In our asset management, we explicitly take sustainability risks and negative sustainability impacts into account.
ASN Bank conducts a screening of all potential investments on our behalf. In this screening, ASN Bank identifies and analyzes the sustainability risks and adverse impacts associated with potential investments. For the methods used by ASN Bank, we refer to the ASN Sustainability Criteria Manual.
If an investment does not meet ASN Bank’s sustainability criteria, we do not invest in it.
Protecting the Climate, Biodiversity, and Human Rights
To achieve our goals, we investigate every company and government we invest in.
For this analysis, we rely on research conducted by the ASN Bank’s Sustainability Expertise Center. They screen companies and governments based on ASN Bank’s sustainability pillars, using exclusion and admission criteria.
Exclusion criteria are absolute requirements that companies, countries, and organizations must meet to be eligible for investment.
Admission criteria are relative. That means: only companies, countries, and organizations that perform better than most in their group or sector are eligible for investment.
These criteria cover areas such as climate, biodiversity, human rights, good governance, and animal welfare.
Positive Contribution to the SDGs
We also assess how companies contribute to achieving the United Nations’ Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs).
The SDGs provide a common language and set of goals for discussing sustainable and social development. They are central to a global agenda for sustainable progress. The goals aim to, by 2030, reduce poverty, tackle inequality, address climate change, and protect natural resources.
How Do We Prevent Negative Impacts?
The sustainable impact of selected investments focuses on avoiding negative effects.
We do not invest in companies that:
Produce fossil fuels or offer products/services heavily dependent on fossil fuels, such as the automotive and aviation industries.
Produce weapons (or components for weapons).
Use child labor, directly or indirectly through suppliers.
Do not respect women’s rights or labor union rights.
What Do We Invest In?
The sustainable impact of our investments focuses on creating positive effects.
We do invest in:
Companies that contribute to the energy transition.
Companies that protect and restore biodiversity.
Governments with strong performance in areas such as income distribution, anti-discrimination, and anti-corruption.