Harbour Asset Management publishes first annual sustainability report

“Our goal is to publish and report openly on progress each year as we develop our approach to investing sustainably,” Bascand says. “Both our local fixed income and equities investment processes consider ESG matters, alongside the case for generating investment returns.”

As its main tool for monitoring and assessing ESG concerns, Harbour uses a corporate behaviour survey tool, developed by the firm in 2009. Among other issues, the tool monitors responses to climate change, diversity, inequality and wellness.

It’s understood Harbour is only the second asset manager to publish a sustainability report. Last year, Pathfinder produced its first sustainability report, describing it as “transparent and meaningful disclosures” that would explain how the business is tracking towards its sustainability and return goals. But, as CEO John Berry puts it, Pathfinder had been “investing ethically since before it was cool”.

Bascand could make similar claims. As he points out in the introduction to the report, Harbour was an early signatory to the UN Principles of Responsible Investing in 2010 and each year the business has been adjusting its processes and activities as it learns more.

“There is no end in sight to developing meaningful insight on sustainable investing,” Bascand says. He also notes that good governance often correlates with responsible investing.