We seek to invest sustainably because we believe it drives better long-term outcomes for our clients, our investee companies and their communities.
~290m
people rely on MAM-managed essential services every day1
19+ years
of green energy investment experience
$A1.4b
invested or arranged financing in MAM green energy assets2
As a custodian of vital businesses that touch people’s daily lives, we have both a responsibility and an opportunity to ensure we are actively driving positive change through our investments we operate to deliver value for our clients and communities.
We assess a range of commercial factors including material environmental, social and governance (ESG) risks and opportunities, before actively investing in companies and managing our portfolios over their holding period. This is part of our fiduciary duty to clients.
From our experience in the sectors in which we operate, ESG integration can improve operational performance and resilience, and contribute towards reduced risk, improved productivity, increased cash flow and better long-term value.
We manage a diverse suite of investment capabilities and asset classes on behalf of our clients, with different levels of ownership in, and influence over, the businesses we’re invested in. Because of this, the way we exercise our rights and responsibilities as stewards varies between the public market and private market businesses of MAM.
Consistent across both businesses, however, is our materiality-based approach where we focus on ESG matters that are most important to each company, its employees and customers, alongside the jurisdictions, industries and communities in which it operates.
ESG considerations are embedded in our investment decision-making processes and integrated throughout the investment lifecycle across our infrastructure and agricultural portfolio companies, real estate properties, green energy assets3, private equity and debt investments.
Over our long-term investment horizon, it’s likely our portfolio companies, properties and borrowers will face ESG challenges and opportunities. Effectively managing them helps to build sustainable, adaptable and resilient businesses that deliver long-term value for our clients and communities”
Leigh Harrison
Head of Real Assets, Macquarie Asset Management
ESG factors are integrated into our investment teams’ processes. We encourage investee companies and issuers to enhance their disclosures, as well as act on material sustainability risks and opportunities, through direct engagement and by exercising our proxy voting rights.4
We consider material ESG risks and opportunities when evaluating a company’s business model to help us understand the business more comprehensively and make better investment decisions for our clients.”
Shawn Lytle
Head of Equities & Multi-Asset, Macquarie Asset Management
In our private markets businesses, we have created a Sustainable Development Goal (SDG) alignment framework5 to link specific ESG initiatives across most of our infrastructure and agricultural funds with the SDGs. We report on these funds’ progress on an annual basis to clients.
In our public market businesses, we have developed an SDG scoring system that holds over 150 data points for around 10,000 companies. Its metrics assess performance against the UN’s 17 SDGs and are available to help inform our investment teams’ decision-making.
The private sector can play a key role in developing and implementing solutions to address some of the world’s biggest sustainable development challenges. Within many of our funds, we are assessing their impact across a range of SDG targets and sharing our progress with clients.”
Kristina Kloberdanz
Chief Sustainability Officer, Macquarie Asset Management
As participants in some of the world’s leading industry alliances and advocacy groups, we work to continuously advance our understanding of ESG issues and opportunities and to improve our own sustainability approach. Our people also participate in working groups and advisory committees in areas where we believe we can meaningfully contribute to the understanding and development of industry best practice.
We recognise many of the ESG challenges we face are shared by other financial institutions. Our membership of various industry groups enables us to address ESG issues of common concern and share best practice.”
Barry Gladstein
Head of Sustainable Investing, Credit and Equities & Multi-Asset, Macquarie Asset Management
Industry alliances and advocacy groups
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- As of 31 March 2023, the number of people reached is calculated by taking an estimate of the number of users for all MAM Real Assets portfolio companies. For example, for a specific toll road, the number of vehicles per day has been multiplied by the average number of passengers in a vehicle (two). Portfolio company data is collected from MAM’s asset management teams on a bi-annual basis.
- On our balance sheet or under Macquarie management for the year ended 31 March 2024. Refer to the FY2024 Basis of Preparation for ESG Reporting for the definition of ‘green energy assets.
- Macquarie’s definition of green energy assets is made up of: established renewable energy technologies such as solar, wind, hydro or geothermal energy; emerging green energy technologies including green hydrogen, carbon capture, utilisation and storage (CCUS) and renewable natural gas; waste-to-energy and bioenergy assets; energy efficiency technologies such as smart meters, energy efficient lighting, biomass boilers and ground and air source heat pumps; low carbon transport, including electric vehicles; and supporting infrastructure for the above assets, e.g., battery storage and electric vehicle charging infrastructure.
- For our managed funds that are sub-advised or have an external investment manager, those advisers and managers are not subject to the MAM Public Investments proxy voting guidelines and may or may not have their own voting policies or frameworks.
- MAM has developed a methodology for reporting against the United Nations’ Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) using a defined logic model and industry impact metrics to provide reporting of outputs and outcomes considered to benefit and/or contribute to these global goals. Each positive impact has been assessed on its own merit. SDG alignment has been based on information that is self-reported by MAM portfolio companies, not independently verified.
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Sustainability at Macquarie Asset Management