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ESG has formed part of our philosophy and process since the inception of the RBC Emerging Markets Equity Strategy (“the strategy”) in 2010, and we have continuously strived to expand our knowledge and efforts in this space. We have looked to invest in management teams that share this ethos, focusing on companies that promote a culture of excellence, who look to build strong relationships with all stakeholders and invest for the long term.
In this year’s report, we explore an array of ESG topics. We also report on our activities as active owners, sharing details of our company engagements and proxy voting through the course of the year, as well as notable company case studies.
Engagement has always formed an important component of our approach to ESG. While we engage on a company-by-company basis, focusing on the issues most relevant and material to each holding, we also identify focus engagement topics. These are select topics that we, as a team, deem critical across all companies where we look to build expertise. This year, we introduced two new topics: water conservation and societal value. In our report, we introduce our research on these areas and summarise the initial findings of our engagements.
We also share highlights from our work on climate change, one of our longstanding focus areas of engagement. After four years of conducting an annual net-zero assessment of our investee companies, we are pleased to report progress in terms of company targets, disclosures, and strategy-level metrics. The strategy currently has a 78% lower weighted average carbon intensity (“WACI”) than the MSCI EM Index (based on WACI sales, Scope 1 and 2 emissions)1.
Whilst our ESG analysis is primarily conducted at company level, being aware of material ESG factors at country and sector level is useful for our overall portfolio strategy, and for positioning our portfolios in areas of structural growth while avoiding the risks. This year, we explore parental leave standards across countries and also discuss the concept of ethical AI.
We also analyse developments across the ESG investment landscape given significant fluctuations in recent years, from peak investor exuberance during the Covid pandemic to growing scrutiny and outflows more recently.
For our full report, please contact marketing@bluebay.com.
1 RBC GAM, MSCI ESG climate change metrics, MSCI®, as at 30 June 2025.
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