissions and plan to set targets around this in the near future as data becomes more accurate and available. Whilst our emissions reduction target is intensity based, we will continue to monitor and disclose absolute GHG emissions alongside.
Methodology:
Own/other methodology
Scenario(s):
The following scenarios were considered
1. IPCC Special Report on the impacts of global warming of 1.5°C
2. UNEP emissions gap report
3. IEA’s net zero emissions by 2050 scenario
which guided our 2030 emission reduction target.
Additional information
Proportion of AUM committed:
As our first submission since making the commitment, initial AUM managed in line with net zero is limited to funds that have a specific ESG focus. This enables our understanding, approach, data and stewardship to embed and evolve, after which, we expect the proportion to increase. We shall review additional funds to bring into scope each year and provide annual updates. For our Emerging Markets strategy, there is significant lag in GHG reporting and target setting within our investible universe alongside much later pledges for Net Zero by key constituent countries. We intend to keep engaging with companies to encourage disclosure of GHG emissions and adopt science-based targets. Our Emerging Markets sustainability statement defines our coal exclusion policy.
Policy on coal and other fossil fuel investments:
No. We have considered the following scientific papers relating to coal and fossil fuels – 1. IPCC Special Report on the impacts of global warming of 1.5°C 2. UNEP emissions gap report 3. IEA’s net zero emissions by 2050 scenario which guided our 2030 emission reduction target which guides our view on coal investments. Coal is currently excluded based on revenue thresholds of companies (more details in Group Exclusions Policy (link in Q25). However, in order for our policy to be science-based we will consider and incorporate the underlying assumptions of these scenarios into our exclusions and stewardship policies.
Further information:
Companies are excluded >30% revenue from: ▪ Mining companies extracting thermal coal ▪ Mining companies initiating significant thermal coal assets ▪ Mining companies that extract non-renewable energy sources with high GHG impacts: oil/tar sands ▪ Power generation companies with electricity generated by coal without credible plans to move to renewable/low-carbon alternatives ▪ Power generation companies that plan to expand coal power generation capacity.
Not excluded: ▪ Mining companies that extract metallurgical coal ▪ Physical coal plant facilities as real assets, acquired by R&M Infrastructure to convert to renewable energy generation.
More information in our Group Exclusions Policy.