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CACEIS’ CSR principles help ensure client serving excellence as well as a sustainable future for society

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Within the context of climate change and global efforts to meet UN Sustainable Development Goals, CACEIS is strengthening its approach to social and environmental responsibility through the creation of its Sustainability Centre. This initiative forms part of the “Societal Project” of our majority shareholder, Crédit Agricole.

There are many viable economic models for society in the long term that don’t compromise the planet’s future. Key goals include net-zero carbon emissions, protection of biodiversity, reuse of materials, soft mobility, waste management, respect for human and social rights.

Financial organisations play a central role in meeting these objectives, as they can steer capital away from sectors that are underperforming in terms of Environmental, Social and Governance (ESG) commitments, while providing funding to enable the transformation of other economic sectors.

For many years, CACEIS has followed a CSR policy which it regularly enhances and adapts to incoming regulatory developments. Since 2014, EcoVadis, the premier global rating agency for CSR standards, has performed an annual assessment of CACEIS’ business policy and initiatives. In 2020, CACEIS earned a position in the Platinum category, scoring 77/100, and placing it in the top 1% of all rated companies in its sector.

Christine Bizot - Head of CSRFor CACEIS, our ESG approach is having a beneficial impact on our group’s performance: “We are continuously adapting to the changing landscape to fulfil our role as a trusted third party for our clients, while playing an active part in their own ESG strategy," explains Christine Bizot, Head of CSR at CACEIS. “Our business policy is based on three main pillars:

  1. Providing secure and efficient support services to our clients,
  2. Supporting businesses and initiatives that promote energy transmission and environmental causes,
  3. Implementing policies and objectives to ensure we are a responsible employer.”

CACEIS is therefore in step with Crédit Agricole’s “Societal Project” which was presented on 1st December 2021. The project lists 10 commitments spread across three main themes:

  • Acting for the climate and the transition to a low-carbon economy,
  • Strengthening social cohesion and inclusion,
  • Succeeding in agri/agro transitions.

The project requires the commitment of all the Group’s business lines, entities and employees.

THE SUSTAINABILITY CENTRE

These commitments have led CACEIS to further strengthen its CSR policy in terms of ESG factors by launching a Sustainability Centre.

Sikko Van Katwijk - Country Managing Director Netherlands"We are committed to being a socially responsible company leveraging sustainable practices to remain the asset servicer of choice for ESG-conscious companies," states Sikko van Katwijk, Country Managing Director Netherlands and United Kingdom, member of the Executive Committee of CACEIS and sponsor of the Sustainability Centre.

The Centre is designed to gather ambassadors from every CACEIS entity and business line to promote energy transition, encourage new CSR initiatives, meet the EU’s Climate objectives, particularly regarding the European Green Deal, and enhance our ESG service offering to meet clients expectations.

“The Sustainability Centre is a think-tank for employees committed to sustainable development. During our meetings, we discuss the implementation of practical initiatives to enhance the ESG credentials of our services for clients” adds Christian Nolot, Global General Secretary, Operations at CACEIS and Team Leader of the group.

Christian Nolot - Global General Secretary, OperationsTo signal our group’s commitment, the “green” label is now a permanent feature in CACEIS’ graphic charter.

DEMANDING GREEN REGULATION

Legislation is an important driver of this transformation. Regulators have been steadily tightening the requirements for both asset servicers and the investment management community for several years now.

Within the context of the Green Deal and growing expectations of corporate social responsibility, the European Union and the European Central Bank are placing a greater emphasis on companies’ non-financial performance. The EU 27 have agreed on new climate legislation, published in July 2021, which aims to achieve carbon neutrality by 2050. This legislation makes this goal legally binding, and sets a new target for reducing net greenhouse gas emissions, (55% in 2030 compared with 40% in 1990). The Crédit Agricole Group is committed to achieving carbon neutrality by 2050 through its Societal Project, and CACEIS is part of this commitment.

The non-financial reporting requirements are now covered by the new EU taxonomy for sustainable activities, which defines and classifies “green” activities on a sector-by-sector basis to encourage sustainable investment. As a result, in 2020, CACEIS joined Green Way, the Crédit Agricole Group’s non-financial reporting platform, an innovative non-financial performance management tool serving all of the Group’s businesses.

CACEIS’ SUSTAINABLE OFFER

"Our approach is to support our clients’ sustainable finance initiatives by adapting the product offering for all our activities," explains Antonio Barros, Group Product Manager at CACEIS and member of the Sustainability Centre.

Antonio Barros - Group Product ManagerIn 2018, CACEIS launched its ESG & Climate reporting solution, allowing investors to assess the ESG score of their portfolios, their carbon footprint, or their performance on energy transition. This ESG reporting service will be completely overhauled in 2022 to provide an interactive dashboard with several ESG indicators, dynamic views and reporting features.

Our teams have also developed the first carbon metric reporting tool to help pension funds assess and meet their climate targets. CACEIS is proud of its expertise in pension fund governance, as well as its innovative solutions to support these clients in improving their overall governance.

Since the entry into force of the SFDR (Sustainable Finance Disclosure Regulation) in March 2021, CACEIS’ depositary control teams ensure that fund management companies identify funds falling under Article 8 (funds that promote environmental and/or social characteristics) and Article 9 (funds that have sustainable investment as their objective) of the SFDR and apply the corresponding transparency requirements in their prospectuses.

Mathieu Alia, Group Head of Digital Transformation & Product MarketingThe services offered by CACEIS also establish sustainability principles for securities lending. Clients can steer their sustainable investment policy while also benefiting from an active securities lending programme. Lastly, CACEIS’ PERE Solutions teams are also a preferred partner for the private equity companies leading the way in ESG and impact investment, helping clients set up equity bridge financing associated with ESG criteria. “CACEIS is doing its utmost to strengthen its role as a sustainable asset servicer, in both the exemplary nature of its corporate actions and the support it provides to its clients”, concludes Mathieu Alia, Group Head of Digital Transformation & Product Marketing at CACEIS and member of the Sustainability centre.

A Medium-Term Plan 2025 will soon be unveiled and will show the extent of the group’s ambitions. New offers for our clients will be launched throughout 2022.

Important information – CACEIS’ corporate identity is currently being used to sell fraudulent term deposit products. CACEIS has nothing to do with such offers and does not even sell investment products. Please be vigilant and avoid becoming the victim of this type of fraud.
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