At the end of 2015, the French public authorities set up two labels, a Socially Responsible Investment (SRI) label and an Energy and Environmental Transition for Climate (TEEC) label, each of which meets strict requirements to make financial products known as " responsible "or" green "more readable. The SRI Label guarantees that the SRI management process for labeled funds is structured, rigorous and transparent. The TEEC label focuses on the financing of the ecological and energy transition and on the "green part" of the activities of the companies selected in the portfolio.
The TEEC label of the fund HSBC Europe Equity Green Transition thus guarantees investors the transparency and quality of the environmental characteristics of the fund’s management. Dominique Blanc, Novethic Research Director, explains: “Supported by the ESG and Climate Research teams HSBC Global Asset Management, the managers have built a rigorous eligibility framework for the fund HSBC Europe Equity Green Transition. The chosen thematic approach is reinforced by regular monitoring and dialogue with the companies in the portfolio. With these characteristics, the fund meets the requirements of the TEEC label”.
HSBC Europe Equity Green Transition favors companies that, in their strategy, promote the transformation of the energy and environmental model in the long term and more generally the energy transition. The companies’ assessment is carried out according to the TEEC[2] criteria, which aim to assess the environmental impacts of investments according to several themes such as climate change, biodiversity, water management and natural resources. This fund of conviction invests in the themes of the "green" economy. It is composed of European values (medium and large capitalizations) which allow and will allow the decarbonization of the economy in a logic of transformation of the energy and ecological model in the long term.
Bénédicte Mougeot, fund manager, explains: "Thus, the management process[3] of the fund HSBC Europe Equity Green Transition aims to identify companies with a significant share of revenues related to energy and environmental transition. Companies whose activities are linked to fossil fuels and the nuclear industry are excluded. "
For Guillaume Rabault, Head of Investments at HSBC Global Asset Management (France): "Sustainable finance is not a new theme for HSBC. As part of our management business, we have systematically taken into account the Environmental, Social and Governance (ESG) criteria in our investment decisions since 2007. We have also been proposing, for a long time, SRI and solidarity funds: our first SRI fund was launched in 2000. The fund HSBC Europe Equity Green Transition is for customers who want to direct their savings towards companies that are actively involved in the energy transition. It is consistent with the Group’s climate approach. The principle of sustainability contributes to the long-term development of our activities, notably by offering savings products that finance better practices in terms of ESG issues and climate risk management. "
This labeling makes sense because it is part of a context in which 57% of French people are in favor of their savings helping to fight against climate change and 44% say they are aware that global warming is a risk for the financial system and for their savings[4].