Decarbonising portfolios: between asset management strategy and corporate transformation

Understanding greenhouse gas emission scopes

When discussing decarbonisation, it is useful to distinguish between different types of emissions.

Scope 1 corresponds to a company's direct emissions (e.g., fuel consumption of an airline).

Scope 2 includes indirect emissions linked to purchased energy (e.g., electricity consumed by a bank's offices). In Europe, these emissions have fallen sharply thanks to the rapid growth of renewable energy: in 2023, nearly half of electricity production already came from solar, wind or hydro power, compared with less than one third ten years earlier. ⁽²⁾

Scope 3 covers all emissions related to a company's value chain: production of purchased goods, transport, use, and end-of-life of sold products (e.g., for an automobile manufacturer, emissions from vehicles throughout their lifetime).

Relating companies' emissions to their revenue makes it possible to normalise emissions and subsequently calculate the carbon intensity of investment portfolios or even of financial markets through stock indices.

Different decarbonisation trajectories in Europe and the United States

The decarbonisation pathways of stock market indices vary by region. In Europe, the decline in emissions is directly linked to the energy transition: the gradual closure of coal‑fired power plants, massive investments in wind and solar energy, and the electrification of uses. In the United States, this trend is also explained by the growing weight of technology giants. These companies, which are heavily represented in stock indices, have a much lower carbon footprint than traditional industrial sectors, mechanically contributing to an overall decline in figures. They are among the strongest promoters of renewable energy use and energy efficiency.

Fixed income: a slower pace

In the bond universe, decarbonisation is progressing more slowly. Debt issuers are often industrial players or utilities, where the transition requires more time and capital. But here too, momentum is building: green bond issuance now exceeds USD 800 billion per year ⁽³⁾, directly financing tangible transition projects.

A useful but incomplete indicator

Carbon intensity remains a useful indicator for measuring progress, but it is not perfect. It takes into account direct emissions and part of the indirect emissions, but largely ignores scope 3. That is why our approach goes beyond simple numbers: we analyze companies’ trajectories and their long-term commitments.

A 50% reduction in the carbon intensity of our portfolios

Between 2019 and 2024, the carbon intensity of our assets under management decreased by 50% ^₍₁₎. Concretely, this means that on average, the companies in your portfolios now emit half as much CO₂ per million euros of revenue as they did five years ago.
We are aware that reducing the carbon footprint of our portfolios is an important step, but it is not enough. Our goal is also to have a direct impact on the companies in which we invest. This involves ongoing dialogue with companies to encourage them to accelerate their transition, investment choices favoring actors who invest more in the transition, and financing concrete projects through instruments such as green bonds.