Amazon and Global Optimism have announced that Macquarie Asset Management, a global provider of specialist investment solutions, has joined The Climate Pledge. This announcement furthers Macquarie Asset Management’s commitment to manage its extensive portfolio in line with the goals of the Paris Agreement.
Signatories to The Climate Pledge agree to measure and report greenhouse gas emissions on a regular basis, as well as implement decarbonization strategies in line with the Paris Agreement through real business changes and innovations. Signatories also commit to neutralizing any remaining emissions with additional, quantifiable, real, permanent, and socially beneficial offsets to achieve net-zero annual carbon emissions by 2040—a decade ahead of the Paris Agreement’s goal of 2050.
“Macquarie Asset Management today joins a growing collective of companies in the financial services sector committing to and implementing sustainable practices as a part of The Climate Pledge, and we’re thrilled to welcome them,” said Sally Fouts, director of The Climate Pledge at Amazon. “We look forward to working with them to create the low-carbon economy of the future."
With operations across Australia, the Americas, Europe, and Asia, Macquarie Asset Management provides specialist investment solutions to clients globally, across a range of capabilities including infrastructure and renewables, real estate, agriculture, transportation finance, and more. As part of Macquarie Group, Macquarie Asset Management has maintained carbon neutrality across its offices, data centers, and business air travel since 2010, and is committed to reaching net-zero operational emissions by 2025. This commitment includes targets to reduce energy use and meet all operational needs from renewable sources.
A top 50 global asset manager and the world’s largest manager of infrastructure, Macquarie Asset Management prioritizes ensuring its portfolio companies have the capabilities and resources needed to measure their emissions, set reduction targets, and develop plans to achieve them.
Macquarie Asset Management’s latest sustainability report demonstrates its ongoing commitment to document its progress toward sustainable public and private asset management. To date, 65% of the company’s infrastructure portfolio companies have begun their journey to net-zero, establishing mechanisms to track and report greenhouse gas emissions and energy consumption data. Also, 22 of the assets in its portfolio have already put decarbonization targets in place.
“We are trusted to manage essential assets that impact people’s daily lives—including housing, water, power, communications, and transport,” said Chris Leslie, head of sustainability at Macquarie Asset Management. “We recognize the responsibility and the opportunity we have to place sustainability at the center of everything we do. It brings a strong sense of purpose to our team’s daily activities. We are proud of the progress we have made so far, but we have a long journey ahead of us, and that is exciting."
In 2019, Amazon and Global Optimism co-founded The Climate Pledge, a commitment to reach the Paris Agreement 10 years early and be net-zero carbon by 2040. Now, more than 100 companies have signed The Climate Pledge, sending an important signal that demand will rapidly grow for products and services that help reduce carbon emissions.
