A combination of environmental and social themes is applied to our actively managed strategies, i.e. climate change, water, and land. ACTIAM identifies companies that contribute negatively and positively to these themes. The negative contributors are excluded from investment in the actively managed fund; the positive contributors receive an upgrade in their ACTIAM ESG score, thereby increasing the likelihood of being selected for investment.
ACTIAM has a specific policy for green, social and sustainable bonds. This policy requires bonds to be issued according to the Green Bond Principles, as well as a set of criteria for the use of proceeds, reporting and the ambitiousness and achievability of the projects and targets. The policy includes a blacklist of activities that we do not finance through sustainable bonds. Social or environmental impact needs to be measured through credible indicators, such as CO2 reduction, avoided CO2, health care equipment built, or units of affordable housing created. ACTIAM wants to prevent the locking in of money in less ambitious projects. As part of our Sustainable Investment policy, we use green bonds to stimulate socially and environmentally impactful activities. Bonds that are labelled 'green' by the in-house ESG team receive an ACTIAM ESG score of 75, 85 or 100. The score depends on the level of positive impact and whether the bond meets the ACTIAM future proof business test. For more, see: https://www.actiam.com/en/SysSiteAssets/4_verantwoord/documenten/en/esg-integration-in-green-and-social-bonds_assessment-proces.pdf

ACTIAM's pre-assessment of every green/social/sustainable bond aims to prevent investment in non-credible issuances. We also consider whether the issuer makes real efforts, for example, towards an energy transition and more sustainability, in order to avoid green washing. The bond needs to meet the criteria of ACTIAM's green bond policy at the minimum. These criteria go beyond GBP or CBI principles. If this is not the case, the bond will not be registered as a green bond in ACTIAM's system, thereby decreasing the likelihood that this bond will be bought - if the bond is still bought.

Cases where disbursement is different than initial commitment, or asset reallocation occuring during holding period, will be reviewed by the ESG Team and the actual practice is assessed. A downgrade of ESG Score or loss of the ACTIAM green stamp can be applied in case we believe the allocation is less ambitious or not compatible at all with our standards. Both adjustments impact the decision-making by portfolio managers, since these must keep the portfolios ESG Score equal or above the benchmark.