Sustainability and Corporate Governance Report 202
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COMMENTS FROM THE CEO – HANDELSBANKEN FONDER Magd
alena Wahlqvist Alveskog, CEO of Handelsbanken Fonder, and Karin Askelöf, Head of Sustainability. During the year you presented new sustainability goals. Can you tell us more? Karin Askelöf: Handelsbanken Fonder’s vision is to create financial wealth and planetary health through sustainable investments. To clarify how we can move towards this vision, we have developed and agreed on new sustainability goals. The goals apply to our funds, and have been set in two main areas: aligning our investment portfolios with the Paris Agreement goals and stepping up our contribution to achieving the sustainable development goals (SDGs). The first area focuses on the climate change issue. Here, we have set a challenging goal of net-zero emissions from all investment portfolios by 2040. In the second area, we intend to step up the pace of our contribution to the other 2030 Agenda goals. This involves, for instance, investing in companies that offer solutions for achieving the SDGs and using engagement to achieve results that promote the goals. Magdalena Wahlqvist Alveskog: It’s essentially about continuously evolving and making improvements – just like the companies in our funds. It’s an ongoing development. We work across several dimensions to achieve our goals, by investing in sustainable business models and through our ability as an active owner to influence the companies. In the future, we will report at least annually on the funds’ progress in relation to the goals and metrics. Describe the Net Zero Asset Managers initiative. What does this commitment involve? Karin Askelöf: It is a substantial, meaningful commitment on our part, and is also in line with our climate goals and the ambitious zero emissions target we have now put forward. By signing the initiative, we pledge to refine our methods and tools even more, which we are fully prepared to do. We need to demonstrate how we intend to help reduce global carbon dioxide levels. And a vital part of our promise is a clear quantitative target for our managed capital. 3