Mercer has partnered with environmental research house Trucost to offer a new client service that measures the environmental impact of investment portfolios.
The carbon footprint of a client’s investment portfolio will be measured in terms of the greenhouse gas emissions it is responsible for producing. The results will then be compared to nominated benchmarks such as the S&P 500, the Russell 1000, or the FTSE All-share.
Named the Style Research Portfolio Analyzer, the new tool will process environmental data provided by Trucost to come up with the carbon footprint of a given investment portfolio.
“Investors are increasingly conscious about the impact of their investments on the environment and are actively looking for guidance on this,” Mercer head of responsible investing for Asia Pacific Helga Birgden said.
“This new tool will allow us to help clients understand the carbon exposure of their equity investments, and provide an indication and analysis of their subsequent carbon footprint.”
“It also means clients can now raise carbon and climate change issues with their investment managers when discussing performance, and monitor their carbon exposure as part of their regular portfolio updates,” she said.
The alliance will also allow a greater number of people access to data regarding corporate greenhouse gas emissions, according to Trucost chief executive Simon Thomas.
“It will help trustees better understand overall exposure of their funds to the rising costs of carbon inefficiencies,” he said.
