Mirova, the sustainable investment arm of Natixis Investment Managers, has built an expertise in responsible investing over 25 plus years and wins this year's responsible investor award by dint of its exhaustive approach to the subject.
The firm manages $400m worth of investments within the sustainable umbrella, with a goal of investing €1bn in nature-related projects by 2022. These investments aim to address key environmental challenges: climate change and the protection of landscapes, biodiversity, soil and marine resources.
Mirova worked with the United Nations on the very first investment fund to leverage public money to raise private capital for sustainable land projects – its Land Degradation Neutrality Fund. Having reached its first closing in December 2018, the fund was praised by the UN Principles for Responsible Investment, which selected it for the 2019 UN PRI Awards in September.
In the same month, Mirova also announced more than $50m in additional commitments from private investors, including the insurers Allianz France and Natixis Assurances, with total commitments brought to over $150m.
The company has also been involved in the launch of sustainable ocean funds - which garnered it a highly commended note in last year's Insurance Asset Risk awards - while its fourth renewable energy infrastructure fund, Eurofideme 4, closed at €857m, making it the largest renewable energy fund dedicated to the European market to date.
With the closing of this fund, Mirova's energy transition assets have grown to €1.3bn.
According to the judges, despite being a niche player, Mirova can "truly be said to have embraced responsible investing".