We believe that companies with good corporate practices generally make better long-term investments.
To support our investment decision-making, we consider a range of factors including environmental, social and governance (ESG) considerations. These cover different types of risks and opportunities that businesses may face. We prioritise the key risks that we believe could have an impact on the long-term earnings of a business, below are some examples of ESG factors we prioritised over 2024:
| Environment | Social | Governance |
|---|---|---|
| Climate change | Modern slavery | Board quality and composition |
| Circular economy | Occupational health and safety | Accountability |
| Biodiversity | Human rights | Remuneration |
| Sustainability reporting |
Our actions
Our latest Responsible investment report (PDF, 701 KB) further details the areas we focus on and gives an overview of how we voted at company meetings. Managing over 70% of our investments in-house means we can engage with the boards and management of our major investments.
Over the year to 31 December 2024:
- Our Investments team held engagement meetings with companies where we discussed a range ESG-related factors, including climate change, safety and remuneration.
- We apply a risk-based assessment to identify material ESG factors across our major investment holdings including our 50 largest Australian investments. ESG considerations formed part of the due diligence for our commitment to the Macquarie Green Fund, which invests in large-scale, mature renewable energy technologies.
- Executive remuneration and accountability continued to be a key area of focus. We voted our shares at company meetings, and we engaged where possible with boards and management to enable us to make informed voting decisions.
- We participated in consultations and advocacy with industry and government on policy and regulatory frameworks across a range of areas, such as the net zero transition, circular economy and sustainable finance initiatives.
- We released our 7th annual Climate report (PDF, 1 MB), detailing how we’re managing climate risks and opportunities in our investments, and we released our 5th annual Modern slavery statement.
Member choice
In addition to using a risk-based approach to consider ESG factors across all our investment options, we offer members the choice of three sustainable and environmental branded investment options1. These allow members to limit their exposure to certain industries and/or invest in companies selected on the basis of environmental considerations. All three options are certified by the Responsible Investment Association Australasia under its Responsible Investment Certification Program.2
More information?
Find out more on what responsible investment means to us, and see the case studies on our website for real-world examples of our approach.
You can also download and read our full Responsible investment report (PDF, 701 KB) and see details of how we exercised our voting rights here.
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Things you need to know
1 Sustainable and environmental investing means different things to different people. Different products have different investment criteria. Read our website and the How we invest your money booklet to find out what sustainable and environmental investing means to us and what our investment options invest in.
2 See Responsible returns for further details. The Responsible Investment Certification Program provides general advice only and does not take into account any person’s objectives, financial situation, or needs. Neither the Certification Symbol nor RIAA recommends to any person that any financial product is a suitable investment or that returns are guaranteed. Because of this, you should consider your own objectives, financial situation and needs and also consider the terms of any product disclosure document before making an investment decision. Certifications are current for 24 months and subject to change at any time.
The information is of a general nature and doesn't consider your personal circumstances. Before making decisions, you should consider the PDS and TMD on our website, and whether the information is appropriate for your circumstances otherwise seek financial advice.