Sustainable and transition investing

TEXT: The world is transitioning to a low-carbon economy. 

TEXT: Technological innovation is spreading

Carolyn Weinberg: Wow, so this is the nerve center?

Dickon Pinner: Each one of those is one of these automated trucks?

Alvin Foo: Automated guided vehicles.

TEXT: Climate and transition policy initiatives are driving transformation. 

Chris Kaminker: Recent shifts in U.S. policy have sparked a global clean energy race that is creating investment opportunities on both sides of the Atlantic.

TEXT: Companies are transforming and supply chains are evolving

Martin Lundstedt: This is the beauty.

Mark Wiedman: Fully electric!

Martin Lundstedt: Fully electric. 

Mark Wiedman: I am driving a proper truck.

Martin Lundstedt: Yeah, yeah, absolutely.

TEXT: The shape of the global economy is changing. 

TEXT: And new investment risks and opportunities are emerging. 

Anne Valentine Andrews: The low-carbon transition is a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity for our clients and BlackRock has the breadth, expertise and whole portfolio solutions to meet our clients needs.

CONCLUSION 

VO: The transition to a lower-carbon world is happening.

VO: And at BlackRock… 

VO: We’re ready. 

Clients are increasingly asking BlackRock how to mitigate risks to their portfolios, and capture investment opportunities associated with sustainability and the transition to a low-carbon economy. As a fiduciary, we invest on our clients’ behalf to help them meet their investment objectives.

BlackRock’s approach to sustainable investing and the transition to a low-carbon economy is rooted in our fiduciary duty to clients. We start by understanding our clients’ investment objectives and provide choice to meet their needs; we seek the best risk-adjusted returns within the scope of mandates they give us; and we underpin our work with research, data, and analytics.

sustainable investing

What is sustainable investing?

Sustainable investing refers to strategies which leverage environmental, social and/or governance (ESG) objectives, themes, and related considerations as a primary means for selecting investments.

Sustainable investing products

The four categories of the BlackRock sustainable investing platform—Screened, Uplift, Thematic and Impact—adopt different strategies to help investors to meet their investment objectives.

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To explore the sustainability characteristics of specific funds, visit the product pages of BlackRock.com and iShares.com.

Transition investing

What is transition investing?

The transition to a low-carbon economy is among a handful of major structural shifts having the potential to rewire economies, sectors and businesses.

Today, not all sustainable strategies are transition, and not all transition strategies are sustainable. By understanding the relationship between these types of investing strategies, investors can identify the products and solutions that meet their objectives.

BlackRock defines transition investing as investing with a focus on preparing for, being aligned to, benefitting from and/or contributing to the transition to a low-carbon economy.

Transition investing graphic

Source: BlackRock, September 2023. For illustrative purposes only. This graphic represents the relationship between sustainable investing and transition investing based on current AUM and may not be drawn to scale. For more information, please refer to our Firmwide ESG Integration Statement.

How is the transition creating investment opportunities?

Structural shifts associated with the low-carbon transition – technological innovation, consumer and investor preferences for lower-carbon products, and shifts in government policies – are reshaping production and consumption and spurring capital investment.

Three forces are driving this economic transformation: 1

Transition investing graphic

This is creating investment opportunities. For example, average annual spend in the energy system through 2050 is estimated to reach US$4 trillion per year, up from US$2.2 trillion over the last decade. 2,3

Transition investing products

Transformation in action

BlackRock partners with companies that are developing innovative solutions that could transform their industries.

Dickon Pinner: Hi, I’m Dickon Pinner. 

Carolyn Weinberg: And I’m Carolyn Weinberg, and we’re at the Tuas Port in Singapore. 

TEXT: OUT OF OFFICE by BlackRock 

Alvin Foo: We are right at the heart of Tuas Megaport. When completed, Tuas will be the world’s largest fully automated terminal in one singular location1 coupled with innovative cargo solutions and digitalization, we will make the whole supply chain a lot more efficient. 

TEXT: When completed in the 2040s, Tuas will be the largest fully automated container port in the world. 

1Source: 2021 PSA International Sustainability Report, July 2022 

TEXT: The port plans to achieve net zero emissions by 2050 through automation and digitalization.

2Source: 2021 Sustainability at PSA Singapore, July 2022

Carolyn Weinberg: Wow, so this is the nerve center.

Alvin Foo: Exactly. This maps up the real-time status of all our equipment. You can see all the green AGVs there.

Dickon Pinner: Each one of those is one of these little automated trucks. 

Alvin Foo: Automated Guided Vehicles. (GFX- AGV=Automated Guided Vehicle)

TEXT: These AGVs use a centralized fleet management system and are guided via Radio Frequency Identification (RFID) ground transponders. 

TEXT: Each AGV gets 4 to 6 hours of usage on 20 minutes of charging.

*3 Source: 2021 Sustainability at PSA Singapore report, July 2022

Alvin Foo: We have two pathways to reach our decarbonization goals. One is to look at low-carbon alternatives. The second lever is through pervasive electrification. Every piece of equipment is fully electrified.

Carolyn Weinberg: So 100% of this is electrified.

Alvin Foo: Yeah.

Carolyn Weinberg: The combination of your automation and the digitalization is remarkable.

Dickon Pinner: What do you think other companies can learn from what PSA is doing here? 

Alvin Foo: PSA sets very clear goals. We know our emissions level. Through this awareness, we can set very clear goals to reach our targets. Right? But I think what really happens here is the level of innovation we bring to the table. We are willing to share this information with the greater community so they can benefit from the early activities that we undertake to decarbonize our whole supply chain. And we can’t do this alone. We need the whole supply chain partners to come on board. 

END CARD: BLACKROCK 

BlackRock’s Chief Product Innovation Officer, Carolyn Weinberg, and Head of Transition Capital, Dickon Pinner, visited Tuas Port to understand how PSA Singapore is digitalizing its operations. When completed in the 2040s, Tuas Port will be the largest automated container terminal in the world.

What makes BlackRock a partner of choice?

Clients need a sustainability and transition partner who can bring together global offerings, specialized expertise, and investor-centric analytics under one platform.
Portfolio icon
Whole portfolio
We help our clients execute whole-portfolio transformations, from x-raying the portfolio, to developing a strategy, to monitoring progress.
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Product choice
Our scale enables choice and benefits clients, providing a choice of products across asset classes and themes.
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Stewardship
We act as a steward of our clients’ assets for the long-term.
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Innovation
We innovate for and with our clients, developing new products and unlocking new opportunities.

Research

We have been at the forefront of helping investors understand the impact of climate and sustainability risk on portfolios. Our team of in-house specialists, including sector specialists and climate scientists, are uncovering insights to power investments.

ESG integration

What is ESG information?

ESG stands for environmental, social, and governance and refers to specific considerations that can be used as part of investment decision-making.

Example ESG information could include:

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Environmental (E)
Carbon emissions, Waste, Water stress
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Social (S)
Diversity, Health and safety, Privacy and data security
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Governance (G)
Board structure / size , Executive remuneration, Ownership structure

What is ESG integration?

BlackRock defines ESG integration to be the practice of incorporating financially material ESG data or information into our firmwide processes with the objective of enhancing risk-adjusted returns of our clients’ portfolios. This applies regardless of whether a fund or strategy has a sustainable or ESG-specific objective.

BlackRock has a framework for ESG integration that permits a diversity of approaches across different investment teams, strategies and particular client mandates.

For more detail, refer to BlackRock’s ESG Integration Statement.

INSIGHTS

Discover the latest sustainable and transition investing insights

Materials set for multi-trillion dollar role in low-carbon transition

Materials contribute to the global emissions problem, but they are also a critical part of the solution.

The brown to green transition

A material revolution in the energy landscape

Climate resilience: an emerging investment theme

We see opportunities as investors pay more attention to climate resilience as an investment theme.

Investment implication of U.S. transition policy

What are the economic and investment implications of the U.S. Inflation Reduction Act and other recent infrastructure and science legislation in the U.S?

Our team

Meet the BlackRock Sustainable and Transition Solutions APAC team

The Sustainable and Transition Solutions team leads BlackRock’s sustainability and transition strategy, drives cross-functional change, supports client and external engagement, powers product innovation, and embeds expertise across the firm.

Our Sustainable Investment Research and Analytics team researches the financially material implications of the transition to a low-carbon economy on portfolio returns and construction.

APAC leadership

Emily Woodland
Head of Sustainable and Transition Solutions, APAC
Yutaka Naito
Head of Sustainable and Transition Solutions, Japan
Elaine Wu
APAC Head of Sustainable Investment Research, BlackRock Investment Institute
Investment stewardship

What is investment stewardship?

Investment Stewardship is part of how BlackRock fulfils its fiduciary responsibility to our clients to advance their long-term economic interests. We do this through engaging with the companies our clients are invested in, voting proxies for those clients who have given us authority, and encouraging sound corporate governance and business practices as an informed, engaged investor.

In our experience, companies that effectively manage material risks and opportunities in their business models, including those related to sustainability, are better positioned to deliver durable, long-term financial performance. High standards of corporate governance, and strong boardroom and executive leadership, enable companies to be resilient and adaptable through macroeconomic and societal challenges that can impact their financial performance over time.

Our team spans the globe, assembling one of the largest, most diverse, and skilled investment stewardship teams in the industry.
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