Environmental, Social and Governance (ESG) considerations have always formed an important component of the RBC Emerging Markets Equity team's (the EM team) investment philosophy and process, and we have continuously sought to expand our knowledge and efforts in this area.
This year we explore how ESG might be impacted by COVID-19. Overall, we feel that the investment case for ESG has been strengthened by the pandemic as the need for resilience, planning for the future, and looking after all stakeholders has become increasingly apparent to the corporate sector. In particular, COVID-19 is bringing increased acknowledgement that social factors are key to a business's prosperity and this is something we explore in greater detail within this report.
Two of the key themes in this year's report are climate change and the future of food production in emerging markets (EM). We have witnessed the significant physical and social effects of climate change as well as the magnitude of the associated financial implications. We believe that the risks are skewed towards EM, and we have therefore assessed climate change risks and preparedness at a country level.
Engaging with companies on ESG-related topics is an important part of our evaluation process and in this year's report we highlight some notable engagement examples that have taken place during the year. In particular this year we made a focused effort to engage with each of our holdings on the topic of gender and board diversity, and have included our observations within the report. We continue to monitor our engagement efforts through our proprietary engagement tracker.
For a long time we have believed that there are actions we can take as a team to support ESG principles beyond those already in place through our investment decisions. The team continues to support a Latin America-focused charity called La Vida which funds grassroots projects in the fields of health, education and the environment. This year, the charity has focused on supporting the COVID-19 relief effort across Latin America by providing essential PPE and medical supplies, as well as food packages, toiletries, housing and psychological support to vulnerable communities across the region. Another recent initiative we are exploring is offsetting the team's carbon footprint. This would involve calculating our estimated carbon footprint as individuals, and identifying the best offsetting projects. We look forward to furthering our commitment to these initiatives in 2021.
We hope that you enjoy these insights into our ESG activities and achievements, and we welcome any feedback on how we can improve our future efforts.
For the full RBC Emerging Markets ESG report 2020, please contact your local representative.