First Sentier Investors (FSI) has announced it is setting its first nature targets as an adopter of the Taskforce on Nature-related Financial Disclosures (TNFD).
These targets relate to governance, assessment and training, as recommended by the framework. The three goals are set to be achieved by the end of 2025.
First, FSI will disclose a clear firm-wide governance structure for nature. This includes outlining board oversight and management responsibilities in an integrated manner with the existing governance structure for broader ESG issues. The firm has already established board oversight and management responsibilities within its ESG and climate governance structure, and plans to integrate nature-related oversight in the existing structure.
Second, dependencies, impacts, risks and opportunities assessment for FSI’s in-scope investments (listed equities and corporate bonds) will be conducted and publicly disclosed. FSI has already disclosed its sector-level impacts and dependencies across its listed equities investment, and exposure and approach to nature in 2022 and 2023.
Third, all relevant employees will have completed training on the relation between nature loss and investment. So far, FSI has conducted two staff training sessions on nature and several smaller sessions tailored to investment teams since 2022, and in 2023, launched a Nature and Biodiversity toolkit.
The disclosure on the progress of these nature targets will be integrated into FSI’s climate and nature report, due to be published in 2025.
This comes as TNFD Adopters have registered their intention to making public disclosures in corporate reporting in the financial years 2023, 2024 or 2025 against the TNFD Recommendations. Further, as First Sentier Investors are an active member of the FfB Foundation’s Target Setting Working Group, these targets are aligned with the Nature Target Setting Framework for Asset Managers and Asset Owners.
Kate Turner, global head of responsible investment at First Sentier Investors, said: “As a TNFD adopter, we continue our role as responsible active stewards of our clients’ capital. We are pleased to affirm our commitment to improving nature reporting and ongoing engagement with investee companies to reduce nature-related impacts, mitigate risks, identify and value dependencies and seize opportunities.
“These targets are also a natural step forward for First Sentier Investors, since becoming a signatory of the Finance for Biodiversity (FfB) Pledge in 2021. As part of our FfB pledge to set goals to reduce our organisation’s impacts on nature and biodiversity, we are pleased to formalise the progress we have made as a business in this area by setting our inaugural nature targets.”
