LGT Private Banking recently signed the Finance for Biodiversity Pledge and the Principles for Responsible Investment (PRI) initiative and has become a member of the Institutional Investors Group on Climate Change (IIGCC). Further to its own sustainability initiatives encompassing investments, advisory services and operations, LGT aims to use these memberships to advance the topic of sustainability with competitors and international organizations.
LGT has significantly expanded its sustainability efforts in recent years. By 2030, it aims to achieve net zero in its operations and its investments. With a view to increasing sustainability in portfolios, the private bank also focuses on transparency and active advice when serving its clients. By becoming a member of three global bodies committed to climate, society and the environment, LGT Private Banking now takes another important step in its sustainability strategy.
The UN PRI is an investor initiative in partnership with the UNEP Finance Initiative and the UN Global Compact. Its goal is to raise companies' awareness of the environmental, social and governance impacts of their investment activities. The signatories are also supported in incorporating the relevant ESG factors into their own investment decisions. While LGT Capital Partners has been a signatory for years, LGT Private Banking has now also signed the initiative. "We are already one of the leading providers of sustainable investment solutions. As a member of the UN PRI, we can make an even stronger commitment to sustainable finance and actively bring our ideas to the table," says Christopher Greenwald, Head of Sustainable Investing at LGT. The initiative already has over 4000 members from more than 60 countries.
In addition to climate change, loss of biodiversity is another major threat faced by humanity. As a signatory to the Finance for Biodiversity Pledge, LGT has committed to contribute to the preservation and restoration of biodiversity. "The world of finance can help to protect biodiversity and the environment as a whole by choosing the right investments," says Ursula Finsterwald, Head Group Sustainability Management at LGT. "The loss of biodiversity in particular is something of which not many people are aware. That’s why at LGT, we want to actively and publicly address this issue, and also take it into account in our range of products and services."
LGT has also joined the Institutional Investors Group on Climate Change, or the IIGCC. The organization includes over 370 investors who work together to make important progress on ensuring a low-carbon future. This is achieved primarily by investors taking an active role in investee companies and working to ensure that those companies act more sustainably. Ursula Finsterwald says: "The IIGCC’s strong network gives us the opportunity to promote measures against climate change even more intensively in dialog with companies, political decision-makers and other investors."