Buying sustainable investment funds doesn’t simply mean buying wind turbines or solar panels. A more sustainable world won’t be achieved through renewable energy alone. Simon Holmes, Director, Portfolio Manager, examines 3 interesting sustainable themes that you probably didn’t realise already affect your daily lives!

To reach the goals of the Paris Agreement by 2050, we need rapid expansion of the renewable energy industry, as well as increased mining for minerals. But these could come at a cost often bared by the indigenous groups, from land title issues to destruction of habitats. How can investors help ensure the energy transition is done in partnership with indigenous communities and land stewards?

During 2020, 95% of our ESG activity positively aligned to the UN Sustainable Development Goals with a focus on SDG 3- Good Health and Well-being and SDG 8– Decent Work and Economic Growth. Labour standards were an important focus for our engagement with continued engagement on topics including modern slavery and living wages, as well as protecting workforces during the Covid-19 pandemic. Discover more about our BMO Sustainable Opportunities Global Equity strategy by downloading our latest impact report.

The pandemic has shone the spotlight on inadequate working conditions and inadequate quality of care in nursing homes. These are both human rights issues that must urgently be addressed. How can investors contribute to driving positive change in this sector?

Earth Overshoot Day marks the date when our demand for natural resources and services in a given year exceeds what Earth can regenerate. In 2021 that date is 29 July, driven primarily by our growing carbon footprint and increasing biodiversity loss. These are two challenges responsible investors should already be addressing. How can we help to move back the date of Earth Overshoot Day?

Corporate governance among Asian companies have progressed significantly in the past couple of decades, but significant challenges remain. Discover the findings of the latest Asian Corporate Governance Association CG Watch report – and why, despite our own engagement efforts, we remain concerned.

Paul Niven talks through four challenges for multi-asset investors and explains how they can navigate them in their portfolios.

We increasingly want to play our part in creating a more sustainable world for our future generations, whether we recycle, eat less meat, or refrain from using single-use plastics. And by using active multi-asset strategies, we can also make an impact through our investments, that won’t cost the earth. Simon Holmes, Portfolio Manager, takes us through two sustainable themes he is excited about from an impact and investment perspective: health & well-being, and technological innovation.

At our Responsible Investment Conference, three companies discussed the evolution of investor engagement on ESG issues – and how investors can best structure their engagement to help companies raise these issues internally, to ultimately drive better sustainability outcomes. Discover their views in our article, and watch the video to catch up on the full session from the conference.

The Committee on Climate Change’s annual progress report reveals that whilst the UK’s ambition for reducing greenhouse gas emissions is admirable, actions do not yet match words. Clearly, as financial institutions we must use our power to force the pace of change on climate change. At BMO GAM, we’ve committed to reaching net zero emissions across all our assets under management by 2050 or sooner – discover the robust framework we’re following to get there.

Antimicrobial resistance is accelerating at a rate that could threaten modern medicine. Due to growing demand for meat, dairy and fish in in low- and middle-income countries, coupled with a boom in large-scale intensive farming operations, antibiotic use in animal agriculture is projected to rise by 67% by 2030. Read more from our Responsible Investment Team on why it could be a material issue for food companies.

The recruitment of international migrants can result in exploitation and human rights abuses, including modern slavery and forced labour – an infamous example being the 2018 allegations around Malaysian company Top Glove, an NHS supplier. Discover our engagement with Top Glove, as well as recommendations for how companies can mitigate recruitment-related risks within their supply chains.

Paul Niven talks through four challenges for multi-asset investors and explains how they can navigate them in their portfolios.

We are joined by Tony Wickenden, Founder and MD of Technical Connection and Phil Wickenden, Founder of Ad Lucem, to evaluate the key considerations for advisers and the new opportunities that might exist in a post COVID world. Based on extensive research from 100 adviser firms and 1000 investors we will provide insight into how firms are adapting to the ‘new normal’. We’ll examine how customer behaviour has changed and what this means for adviser processes and their marketing strategy

Concerns around health and wellbeing are timeless, but the specific challenges evolve. Today, most of the world’s population live in countries where obesity kills more people than hunger. What are possible solutions to this challenge – and which companies are pioneering in this space?

We increasingly want to play our part in creating a more sustainable world for our future generations, whether we recycle, eat less meat, or refrain from using single-use plastics. And by using active multi-asset strategies, we can also make an impact through our investments, that won’t cost the earth. Simon Holmes, Portfolio Manager, takes us through two sustainable themes he is excited about from an impact and investment perspective: health & well-being, and technological innovation.

In our series of short videos, Vicki Bakhshi takes us through the first impact report for the BMO Sustainable Universal MAP Range including how our engagement with companies drives positive change, how we map the range to the UN SDGs and the metrics we use to assess impact.

During 2020, 82% of our ESG activity positively aligned to the UN Sustainable Development Goals with a focus on SDG 3 – Good Health and Well-being. One of our ESG highlights includes engaging with Covid-19 vaccine developer AstraZeneca, and Swedish firm Elekta, which specialises in radiotherapy equipment for cancer treatment. Discover more by downloading our latest impact report for our BMO Sustainable Opportunities European Equity Strategy