Victor Verberk, Robeco
The asset management industry has been embracing sustainability en masse, but as with every major shift, change doesn’t happen overnight.
After a summer of regional floods and forest fires, followed by COP26 in autumn, now is an opportune time to pause and take stock. The asset management industry has been embracing sustainability en masse, but as with every major shift, change doesn't happen overnight. Victor Verberk, Robeco's CIO Fixed Income and Sustainability, talks about seismic shifts, enormous challenges and the extensive media coverage of whistleblowers in the asset management industry.
"It is important to realize how fast our industry is developing. Things are happening very quickly. A decade ago, we talked about integrating ESG across the entire investment process rather than having a team of SI specialists in an isolated corner of the company. Now, we are talking about the complexities of carbon data and calculating Scope 3 trajectories towards 2030. We are discussing how to measure the real-world impact of our portfolios. This is a whole new ball game, and one thing is sure: we haven't seen the end of these changes."
"At Robeco, we are committed to achieving net-zero greenhouse-gas emissions across all our assets by 2050. We commit to this goal because it's part of our responsible stewardship and it's in the long-term interest of our planet, our clients and our investment performance. Our vision is that safeguarding economic, environmental and social assets is a prerequisite of a healthy economy and the generation of attractive returns in the future. The low-carbon transition is not only a moral imperative, but also the prime investment opportunity of our generation."
Read the full interview in Robeco's website.
This post was funded by Robeco
