Net Zero – A Just Approach

As climate change intensifies, transparency and accountability has never been more critical. Royal London Asset Management has published its second Navigating the Climate Transition update, offering a look at its firmwide net zero strategy, progress, and future direction.

We are committed to long-term climate resilience as a firm [1], and aim to reach net zero by 2050 across all investments, with a 50% emissions reduction by 2030 [2]. Our property portfolio targets: net zero by 2030 for directly managed assets and 2040 for indirectly managed ones.

As an asset manager, we believe our best chance of reaching our climate goals and supporting the Paris Agreement is through proactive company and policy engagement, reducing portfolio emissions and managing risks, and supporting our clients to invest in climate aware investment solutions.

Progress and highlights

• Engagement: Engagement is an integral part of our approach to drive decarbonisation at the constituent level of our funds. In 2024, we engaged with 464 companies on ESG issues and 192 companies on climate. These 192 companies represent 60% of our financed emissions.
• Climate Transition Assessment (CTA): A key component of our Net Zero Stewardship Programme, we use our 12-indicator framework to evaluate high-emitting companies, In 2024, we applied the CTA to 40 companies, representing 54% of our financed emissions.
• Voting: Proxy voting used to escalate climate concerns and reinforce ESG issues and goals. In 2024, we voted on 28 management proposals and 123 shareholder proposals on climate.

These all help prioritise engagement, track progress over time, and hold companies accountable for their climate commitments.

A Just approach to leaving no one behind

We recognise that climate action must be both environmentally effective and socially equitable. That’s why we’re continuing to advance a dual focus on a just transition—ensuring the shift to a low-carbon economy supports workers and communities—and a just adaptation, which protects vulnerable populations from the physical impacts of climate change. Alongside this, we’re deepening our integration of nature and biodiversity risks into investment analysis, developing tools to assess nature-related financial exposures and unlock opportunities that deliver both environmental and societal value.

Find out more

2025 Navigating the climate transition report

Stewardship and responsible investment report

2024 Net Zero Stewardship Programme Climate Transition Assessments

[1] Our commitments are made at the firm level, and we will report periodically and transparently on the progress we are making. This commitment does not apply to all Royal London Asset Management funds and strategies individually because each will have different investment objectives. Please check the prospectus for details on specific fund-level objectives.

[2] The term net zero means achieving a balance between the amount of greenhouse gases emitted into the atmosphere and the amount removed from it. The commitment is based on the expectation that governments and policy makers will deliver on commitments to achieve the 1.5°C temperature goal of the Paris Agreement. It also assumes this action does not contravene Royal London Asset Management’s fiduciary duty to external investors. The commitment is baselined on the year 2020. It includes assets managed and controlled by Royal London Asset Management, but excludes segregated mandates managed on behalf of external clients, unless otherwise instructed.

For professional investors only. This material is not suitable for a retail audience. Capital at risk. This is a financial promotion and is not investment advice. Past performance is not a guide to future performance. The value of investments and any income from them may go down as well as up and is not guaranteed. Investors may not get back the amount invested. The views expressed are those of the author at the date of publication unless otherwise indicated, which are subject to change, and is not investment advice. Forward looking statements are subject to certain risks and uncertainties. Actual outcomes may be materially different from those expressed or implied.