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2 minutes to read by  RBC Emerging Markets Equity team Dec 9, 2024

We share our ninth annual Emerging Markets Equity ESG report.

Environmental, social and governance (ESG) has formed part of our philosophy and process since the inception of the RBC Emerging Markets Equity Strategy (“the strategy”) in 2010, and we have continuously strived to expand our knowledge and efforts in this space. We have looked to invest in management teams that share this ethos, focusing on companies that promote a culture of excellence, who look to build strong relationships with all stakeholders and invest for the long term.

In this year’s report, we explore a range of topics extending across ESG factors. We also provide highlights of our activities as active owners, including company engagements, proxy voting, and case studies.

Given that we have been formally recording our engagements for several years now, we explore the question of how patient we should be with companies when assessing their progress and seeking positive improvements. We also assess the use of third-party ESG rating providers and why it is important to do our own ESG research.

We share highlights from our work on climate change, which is one of the team’s focus areas of engagement. After three years of conducting an annual net-zero assessment of companies in the strategy to assess exposure to climate transition risks as part of our investment philosophy and process, we are pleased to report progress in terms of company targets, disclosures, and strategy-level metrics. The strategy currently has a 79% lower weighted average carbon intensity (“WACI”) than the MSCI EM Index (based on WACI sales, Scope 1 and 2 emissions)1.

Another topic of discussion is shareholder focus, which is a characteristic we look for in the companies in which we invest. We have generally observed a trend towards increasing shareholder focus amongst corporates in certain markets, which we believe can be an important indicator of management quality and drive share price returns.

Whilst our ESG analysis is primarily conducted at company level, being aware of material ESG factors at country level is useful for our overall portfolio strategy, and for positioning our portfolios in areas of structural growth while avoiding the risks. This year, we focus on developments within education, an important socioeconomic factor driving a country’s long-term economic development.

For our full report, please contact RBCGAMUSContact@rbc.com.

1 RBC GAM, MSCI ESG climate change metrics, MSCI®, as at 30 June 2024.

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