Environmental andSocial Practices
Statement
January 2024

Columbia Threadneedle Investments

Environmental andSocial practices statement
A robust approach to managing environmental and social risks and opportunities can support theachievement of sustainable growth and investment returns by helping companies ensure continuity
in business operations and supply chains, avoid legal and regulatory fines, enhance employee
productivity, improve both employee and customer satisfaction, and maintain their reputation andsocial licence to operate.
Ultimately, we believe this will contribute to sustainable long-term value creation for our clients.

Through our investment activities including research, portfolio
construction and active ownership (engagement and votingactivities) that align with client expectations to respect humanand labour rights and mitigate environmental impacts.
Well-run companies will typically have formal systems toidentify, assess and manage significant risks and opportunities
linked to environmental and social factors, as well as theimpacts of their operations on the environment and society.
We recognise that different companies may be at different
stages of managing their environmental and social risks andopportunities. In line with our clients' investment objectives,
we will encourage stronger environmental and social practices
through our engagement and voting activities and monitor
companies’ progress.
The environmental and social practices referenced build oninternational standards1 and industry commitments.

Environmental practices
The following environmental practices inform how investee companies
could manage the environmental risks and opportunities of theiroperations and supply chains, and which we will discuss during ourengagement activities:
Aligning business strategies with a 1.5C scenario, in line withthe goals of the Paris Climate Agreement2 and considering any
material social impacts of transition where relevant
Measuring, reporting and minimising greenhouse gas emissions
Improving energy efficiency and prioritising renewable energy
sourcing practices
Enhancing the biodiversity support functions of air, land and water
resources3
Minimising impacts on protected habitats and endangered
species
Controlling, treating and, where possible, reducing toxic emissions
and effluents into air, water, or land
Reducing strain on shared freshwater resources by balancing water
use with the needs of communities and nature
Eliminating deforestation and land degradation, rehabilitating
degraded land and protecting soils

123	Among them: the UN’s Universal Declaration of Human Rights; UN Guiding Principles onBusiness and Human Rights; the ILO’s International Labour Standards including conventions
29 (forced labour), 138 (minimum wage), and 182 (worst forms of child labour); OECD
Guidelines for Multinational Enterprises; Wolfsberg Principles, UN Global Compact, Taskforce
on Climate-related Financial Disclosures, CDP, IFC Performance Standards	The Paris Agreement sets out a global framework to avoid dangerous climate change bylimiting global warming to well below 2°C and pursuing efforts to limit it to 1.5°C. It also
aims to strengthen countries’ ability to deal with the impacts of climate change and support
them in their efforts. The Agreement is the first-ever universal, legally binding global climatechange agreement, adopted at the Paris climate conference (COP21) in December 2015	In line with the Post-2020 Global Biodiversity Framework ambition of “living in harmony withnature” by 2050

2Planning and managing use of and impact on marine resources toensure long-term sustainability
Respecting animal welfare
Limiting waste, and ensuring disposal that is safe to humanhealth, the environment, and wildlife
Incorporating circular economy principles into business strategies
Maintaining contingency plans for preventing and mitigating
serious environmental damage from accidents or emergencies

Environmental and social practices statement

Social practices
The following practices inform how investee companies could
manage the social aspects of their operations and supply
chains, and which we will discuss during our engagement
activities:
respecting human rights and remedying any brea ches,
upholding labour standards, andsafeguarding public health.
Amongst others, this can be implemented by the following
measures:
Provision of a healthy and safe work environment
Ensuring fair employment, including the payment of living
wages Elimination and prevention of modern slavery as
well as forced and child labour
Respecting rights of freedom of association andcollective bargaining
Effective diversity, equity and inclusion programmes;
ensuring that neither discrimination nor harassment
takes place in the workplace
Protection of the rights of vulnerable communities,
including indigenous peoples
Formal due diligence frameworks to identify, assess
and mitigate significant risks associated with social
factors, including effective grievance mechanisms andwhistleblowing systems

Responsible business conduct, including on issues such as
anti-bribery and anti-corruption, anti-money laundering, tax
transparency, data privacy and security, responsible marketingand sales, and responsible lobbying activities
We expect effective stakeholder engagement from all investee
companies, including with regulators, investors, customers,
employees, and civil society.
Implementing the practices outlined above can help issuers
to develop a robust policy and governance framework which
supports board oversight and effective implementation ofenvironmental management and impact mitigation strategies,
incorporates stakeholders’ views, and ensures monitoring ofand reporting on progress and performance. Corporate reporting
should include the identification of material environmental
and social risks as well as strategies and targets to achieve
good practices around their management. This should include
a narrative account about how these trends and factors areexpected to affect the performance and future development of
the business. Insights gained through engaging with issuersaround implementation of their policy and governance framework
and reporting of this nature supports our assessment of issuers
long term economic prospects.
This document will be reviewed annually by the Responsible
Investment team and published externally following approval byinternal governance committees.

Managing conflict risk, and considering how to
responsibly disengage where appropriate from operations
in regions facing high risk of human rights concerns

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Important Information: This communication is valid at the date of publication and may be subject to change without notice. WF534316 (1/24)