Stafford Capital Partners
Stafford Capital Partners is an independent private markets investment and advisory firm with 9 offices globally across North and Latin America, Europe, Asia, and Australia. It joined the Net Zero Asset Managers Initiative on 29 March 2021 and its initial target disclosure was published on 1 May 2022.
Percentage of assets covered by the Net Zero Asset Managers Commitment Statement
100% of total AUM (USD $8.1 billion)
Information on interim target(s) covering the proportion of assets to be managed in line with net zero
Baseline(s):
Portfolio decarbonisation reference baseline
1.) 1.5% of total Stafford AUM indirectly invested in fossil fuels-related investments (at the end of 2020)
2.) 0.9% of total Stafford AUM indirectly invested in coal power generation (at the end of 2020)
Allocation to climate solutions baseline
1.) 100% of Timberland AUM is in negative emissions assets, but 0% is managed to optimise carbon capture
2.) 15% of Infrastructure AUM in Renewables at the end of 2020
3.) 20% total private equity AUM in financing transition
4.) 4% farmland AUM in permanent crops. < 1% farmland AUM invested into capital improvements which can include climate-neutral/positive investments.
Target(s):
Portfolio decarbonisation reference target
Portfolio exposure targets:
1.) 0% fossil fuels: no (indirect) investment in companies deriving more than 20% of their revenue from fossil fuel value chain. This will include upstream, midstream, distribution and electricity generation and exclude transportation assets.
2.) 0% exposure to coal power generation
Financing transition targets:
1.) Increasing the % of timberland AUM that is optimised for carbon capture and creating carbon offsets to 33%
2.) 40% of total Infrastructure AUM in sectors that actively contribute to reducing greenhouse gas emissions, such as renewable energy, energy efficiency, green hydrogen, among others.
3.) 40% of total private equity AUM in financing transition.
Engagement threshold target
1.) Engagement with managers of top ten highest- emitting infrastructure assets (or those responsible for 30% of emission in infrastructure portfolio) on setting up decarbonisation plans.
2.) Engagement with managers of the top ten highest emitting private equity funds (according to their contribution to estimated Scope 1 and Scope 2 emissions in our private equity portfolios) on the steps that they are taking to reduce carbon emissions of their portfolio companies.
3.) Engage with timberland managers who need to enhance their assessment of the carbon costs of harvesting and delivering wood for domestic and export processors, and managers of our timber processing investments (which represent the main timberland investments with a net positive CO2 emission profile).
4.) Engage with our local farmland partners to develop a perspective on the carbon footprint of our portfolio and to identify options to reduce the carbon footprint, with a focus on the most relevant (highest emitting) assets.
Allocation to climate solutions target
1.) Target 20% farmland AUM in permanent crops, whereby greenfield development (indicative 25% of total investment cost) classifies as a climate-neutral/ positive investment. Up to 15% of farmland AUM invested into capital improvements which can include climate-neutral/positive investments.
GHG scopes included:
Scope 1 and 2 emissions are included in Stafford’s estimated financed emissions for 2020. As company-level Scope 1 and 2 emissions data or physical activity data to carry out a GHG accounting were not attainable, emissions of portfolio companies in the funds we are invested in were largely estimated using averaged-data method, i.e., industry proxies or environmentally extended input-output data calibrated by an external consultant.
For our timberland portfolios, we estimated sequestered and stored CO2 based on the proprietary model that has been reviewed by a recognised external consultant.
For our agriculture portfolios, an external consultant has provided estimates of annual emissions reduction potential (based on agricultural best practice) using regional data sourced from the Soils Revealed platform.
Methodology:
Net Zero Asset Owner Alliance Target Setting Protocol
Additional information
Proportion of AUM committed:
100%
Policy on coal and other fossil fuel investments:
Stafford will not allocate any new capital to funds invested in companies which are planning or constructing new thermal coal projects and associated infrastructure.
By 2030 we will phase out our indirect investments in coal. Furthermore, we will phase out our exposure to fossil fuels to have no (indirect) investment in companies deriving more than 20% of their revenue from fossil fuel value chain and less than 2% in aggregate at the (fund) portfolio level. This will include Upstream, Midstream, Distribution and Electricity Generation, but exclude transport assets.
Simultaneously, we will increase the proportion of our investments that have no exposure to fossil fuels, such as timberland, farmland and renewables.
Further information: