Syncona Investment Management Limited
Syncona is a leading life science investor focused on creating, building and scaling global leaders in life science. They joined the Net Zero Asset Managers Initiative in May 2023 and made their Initial Target Disclosure in April 2024.
Percentage of assets covered by the Net Zero Asset Managers Commitment Statement
9% of total AUM (USD $0.139 billion)
Information on interim target(s) covering the proportion of assets to be managed in line with net zero
Baseline(s):
0% of Strategic Portfolio companies with set science-based targets validated by SBTi.
Target(s):
100% of our in-scope Strategic Portfolio companies to set science-based targets validated by SBTi by 2030. This equates to 23% of our current Strategic Portfolio by volume (3 out of 13 companies), or 9% of our total AUM (NAV) by value (using NAV as at 31 March 2023). Our Strategic Portfolio represents our portfolio of actively managed life science companies where Syncona has significant holdings. Our coverage boundary will be determined by the SBTi’s Private Equity sector guidance for venture capital. This states that companies are in scope when they have:
- More than 50 people
- Either an annual revenue of over $10 million or a balance sheet of more than $10 million
- Been existence for more than 5 years
The guidance also states that the private equity firm should have more than 15% of the fully diluted shares of the portfolio company and a board seat.
GHG scopes included:
Aligned with SBTi’s guidance for small and medium enterprises (SMEs), we will expect our in-scope portfolio companies to set near-term targets for 2030 across scope 1-2 emissions, with a commitment to measure and reduce scope 3 emissions.
Methodology:
Own/other methodology
Scenario(s):
The IPCC special report on global warming of 1.5°C.
Additional information
Proportion of AUM committed:
Syncona’s core strategy is focused on our Strategic Portfolio of 13 life sciences companies. The majority of our portfolio is at an early stage in their operations with more than half of our Strategic Portfolio less than five years old (as at 31 March 2023).
Our immediate priority for our net zero target strategy is to engage with companies at a later stage in their development, given that they are more likely to have greater operational environmental footprints, as well as the necessary resources and internal support available to develop a target. We have followed SBTi’s Private Equity sector guidance for venture capital to set the boundary for companies that are in-scope of our target.
Policy on coal and other fossil fuel investments:
Syncona does not currently have a policy regarding investments in coal or other fossil fuel investments, given our investment strategy is focused on life science investments.
Further information:
We have set out our ambition to achieve a net-zero impact by 2050 throughout our full value chain within our climate ambition statement: https://www.synconaltd.com/media/j0lccaxe/syncona-limited-climate-ambition-statement-june-2022.pdf
Further detail on our approach to sustainability (including the environment) can be found within our most recent Sustainability Report:
https://www.synconaltd.com/media/pgvbn0ht/syn_sr2023.pdf