Decarbonization, biodiversity and active ownership to address climate change are looming larger in institutional investors' investment policies, according to a climate survey released Monday by Dutch asset manager Robeco.
The survey conducted in January by CoreData Research for Robeco covered 300 large institutional investors in Europe, North America and Asia-Pacific with a collective $23.7 trillion in assets under management.
For 75% of those investors, climate change is considered a central or significant factor in investment policy, up from 34% two years ago, the survey found.
Nearly half of the investors surveyed have made or will be making a public commitment to achieving net-zero greenhouse gas emissions from their investment portfolio by 2050. Of the 27% that have already made the commitment, those in Europe and Asia lead their peers. Only 11% of North American investors have committed to net-zero, although 44% are investigating the concept, Robeco found.
Also on the rise is investor appetite to divest from oil and gas companies using fossil fuels, with institutional investors expecting to divest 19% of their portfolios in the next five years. Investors are also considering more asset classes for their decarbonization efforts in the next three years, including commodities, according to survey respondents.
Rising temperatures related to climate change that also threaten biodiversity are of increasing importance, the investors reported, with 41% considering biodiversity a significant or central factor in their investment policy, and 56% expecting it to be so in the next two years, compared with 19% two years ago.
The survey also found more thematic investing in sustainability-related themes such as renewable energy or green technology and more active ownership. While 54% of investors considered active ownership, including engagement and proxy voting, a significant part of their investment policies two years ago, 73% now say it will in the next two years, the survey found.
