Additional information – Sustainability Assessment
External sustainability analysis.
Didner & Gerge Global has integrated sustainability in the selection process since the fund´s inception in 2011. As mentioned above, we look at sustainability in terms of being able to prosper as a business for a decade or more by running a just operation, treating people well and operating within a socially accepted license of doing business. Which changes and develops over time!
In order to use a wider sustainability lens than provided by third-party ESG rating firms, we use a raft of different sources. Below the most important ones are disclosed.
HOLT Sustainability Score
Of the external sources we use, perhaps the HOLT Sustainability Score© is the premier one. This is due several attributes:
1) It is objective, transparent and covers a very big universe
2) It includes sustainability factors that deals with the duration aspect of a sustainable business model: quality of its operations, strong financials, honest accounting, and investments into future success (R&D).
3) It defines “Governance” in a way we sympathize with (and look for similar points of evidence) – how is management incentivized and how are they paid.
4) It measures carbon efficiency in absolute terms, not relative to industry peers. I.e., it is more important to contribute to an environmentally friendly world than destroy it at a slower pace.
A summary of the scoring model can be seen in the picture.
As of October 2022, Didner & Gerge Global had a HOLT Sustainability Score of 84, compared to a global average of 54 (100 is best). 40% of the holdings scored in the top decile.