Sustainability and Corporate Governance Report 202
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HANDELSBANKEN FONDER – HOW TO EQUIP OURSELVES FOR
A CHANGING WORLD A new cityscape is emerging Big cities account for a large part of the world’s growth, as well as for a significant share of emissions. As climate ambitions rise around the world, views of metropolitan areas are shifting. Parts of several city centres are being closed off to vehicle traffic, and there is net exodus taking place from some of the world’s metropolises. Handelsbanken Global Tema actively seeks new investment opportunities in the 2030 Agenda – among them, solutions for the new smart city. Handelsbanken Global Tema is a growth-oriented thematic fund that seeks to invest in companies with exposure to the SDGs and the 2030 Agenda. “More than half of the global population lives in big cities that generate much of the world’s growth,” says Cecilia Auvray, who manages the fund. “But cities also account for 70 per cent of global carbon dioxide emissions and 60 per cent of resource use. This creates challenges around sustainable living, transport and energy supply, but it also brings opportunities to realise reforms and changes that can improve the situation.” She says that the fund wants to invest in companies that can facilitate tackling the major sustainability challenges facing the world. These include enabling achievement of the climate goals, improving health and meeting the need for productivity increases. The planet’s resources are limited, while demographic changes mean that fewer and fewer of us will have to support more people. “ Views of metropolitan areas are shifting” Cecilia Auvray, Fund Manager “A smart city is a resource-efficient city that uses innovative technology to make life better for its residents,” Auvray says. “This is well aligned with what the fund and our fund management company want to achieve – to create both relief and returns. With smart cities, we can reduce climate impact and better safeguard the planet’s resources.” “As climate ambitions rise around the world, we also see how views of metropolitan areas are starting to shift. Urbanisation persists, but demands are growing to build more inclusive cities that provide scope for human well-being. For example, we’re seeing more and more cities that are building to accommodate less vehicle traffic and even shutting down the city centre to cars.” Effects of the pandemic – the exodus continues Within the investment theme for smart cities, Cecilia Auvray looks for companies that offer solutions for reducing cities’ carbon footprint and making them more “life-friendly” places. Interesting holdings for the fund can consist of everything from bicycles to infrastructure, or technology solutions for smart, energy-saving buildings. She notes that in many countries the trend is towards an increased demand for a changed cityscape. Recently, the pandemic has made it clear that cities are in a state of flux. “There are development trends suggesting that the big migration to cities has also helped to make some of the negatives of urban life – such as a lot of noise and car traffic – visible,” Auvray says. “One example: back in 2019, before the pandemic, we saw a net exodus from some major cities.” “The pandemic has helped to accelerate the urban exodus, and in 2020 we saw a net exodus from a variety of places around the world. And the restrictions have led us to question why we should travel long distances to our workplaces in the first place. Another effect of Covid-19 is that much of the world has made massive investments in IT systems and data resources to enable teleworking. This is likely to affect the way we work in the future. Besides providing opportunities to reduce our carbon footprint, such as by commuting less often, working from home opens up a more flexible, healthy way of life.” Information about risk Past performance does not predict future returns. The value of the money invested in the fund can increase or decrease and there is no guarantee that all of your invested capital can be redeemed. The fund’s prospectus (“Informations broschyr”), fund rules and KIID are available at handelsbanken.se/funds. 48