Stockholm (NordSIP) – On Tuesday October 8th, on the margins of the 2024 PRI in Person conference in Toronto, Canada, the PRI announced the winners of its seven PRI Awards 2024. Among the laureates, two asset managers came from the Nordic region: Summa Equity (Sweden) won the “System Stewardship” award. Nordea Asset Management (AM) (Sweden) won the “Recognition for Action – Climate” Award.
Other winners also include organisations from the Netherlands, the Asia-Pacific region, France and Malaysia. The ILX Fund (Netherlands) won the “Innovation in Responsible Investment Strategy” and the “Special Award – Emerging Markets” awards. Groupe Caisse des Dépôts (France) won the “Recognition for Action – Nature”. The Investors against slavery and trafficking Asia Pacific (IAST APAC) won the “Recognition for Action – Human Rights”. Finally, Bintang Capital Partners (Malaysia) won the “Special Award – Private Markets”.
From the Nordics, AkademikerPension and Swedbank Robur were both shortlisted for the “Recognition for Action – Human Rights” award.
Applying the Theory of Change Framework for a “More Stakeholder-Centred Economy”
Summa Equity’s award was attributed for the application of impact accounting, taken from the Theory of Change framework, to measure and manage impact for a more stakeholder-centred economy
“Impact accounting integrates elements of the Theory of Change to identify impact pathways, providing a comprehensive view of a company’s positive and negative impacts. By translating these impacts into monetary terms, we can enhance decision-making for management teams, investors and consumers. This holistic assessment of company performance helps identify resilient and forward-looking business models. It also fosters greater transparency and accountability for corporate impacts on society and the environment,” Summa Equity’s case study explains. “Summa partnered with a specialised impact valuation consultant in a collaborative project with three pilot companies. The project with the portfolio companies has been completed, and according to the head of sustainability at one of the companies, the process and results have helped the company be more objective and quantitative when setting priorities,” the case study adds.
”Great step forward for impact measurement. For me, this is really the missing link for determining whether “best intention” projects around sustainability really translate into quantifiable outcomes for investors. Would love to see how this work evolves over time,” said Anne Cabot-Alletzhauser, one of the judges for the PRI Awards.
Collaborative Engagement Against Methane
Nordea AM’s award was attributed for its efforts in methane collaborative engagement. These efforts were conducted together with other partners such as AP7, California State Teachers’ Retirement System, Lærernes Pension, P+, PenSam, Sampension, The State Pension Fund of Finland and Varma, among others.
“In 2022, we decided to prioritise methane in our stewardship efforts, focusing on sectors that are major contributors to anthropogenic methane emissions. We initiated a three-year collaborative engagement with selected partners and clients to engage with companies in energy (phase 1), utilities (phase 2) and waste management (phase 3) sectors on methane measurement, reporting and mitigation,” Nordea AM’s case study explains. “The primary engagement ask in phases 1 and 2 is for companies to join the Oil and Gas Methane Partnership 2.0 (OGMP2.0), the UNEP’s global ‘gold standard’ in methane measurement, reporting and target-setting, and for companies to achieve near-zero methane emissions according to this standard. Implementing OGMP 2.0 and direct measurement helps improve the data accuracy for emission sources and increase visibility of mitigation opportunities, thereby maximising real-world methane mitigation. In addition to joining OGMP 2.0, companies are asked to map methane mitigation actions and share their cost / benefit analysis. We also engage with them on progress towards aligning with a 1.5°C pathway, for which methane mitigation is vital and prepares companies for leading the energy transition. Progress is tracked against milestones, general alignment KPIs and specific methane maturity criteria,” Nordea AM’s case study adds.
“This targeted initiative has elevated methane as a concern and is consistent with science. Good results to date. Great collaborative outreach. Just an effective, well-designed and executed program that has tackled an important climate issue smartly,” PRI award judge Jon Lukomnik said on this occasion.
”In certain circumstances, collaborative engagement can be a vital tool in achieving better outcomes, and this collaboration is a great practical example of that in action. We had a large number of great submissions in this category – the thoughtful approach with tiering of engagement targets, clearly defined engagement goals and practical asks of the companies has led to demonstrable outcomes made this one stand out,” said Jen Sisson, one of the judges for the PRI Awards.
