Impact, Climate & Biodiversity, La Financière de l'Echiquier reports with transparency
Being a pioneer in impact investing on listed markets, La Financière de l’Echiquier (LFDE) is publishing today the report on its Climate & Biodiversity corporate strategy, as well as the annual impact reports[1] for two of its impact funds. These three reports reflect our commitment to transparency towards investors.
The first report on LFDE’s Climate & Biodiversity corporate strategy[2] provides an overview of the concrete actions implemented in 2021 for each of the 9 commitments. It also reports on the climate and biodiversity performance of our funds. LFDE is extending this measurement beyond the requirements of Article 29 of the Energy-Climate Law to all of its funds. This report presents the chosen indicators, their relevance and limitations, as well as the objectives set by LFDE. The partnership with Carbon4 Finance allows us to present for the very first time the environmental performance of our funds on indicators such as temperature alignment and the biodiversity footprint.
This reporting and educational exercise is essential to encourage the growing integration of these criteria into the management of our funds.
The two impact reports published today, audited by Better Way, an independent consultancy firm, concern two of LFDE’s impact funds, both of which are classified as Article 9 under the SFDR regulation.
The first Echiquier Climate & Biodiversity Impact Europe report[3][4] covers the impact generated by portfolio companies at the fund level, using measurability indicators such as the Climate & Biodiversity Maturity Score, a proprietary methodology. It also presents all of the means put in place to contribute to the fund’s impact thesis.
The fourth Echiquier Positive Impact Europe report[5][6] provides a concrete measure of the positive impacts generated by the investments made in the portfolio companies, in regard to the UN’s Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs). It also reports the results of the management team’s engagement with the companies in the portfolio, as well as developments in our impact approach.
At a time when the Paris financial market is questioning the operational implementation of impact approaches, the publication of these two reports provides a concrete illustration of the three pillars of impact investing, namely intentionality, additionality, and measurability.
All of these reports are publicly available on the website www.lfde.com.
Bettina Ducat, Chief Executive Officer of La Financière de l’Echiquier, states:
For La Financière de l’Echiquier, transparency towards investors is essential. The publication of these impact reports, the first of which is for our fund dedicated to the climate transition and the protection of biodiversity, is a concrete and precise illustration of the impact generated, as well as our cutting edge.
Olivier de Berranger, Deputy Chief Executive Officer and Head of Asset Management at LFDE, adds:
We would like to thank the experts at Better Way, an independent firm, for their support. The quality of the impact reports published today is a benchmark in the marketplace in terms of impact measurement. This pioneering work will continue to grow, as will our growing range of impact funds and our commitment to our portfolio companies.
Coline Pavot, Head of Responsible Investment Research at LFDE, comments:
In the face of constantly evolving regulations, we want to be exemplary in the use of our clients’ savings, which are invested to address climate and biodiversity issues. The report on our Climate & Biodiversity strategy highlights this desire in a tangible way. We communicate the performance of all our funds on a set of environmental metrics and assess this first year of deployment of this pragmatic and ambitious strategy.