- Research collaboration with Wageningen University &
Research and Harvard University aims to develop methodology for
listed equities
UBS Asset Management ('UBS-AM') today announced the launch of a
sponsored research project with Wageningen University &
Research (WUR) in the Netherlands and Harvard University, to
develop an impact measurement framework and methodology that
tackles food security, the United Nation's (UN) second Sustainable
Development Goal (SDG). The aim of the research is to build
scalable models that can be applied to global listed equities of
companies that sell technologies that can improve agriculture
yields and access to nutritious food.
The development of the framework is in partnership between
pension fund manager PGGM and UBS Asset Management. UBS-AM
initiated the research project two and a half years ago, after its
Sustainable Investment team were selected by PGGM to manage a €1.5
billion mandate of listed impact equities. UBS-AM's approach
leverages academic expertise to develop impact measurement
methodologies for four impact categories including climate change
and air pollution, access to clean water, health and food security.
The impact metrics are aligned with those suggested for the
relevant UN Sustainable Development Goals.
"Our client PFZW, the pension fund for the Dutch healthcare
sector, selected food security as one of its priority areas for
investments in solutions with real world impact. With a world
population approaching 9 billion in 2030, it is pretty evident that
providing food to every person poses a great challenge, especially
if we consider aspects of nutritional quality, access to food, and
resource productivity,” said Piet Klop, senior adviser of
responsible investment at PGGM. "In order to tackle such a complex
issue, we partner with the best in the finance and academic
community to develop a replicable, science-based methodology for
measuring impact on food security. We are still in the early days,
but are happy to lead the charge and hope to demonstrate that
mainstream investors can deliver both market-rate returns and
measureable impact."
WUR, a leading university in the Netherlands that focuses
specifically on the theme of healthy food and living environment,
will research the link between technologies produced by listed
companies and agriculture yields in different parts of the world.
Harvard T.H. Chan School of Public Health is building models that
link access to nutritious food by deprived communities.
"Wageningen and Harvard's research will focus on just four food
security related metrics," said Dr. Dinah A. Koehler, executive
director in the Global Sustainable Equities team at UBS Asset
Management. "Building these models is challenging given the
complexity of our global food system. Based upon our experience
building impact models for climate change and water, we believe we
have established a solid foundation for building out our impact
measurement framework."
In conjunction with UBS-AM, Harvard T.H. Chan School of Public
Health has been working on developing impact models for climate
change and air pollution, health, and food security. Harvard Chan
School is a global leader in air pollution modelling and public
health impacts dating back to seminal work in the 1980s, and has
developed interdisciplinary models to assess the social and
environmental impacts of climate change. In addition, City
University of New York (CUNY) was contracted by UBS-AM to develop
the impact models for water scarcity, leveraging their
ground-breaking global water risk models.
Notes to Editors
About UBS
UBS provides financial advice and solutions to wealthy,
institutional and corporate clients worldwide, as well as private
clients in Switzerland. UBS' strategy is centered on our leading
global wealth management business and our premier universal bank in
Switzerland, enhanced by Asset Management and the Investment Bank.
The bank focuses on businesses that have a strong competitive
position in their targeted markets, are capital efficient, and have
an attractive long-term structural growth or profitability
outlook.
UBS is present in all major financial centers worldwide. It has
offices in 52 countries, with about 34% of its employees working in
the Americas, 34% in Switzerland, 18% in the rest of Europe, the
Middle East and Africa and 14% in Asia Pacific. UBS Group AG
employs approximately 61,000 people around the world. Its shares
are listed on the SIX Swiss Exchange and the New York Stock
Exchange (NYSE).
www.ubs.com/asset-management
About PGGM
PGGM is a cooperative Dutch pension fund service provider.
Institutional clients are offered: asset management, pension fund
management, policy advice and management support. On December 31,
2017 PGGM had EUR 218 billion in assets under management and was
administrating pensions of 3 million participants. Around 725,000
workers in the Dutch healthcare are connected to PGGM&CO, our
members organization. Either alone or together with strategic
partners, PGGM develops future solutions by linking together
pension, care, housing and work.
www.pggm.nl
About Wageningen University & Research
Wageningen University & Research is a collaboration between
Wageningen University and the Wageningen Research foundation. The
mission of Wageningen University & Research is ‘To explore the
potential of nature to improve the quality of life’. Over 6,500
employees and 12,000 students from more than hundred countries work
everywhere around the world in the domain of healthy food and
living environment for governments and the business
community-at-large.
The strength of Wageningen University & Research lies in its
ability to join the forces of specialised research institutes and
the university. It also lies in the combined efforts of the various
fields of natural and social sciences. This union of expertise
leads to scientific breakthroughs that can quickly be put into
practice and be incorporated into education. This is the Wageningen
Approach.
The scientific quality of Wageningen University & Research
is affirmed by the prominent position we occupy in international
rankings and citation indexes.
About Harvard T.H. Chan School of Public Health
Harvard T.H. Chan School of Public Health brings together
dedicated experts from many disciplines to educate new generations
of global health leaders and produce powerful ideas that improve
the lives and health of people everywhere. As a community of
leading scientists, educators, and students, we work together to
take innovative ideas from the laboratory to people’s lives—not
only making scientific breakthroughs, but also working to change
individual behaviors, public policies, and health care practices.
Each year, more than 400 faculty members at Harvard Chan School
teach 1,000-plus full-time students from around the world and train
thousands more through online and executive education courses.
Founded in 1913 as the Harvard-MIT School of Health Officers, the
School is recognized as America’s oldest professional training
program in public health.
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version on businesswire.com: https://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20180621005109/en/
Media:UBS Asset ManagementSheryl Lee, +1
212-713-2423Sheryl.Lee@ubs.comorPGGMMaurice Wilbrink, +31 6
10 22 11 94Maurice.wilbrink@pggm.nl
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