BlackRock was founded on the premise of understanding and managing investment risk, anticipating our clients’ needs, and supporting them in achieving their long-term investment goals. That is why we look at sustainability information — as an investor and a fiduciary.
Our investment approach is informed by three principles:
We apply those same principles to sustainability and the low-carbon transition.
Client choice
We start with the client.
Our role is to listen to and deliver choice for our clients. Our clients choose their investment objectives, and they look to BlackRock to meet their needs. We offer them choices across a wide range of index, active, and whole portfolio solutions. For clients asking how to mitigate risk and capture opportunities associated with sustainability-related trends (such as the low-carbon transition), or for clients asking for products with sustainability- or transition-focused objectives, we offer a range of options and choices in products, portfolio construction, analytics, and stewardship (Voting Choice).
We continue to innovate for and with clients, responding to client demand.
Performance
We seek the best risk-adjusted returns.
We seek the best risk-adjusted returns within the mandates clients give us. As a fiduciary, we manage material risks and opportunities that could impact portfolios, including those related to sustainability. When financially material, we incorporate environmental, social, and governance information alongside other information into our firmwide processes to enhance risk-adjusted returns.
Research
We underpin our work with research, data, and analytics.
Research informs our investment decisions and product innovation. We research major structural trends shaping the economy, markets, and asset prices. We assess how these trends could affect long-term value and how they could unfold over time. The transition to a low-carbon economy is one trend that we research, because we see it having implications on macroeconomic trends, company financial prospects and business models, and portfolios.
Our actions
An orderly transition would result in higher economic growth.
Our research shows that an orderly transition would result in higher economic growth compared with no climate actions – and would create a more constructive macro environment for financial returns for our clients overall.
BlackRock’s role in the transition to a low-carbon economy is as a fiduciary. We seek the best risk-adjusted returns for our clients, and we rely on a research-based view of economic developments, including how the low-carbon transition is likely to unfold in practice over time.
Industry Associations
BlackRock is member of several industry associations, including those that are related to sustainability and the transition to a low-carbon economy, in order to participate in dialogue on matters that may impact client portfolios. These include:
- Task Force on Climate-Related Financial Disclosure (TCFD)
- Taskforce on Nature-related Financial Disclosures (TNFD)
- Net Zero Asset Managers Initiative
- Glasgow Financial Alliance for Net Zero
- Climate Action 100+
We are also regular attendees of the UN Climate Change Conferences.
BlackRock’s investment decisions and its stewardship engagement and voting are governed strictly by our fiduciary duty to clients. Where relevant, as part of joining these groups, we have made it clear that we do not coordinate our votes or investment decisions with any external group or organization.
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