JANA joins forces with world’s leading investment consultancies to launch Net Zero Investment Consultants Initiative

JANA, one of Australia’s leading investment and research consultancies, has announced that they are one of twelve global investment consultancy firms who have signed up to the newly launched Net Zero Investment Consultants Initiative (NZICI), to support the global goal of net zero greenhouse gas emissions by 2050

The initiative has been led by the Investment Consultants Sustainability Working Groups in the UK and US, is endorsed by the United Nations Race to Zero campaign and the Principles for Responsible Investment (PRI).

JANA joins eleven other prominent investment firms in the initiative, and is the largest Australian presence: Barnett Waddingham, bfinance, Cambridge Associates, Cardano, Frontier, Hymans Robertson, LCP, Meketa, Redington, Willis Towers Watson and Wilshire Associates.

Collectively, the twelve investment consulting firms are responsible for advising institutional asset owners of USD 20 trillion and have committed to nine specific actions. Which includes the:

• Integration of advice on net zero alignment into all investment consulting services as soon as practically possible and within two years of making this commitment
• Supporting efforts to decarbonise the global economy by helping clients prioritize real economy emissions reductions, reflecting the target of 50% global emissions reduction by 2030 or sooner using existing decarbonization methodologies.

JANA Chief Executive Officer Jim Lamborn said, “JANA is proud to be a part of the Net Zero Investment Consultants Initiative.”

JANA’s mission statement is that, together, we have the opportunity to impact millions of people. However, achieving the UN’s Sustainable Development Goals will require sustained international collaboration. This is why global initiatives like the NZICI are so critical.

“Investment is no longer about pure return, but instead working towards creating a long-term, positive impact, not only for direct beneficiaries, but the globalised communities in which they operate.”

As part of JANA’s business strategy and overall commitment to sustainable and ethical investment practices, we recently announced the appointment of leading risk expert Rachel Halpern as Head of Sustainability. Ms Halpern is working alongside JANA’s Head of Responsible Investment Research, Tim Conly, on driving JANA’s internal and client-facing sustainability program.

Embracing sustainability doesn’t mean abandoning strong returns – in fact the opposite. We are focused on helping our clients build portfolios that are dedicated to solving problems aligned with SDGs while delivering strong financial returns. Take climate change – our view is that the inevitable climate change transition, and the associated investment opportunities and risks, are not fully priced in by markets.

Many of our clients are seeking to proactively respond to these challenges and ensure strong risk adjusted returns for their beneficiaries. For our managed investments, we are working with asset managers to set interim targets aligned with fair share CO2 reduction requirements and increasing our engagement initiatives to support this alignment.

As for JANA as an organisation, we are already fulfilling the first NZICI pledge: to integrate advice on net zero alignment into all our investment consulting services as soon as practically possible and within two years of making this commitment. To deliver long-term sustainable returns, you need strong considerations of environmental, social and governance (ESG) risk management. That is why JANA does not recommend any investment that fails to appropriately consider sustainability implications.

JANA is not only talking the talk but walking the walk. As a business, we will be carbon neutral by the end of 2021 and have eliminated direct emissions. Looking ahead, we are diving deeper into our supply chains, with the help of FairSupply, to provide us with tools to work with our suppliers on their climate plans and social issues.