Exclusion

Les investisseurs peuvent choisir d'exclure une liste de pays ou d'entreprises controversés qui ne respectent pas les accords ou traités internationaux, par exemple les fabricants d'armes controversées.

Les gérants d'actifs durables ont pour obligation première d'obtenir de bonnes performances pour leurs clients et souhaitent y parvenir de manière durable. En conséquence, ils ont tendance à moins se concentrer sur l'exclusion et préfèrent engager un dialogue constructif avec les entreprises afin de les encourager à améliorer leurs performances en matière de durabilité. Si des entreprises sont exclues dès le départ, le gérant d'actif ne peut plus exercer d'influence sur elles.

Les fonds éthiques peuvent aller plus loin et exclure les entreprises qui ne partagent pas les mêmes convictions morales, par exemple les sociétés exerçant des activités impliquant la déforestation ou le travail des enfants.

As the world combats climate change, companies heavily involved in thermal coal production, deforestation and unacceptable levels of pollution have joined the ranks of the routinely excluded. In July 2020, Robeco expanded the range for exclusions for companies involved in thermal coal, oil sands and Arctic drilling. This was, however, subject to the proportion of their business engaged in these activities.

Robeco set the threshold of 25% of revenues derived from thermal coal and oil sands, and 10% from Arctic drilling, for its Sustainability Inside range of funds. Stricter levels of 10% of revenues for thermal coal and oil sands, and 5% for Arctic drilling, were imposed for the Sustainability Focused and Impact Investing ranges of funds.

This threshold approach has the benefit that it leaves open the prospect of engagement to try to steer the company into more sustainable areas – rather than being outrightly excluded – when they may have other more sustainable or socially acceptable businesses. Robeco also uses the principle to exclude companies which have 5% or more of their activities engaged in ‘sin stocks’ such as alcohol, gambling or adult entertainment from the Sustainability Focused range. This method can be used for other variables: palm oil producers which have less than 20% of their plantations certified by the Roundtable on Sustainable Palm Oil are similarly excluded.

Exclusion is only used as a last resort when engagement is either not possible, or has failed to achieve the required objective due to a lack of cooperation from the company. Generally, it is possible to engage on corporate behavior, but not on a product. This means excluding an industry such as tobacco, since it cannot change the harmful nature of its product; but engaging with an energy company to try to persuade it to move more of its business away from fossil fuels.

Countries can also be excluded if they are subject to sanctions by the United Nations, European Union, or other international authorities. This bars Robeco from buying sovereign bonds from governments on the exclusion list, or from purchasing equities or credits or companies that are domiciled in these countries. This currently includes Iran, North Korea and Zimbabwe.

For more information, see Robeco’s exclusion policy and exclusion list.

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