Investing with focus on sustainability

When you invest with focus on sustainability, it means that you invest in funds that consider Environmental, Social and Governance factors (ESG), alongside financial factors. We believe that focusing on sustainability is a winning strategy in the long run. 

There are several reasons for considering sustainability when you invest:

Our recommendations 

Do you want your investments to have a positive impact on people and the planet? Or would you like to reduce the negative impact your investments may have on the environment and society? If so, we recommend you an investment solution based on funds included in our sustainable offering. These are funds that we have assessed and selected based on our rigorous sustainability criteria alongside traditional financial criteria. 

Examples of the factors we evaluate include: 

• Environmental, social and governance (ESG) factors are integrated into the investment process. 
• Investments exclude controversial companies and companies whose activities are considered harmful to sustainable development, including coal mining and oil production, tobacco, gambling, pornography and alcohol.
  
• Portfolio managers actively engage with the companies they invest in to encourage higher standards of sustainability.
  

The funds in our sustainable offering focus on investing in companies whose business practices are sustainable. 

At the same time, we also want to support companies that may not yet have come as far in their sustainability journey but have potential to improve their practices. For this reason, we also offer funds that select companies based on their ability to become more sustainable over time by reducing emissions or improving board diversity, for example. In these funds, active ownership is at the heart of the investment process. This includes engaging in dialogue with companies and voting at general meetings to promote sustainability. 

What’s more, investors may benefit from strong returns if active engagement helps accelerate a company’s transition towards more sustainable operations. 

Read more in the Nordea Framework for Responsible Investment Distribution

Your sustainability preferences

It is important for us to design a savings solution that is tailored to you and your life. We take your needs, preferences and views on sustainability into account when recommending investment solutions. Your sustainability preferences determine the extent to which sustainability considerations are reflected in the savings solution we recommend. To find a suitable solution for you, we will assess what’s important for you in these three areas:

• How companies contribute positively to people and the planet: A company can be considered sustainable if its products and services significantly benefit people and the planet. Examples of such products include low-cost medicines, healthy food and energy-efficient technology. In addition, the company’s operations must not cause significant harm to the environment or society, and it must follow good governance practices. 
• How companies work to reduce their negative impact on people and the planet: This includes the company’s climate impact (or emissions of greenhouse gases) and level of gender equality in its board, for instance. It also includes if the company respects human and labour rights. Companies should also not be involved in controversial weapons.
• How companies contribute to the EU’s environmental goals: The EU has specified activities that can be considered environmentally sustainable in the so called “EU Taxonomy”. This covers a company’s contribution to the EU’s environmental objectives relating to climate change, water and marine resources, the circular economy, pollution prevention and control, and biodiversity and ecosystems.

Learn more about how we integrate sustainability risks and manage potential adverse effects on the environment and society in our investment advice and investment decisions.

For more details about specific funds and the ESG considerations related to them, visit our fund pages. Go to fund pages