The approach is mostly thematic for part of the portfolio: assets are assessed for the consistency with the environmental and energy transition investment axes (renewable energy, sustainable transport and mobility solutions, equipping local territories with digital infrastructure and related services).
For the other part of the portfolio, the approach is mostly integration. The investment team identifies and analyses some major ESG issues, which is mainly undertaken on an individual project basis (i.e. not fully generalised yet at this stage). The examples of aspects that are considered depending on the scale and type of transport infrastructure assets include:
-GHG emissions
-Putting in place action plans aimed at HSE improvement and the annual monitoring of implementation.
-Energy consumption.
-Safety at work (number of accidents).
This analysis is included in the investment files presented to the Investment Committee.
To ensure a more consistent approach between the two portfolios, a new investment scoring tool has been developed in 2017 to be introduced in 2018 as part of the Investment Committee decision-making process and, in the future, asset performance monitoring, including tailored ESG criteria for different types of investment portfolio and an analysis of principal ESG risks.
In addition, infrastructure assets that are financed through Green Bond proceeds (6.7% of total infrastructure AUM) are subject to a sustainability eligibility analysis prior to the investment, as well as to a final arbitration by the decision committee that confirms the conformity of an asset with the Green Bond framework. The occurrence of a potential controversy (political, environmental, social) can lead to a retraction, temporary or permanent, of a project from the list of eligible assets. A new asset would then be suggested as a substitute.