Alexandre Blein is the manager of the CPR Invest Climate Action fund, within the management company CPR AM, a subsidiary of Amundi and, since 2015, the group’s thematic expertise center.
L’Express: How to invest in the ecological transition?
Alexander Blein: The world of tomorrow will not only be populated by wind turbines and solar panels! To achieve carbon neutrality, all companies must reduce their emissions. It is for this reason that our fund does not a priori exclude certain sectors of activity, but identifies the best companies within each industry, those that are committed to the climate.
To be able to select these companies, we need to know their climate performance and identify those that are committed to taking action against climate risk. We therefore need to be able to measure their commitment. To this end, we have partnered with CDP, the Carbon Disclosure Project, a provider of corporate climate ratings, which helps us assess the extra-financial performance of companies for our shareholders. Their database is remarkable, their coverage broad and their methodology proven. We appreciate their independence and the fact that their questionnaire evolves every year.
To these CDP ratings we add a filter concerning ESG criteria [environnementaux, sociaux et de gouvernance], which make it possible to measure the sustainability and ethical impact of an investment, as well as a filter to exclude controversial companies, based on data from three external providers. In addition, we are increasingly using SBT lenses [science-based targets, objectifs fondés sur la science], which impose on stocks a 2050 carbon reduction objective in line with the 2°C trajectory or less.
On what elements should savers be vigilant?
The first element is transparency. The speech of the companies must correspond to their results. In the CPR Invest Climate Action fund, we aim to be 20% lower in carbon intensity than the MSCI ACWI index [All Country World Index] ; our investors must be able to verify this element by consulting, for example, the impact reports.
In this search for transparency, the extent of regulation and the inflation of concepts related to sustainable finance can be confusing for savers. Nevertheless, they provide a common framework for management companies, which is positive. Each can adopt its own methodology in terms of responsible investment, but these systems impose rules of transparency and communication which ultimately prove to be beneficial to investors by allowing them to make comparisons. However, we can hope that there will be a convergence of these classifications in the coming years.
Pedagogy is also crucial. We need to explain our approach to investors. For example, the transition to a low-carbon economy requires colossal investments, and this, in sectors that may seem contradictory. To erect a wind turbine, for example, a lot of cement is needed for the pillar. To produce electric car batteries, you need copper, cobalt, lithium. And so on.
Finally, the saver must be provided with the necessary documentation so that he can understand where his money is going and what it is used for. That’s why we publish fund impact reports every year. Collecting all the data takes us a lot of time, but it is important. French savers have confidence in responsible investment; it is up to us to prove ourselves worthy of this trust.
Do you invest in fossil fuels?
I specified that we did not exclude any sector a priori. That said, Amundi has committed to phasing out thermal coal from its investments by 2030 in OECD countries and by 2040 in other countries. We also refuse to invest in companies making more than 20% of their turnover in the extraction of thermal coal, and we tighten this percentage each year.
But, here again, pedagogy is necessary. There are currently stocks in the energy sector that produce oil or gas, but which develop solutions in favor of the climate transition. We are therefore talking with them about their commitment to a low-carbon economy. For example, Finland’s Neste is a refiner, but it produces biofuel used in aviation from cooking oil or vegetable or animal waste. It will thus supply Air France-KLM with more than 1 million tonnes of biofuel over a period of eight years. A few months ago, he even flew a first helicopter with this entirely renewable fuel. These are companies that need to be supported.
Who can help savers direct their investments in the transition?
Investment advisers – whether in bank branches or from independent contractors, such as wealth management advisers. They therefore need to be well trained, and we are seeing that they have a better and better understanding of responsible investment.
What are your favorite themes in terms of climate transition?
Hydrogen, waste recycling and solar. We must bear in mind that we are in the process of building a new industrial value chain, over the long term. This is why the saver may have the impression that this transition is slow to materialize.
Specifically, what is the oldest value of your fund?
TJX, an American company that buys back unsold stocks from major brands to sell them at bargain prices. It also uses the train as its preferred mode of transport and uses renewable energies for its distribution centers. A beautiful model.
“My two favorite values”
Schneider-Electric
“The energy transition consists of generalizing electrification – in order to reduce the use of hydrocarbons – and increasing energy efficiency – in order to reduce the energy consumption per unit produced or consumed. The products, software and services of Schneider Electric’s electrification and automation solutions precisely support these two objectives. Schneider Electric is therefore by vocation a major player in the energy transition.”
Ørsted
“After having been a producer of fossil energy, the Danish Ørsted has reoriented itself towards renewable energies. With success: it is now the champion of offshore wind power in the world and a player who relies on American onshore wind power. In addition, renewable energies represent a key element for increasing Europe’s energy independence, so it is a value to follow.”
An article from the special issue of L’Express “Investing in the ecological transition: 20 values to follow”, published on July 6