Paris-headquartered Ofi Invest Asset Management has announced it will exclude companies that produce pesticides, as part of its biocides and hazardous chemicals policy.
The company, which managed over €163 billion ($179 bln) as of last June, will omit companies with biocide-related revenue of 10% or more.
The policy affects manufacturers of pesticides that kill rodents, birds, slugs, snails, parasitic worms, and insects, it said. It also includes companies that produce paint that slows the growth of marine organisms on boats.
“This component seeks to tackle the pollution and harm to species caused by biocides, neonicotinoids and other dangerous chemicals as well as the damage to the environment and health for which these substances are responsible,” Eric Bertrand, chief investment officer at Ofi Invest Asset Management, said in a statement.
The strategy does not cover all of its holdings, but applies to its open-ended mutual funds.
Carbon Pulse asked Ofi whether it will divest from companies as a result of the policy, though had not received a response at the time of publication.
ENGAGEMENT CAMPAIGN
Also announced by the firm was a two-year engagement campaign with companies in the chemicals, food, and industrial goods sectors on biocides.
The campaign aims to understand the efforts that companies have made in tackling the risks from pollution to nature, while seeking to incentivise them to mitigate the impacts caused by their products.
Ofi will then apply an escalation policy to companies failing to act to address their pollution on a case-by-case basis that could include a reduction of their holdings, it said.
Asset managers are increasingly announcing more stringent exclusion policies, beyond the most-commonly excluded products such as tobacco and guns, in order to strengthen their environmental action.
Pesticides often end up in rivers due to their solubility, where they can impact microflora and microfauna, Ofi said. Animals not targeted by biocides may be exposed to them if the ecosystem in which they live is contaminated, it added.
“Some intensive farming practices make it impossible for ecosystems to regenerate. Pesticides cause pollution of aquatic environments, air, and soil with all the environmental and health repercussions that these entail.”
“They also impact animal pollination, soil-fertilisation species, and their role in regulating ecosystems.”
By Thomas Cox – t.cox@carbon-pulse.com
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