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Objective

Nikko Asset Management Group (Nikko Asset Management Co., Ltd. and its subsidiaries hereafter collectively referred to as the “Nikko AM” or “we”) is a leader in the Asian financial services industry serving clients around the world. Our fiduciary duty as an asset manager and our pursuit of corporate sustainability are two sides of the same coin. With sustainability at the core of everything we do, we recognise the threat that climate and environmental-related risks pose to our world. As part of our responsibility to all our stakeholders including the communities we operate in, we are committed to creating a culture of environmental consciousness among our colleagues, ensuring this consciousness is embedded in the firm’s strategy and ultimately minimizing our negative impact on the environment.

Scope

This policy covers Nikko AM’s commitment to environmentally conscious practices in relation to our business operations. Policies related to incorporating environmental, social and governance (“ESG”) issues in our investment process and our investment approach to climate change are described in our Commitment to Responsible Investing and Position Statement on Climate Change respectively.

Nikko AM’s Commitment

In line with our support for the UN Sustainable Development Goals (“SDGs”) and international commitments including Japan’s declarations to achieve carbon-neutrality by 2050, Nikko AM strongly believes in mitigating the environmental impact of our corporate activities. We focus on the following areas:

Compliance with regulations
Nikko AM commits to complying with the relevant environmental laws and regulations of the regions we operate in, and adopting environmental best practices in our business operations.

Reducing our greenhouse gas emissions
Nikko AM has established a process to measure, assess and offset our greenhouse gas emissions every year, and has been certified “carbon neutral” since 2018. Going forward, by the year 2030, we aim to reduce our emissions per employee by 40% compared to our 2019 level1. We will launch various initiatives to achieve this goal, and monitor and disclose our progress regularly.

1. Includes direct / indirect emissions in Scopes 1&2 (fuel combustion and consumption of purchased electricity), and certain indirect emissions in Scope 3 (transmission & distribution of energy and business travel not included in Scopes 1&2), as defined by the Greenhouse Gas Protocol.

Improving resource efficiency
Nikko AM commits to eliminating waste to reduce greenhouse emissions associated with manufacturing, transportation and disposal of the products we use. We will practice the “3R’s” of reduction, reuse and recycling across our operations.

Environmentally conscious vendor selection and procurement
Nikko AM aims to prioritise the selection of environmentally conscious vendors and service providers across our business and procure sustainable supplies from vendors where available.

Minimising single use plastics
Nikko AM commits to minimising the use of single use plastics in the workplace, to reduce the greenhouse gas emitted during the production of these plastics and to prevent microplastics from polluting our marine environment.

Promoting biodiversity in our natural environment
The protection of biodiversity is crucial for the sustained well-being of the communities Nikko AM operates in. We aim to play our part by supporting external initiatives in areas such as ocean biodiversity, reforestation and natural habitat conservation that are consistent with our goals.

Reporting and disclosure
Nikko AM is committed to the transparent disclosure of our environmental data. Nikko AM supports the recommendations of the Financial Stability Board’s Task Force on Climate-related Financial Disclosures (TCFD) and publishes an annual TCFD report in accordance with these recommendations. We also discuss our environmental activates in our Sustainability Report each year. We aim to continually enhance our reporting standards going forward.

Training and advocacy
Engagement with our colleagues across regions and departments is crucial to the success of Nikko AM’s environmental initiatives. We will keep our colleagues up to date with our goals through frequent internal communications. We will invite external experts to educate our colleagues on environmental issues and provide opportunities for colleagues to participate in environment-related initiatives. As a firm, we will support external initiatives that are consistent with our goals.

Ownership

The Global Corporate Sustainability function, which includes the Corporate Sustainability Department　is responsible for this policy and its administration. Amendments and abolition of this policy shall be made in consultation with the Corporate Sustainability Advisory Council, a body that includes senior management of our global entities and outside advisors, and the approval of the Global Executive Committee.

As at September 2021