The Sustainable Summer series gives investment professionals from the responsible investment space an opportunity share their habits and summer activities that are contributing to a more sustainable world.
For these light-hearted pieces, we ask about summer plans and holidays, and charitable work.
Here, Noelle Cazalis, a fund manager on the Rathbone Ethical Bond Fund, shares why she has found it difficult to reduce her travel carbon footprint and where doctors are prescribing nature as a treatment.
To view the full Sustainable Summer series click here.
How has your year been so far? Have you stuck to any sustainable New Year’s Resolutions?
The start of this year has been about welcoming a bit of normality back into my life. For me, normality means a lot of back and forth between the South of France, where I have most of my family, and London. And I must say, it feels good being able to see the people I love and to swap the busyness of East London for long weekends back home. One of my resolutions was to take the train to go back home rather than fly. I have managed to keep it up for half of the time. Why not more? The cost of trains… It is a shame that to improve their carbon footprint citizens need to pay two-three times the price of the more carbon-intensive options especially as governments’ focuses turn to net zero and to emission reductions.
How are you connecting with nature this summer or protecting biodiversity near to where you live or work?
As a general rule I spend a lot of time in nature, even in London I am often spotted running in the parks around me, or along the canals. This is important in my daily routine to release stress, but also to unplug and spend time away from the screens.
As London heats up, I will enjoy heading back home to the Cevennes national park, where I will spend time hiking, swimming in rivers and eating home-grown fruits and vegetables. I will also spend some time in Switzerland, conquering higher mountains and practising my trail running. As you can tell, I like to connect with nature through sports; I am not one to sit on a beach for more than a few hours!
What do you find are the benefits of spending more time in the great outdoors?
There are so many, how much time do you have? The benefits are first physical, as the outdoors for me involves a lot of exercise, but also mental. Being in nature helps me to switch off and to reduce stress levels, and I have noticed positive effects on both my health and my happiness levels. The benefits are so wide-ranging that doctors in Shetland can now prescribe nature as a treatment!
The Mayans certainly can teach us a lot about how to protect our environment.
I grew up in the countryside, so for me the great outdoors also has the power of reconnecting me to who I am, and to help me to stay rooted.
Are you planning a holiday? How will you make it ESG-friendly?
I have already done my big holiday for the year, and went to Mexico for three weeks. While I felt guilty about the CO2 emissions of the flight, I have changed my travel habits in order to travel less frequently for longer. Travelling is a way for me to discover how special our planet is. One of the highlights of my trip was to scuba dive in cenotes, deep natural wells that are sacred in Mayan culture. This ecosystem is so well preserved that I saw some charcoal remains of a fire lit by cavemen! The Mayans certainly can teach us a lot about how to protect our environment.
Are you taking part in any charity events or initiatives benefitting the climate or society?
This winter I qualified to become a guide runner to help people blind, or with visual impairments, to achieve their running goals. In May I ran the Hackney Half, my first half marathon as a guide, and I really enjoyed helping my friend cross the finish line. I was humbled by the trust she put in me to guide her through a busy course, and I loved crossing the finish line hand in hand with a big smile on our faces. My focus for the rest of the year will be to find other ways of supporting people in the local community through sport.
Has your employer got any sustainable activities planned this summer? What does it do in the workplace to ensure it mitigates its impact on the environment?
Having announced our intention to be a net-zero emissions business by 2050, or sooner, in July 2021, we have continued to deliver initiatives supporting this. Having published our first responsible business report in April, the first half of 2022 saw us move into our BREEAM rated very good Edinburgh office and continued work to consolidate our data centre power usage. Alongside these projects we are engaging with SBTI to verify our near-term emission targets. We continue to invest in carbon removal credits and are working to diversify our carbon offsetting portfolio.
Recognising the power of collaborative engagements, we continued to engage with industry bodies and had our busiest AGM to date engaging and voting on company resolutions on issues including climate change, diversity and inclusion and executive pay.
Supporting our communities, we are looking forward to the second year of our partnership with Social Shifters on their Global Innovation Challenge and we were pleased to be partnering with The Tree Council supporting the Queen’s Green Canopy initiative.
What would you like to see more of in the investment industry from a sustainability perspective?
The investment industry has made good progress so far, but I think there is a need for ongoing education – sustainable investments is a growing and fast-changing area. We, as an industry, need to ensure that clients understand what sustainability means for their portfolios, and what does, and doesn’t, qualify as sustainable for us. Being transparent will bring greater trust from clients, at a time when greenwashing is making the headlines more and more often.
I also think the inclusion of Scope 3 in emission calculations is going to bring more focus on the investment industry, and that is likely to accelerate change.
