In the fall of 2021, FÉRIQUE Fund Management received carbon neutral certification from LCL Environnement in recognition of its efforts to measure and to reduce the firm’s carbon footprint.
But this is only the first step toward implementation of a more comprehensive plan to reduce the carbon footprint of all our activities – and of an even broader vision of sustainable development.
Prepare an inventory, then offset
This first step was carried out under the direction of LCL Environnement, which did an inventory of the greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions generated by our operations in 2019 and 2020. In accordance with the guiding principles of ISO-14064-1 and the Greenhouse Gas Protocol, the inventory measured the amount of CO2 related to our energy consumption, including heating, electricity, personal vehicles and business travel.
To offset its emissions, FÉRIQUE Fund Management then turned to Planetair+ÉTS, which has been offering carbon credits with Gold Standard certified projects since 2015. For the purposes of carbon neutral certification, emissions related to employees’ commuting and Internet footprint can be excluded. FÉRIQUE Fund Management preferred to include them, however, in order to offset all its emissions, namely a total of 45.65 tonnes of CO2 equivalent in 2020.
Go from offsetting to reducing
Carbon offsetting is a solution that makes it possible to reduce, capture, store or destroy GHGs in a sustainable and permanent way. It can take many forms, such as planting trees, producing renewable energy, protecting natural environments, destroying gases with high global warming potential or any other technique that reduces GHGs in the atmosphere.
Even though the purchase of carbon credits allows FÉRIQUE Fund Management to offset its carbon footprint, the firm also wants to achieve carbon neutrality through active, long-term reduction of its GHG emissions.
Beyond responsible investment
Reducing FÉRIQUE Fund Management’s carbon footprint is an extension to the Responsible Investment Policy introduced in 2016, which is itself in line with the FÉRIQUE Funds’ Proxy Voting Policy geared to ESG (environmental, social and governance) best practices. The policy has been in effect since 2006, which made FÉRIQUE Fund Management one of the first organizations in Quebec’s financial community to focus on the issue of responsible investment.
In addition to integrating ESG criteria into fund management, the Responsible Investment Policy stipulates that FÉRIQUE Fund Management undertakes to apply to its own operations the best practices it promotes to the companies in which it invests, particularly in the fight against climate change.
In recent years, significant efforts have been made, such as the creation of funds that contribute directly to sustainability and innovation. Achieving carbon neutrality in our own activities adds a more directly operational component to our efforts.
Toward sustainable development
FÉRIQUE Fund Management’s efforts to achieve carbon neutrality are themselves part of a vision of sustainable development that the firm intends to communicate from 2022 on.
A number of initiatives are planned in various fields of action. We’ll be announcing more details in the coming months!
