Macquarie Infrastructure and Real Assets to accelerate sustainable investment commitment

Macquarie Infrastructure and Real Assets (MIRA) has confirmed its commitment to become the global leader in sustainable real asset management upon the release of its first Infrastructure Sustainability Report and 2020 UN-supported Principles for Responsible Investment performance ratings.

In the report released today, the world’s largest infrastructure manager announced that it has launched a programme to better understand and reduce the greenhouse gas footprint of its more than 120 infrastructure portfolio companies. In addition, the report details MIRA’s existing policy to restrict investments in businesses with exposure to coal and reveals the creation of a dedicated in-house sustainability function to help embed best practice across its investments.

Martin Stanley, Head of Macquarie Asset Management (MAM), said; “Environmental, Social and Governance matters have always been central to MIRA’s investment and asset management philosophy. But as our business has grown, as the challenges our world faces become more complex and as the role of private capital evolves, we are taking our commitment to sustainable investment to a new level. Sustainability and long-term value creation are fundamentally aligned, and it remains our ambition to be the global leader in both.”

MIRA’s Infrastructure Sustainability Report also provides insight into its sustainability focus areas and the key themes impacting the sector including adaptation and decarbonisation, license to operate, value creation, diversity and capability building. The report’s publication follows the release of MAM’s 2020 performance ratings by the UN-supported Principles for Responsible Investment, with MIRA’s infrastructure business receiving an A+ rating and MAM receiving above median scores across all relevant categories in the world’s leading assessment of responsible investment practices.

The focus on sustainability within the real assets sector is intensifying. Earlier this year, MIRA published the findings of its survey of more than 150 institutional investors with combined assets under management of approximately $US20 trillion. The survey revealed that more than 91 per cent of investors planned to increase their focus on Environmental, Social and Governance concerns over the next five years.