Brookfield Asset Management

In terms of senior leadership accountability, the responsibility for sustainability within Brookfield lies with its board of directors.

Brookfield has set a target of net-zero financed emissions by 2050 and is a signatory to the Net Zero Asset Managers initiative. Moreover, the asset manager discloses that it issued USD 3.5 billion in green bonds in 2020, whose proceeds are used in renewable energy and energy efficiency investments. It also discloses that its green bond framework is in alignment with the green bond principles, created by the International Capital Markets Association.

Brookfield has publicly available policy statements committing it to respect human rights and the health and safety of workers, as well as prohibiting bribery and corruption. It has a grievance mechanism accessible to all workers, external individuals and communities to raise human rights complaints or bribery and corruption concerns. The asset manager also takes steps to identify and address bribery and corruption. Moreover, Brookfield discloses a global tax strategy for which its chief financial officer is responsible.

There is no evidence that Brookfield links the remuneration of its executive or management teams to sustainability performance criteria. In terms of female representation in leadership positions, women are underrepresented on the board of directors where only 6 out of 16 board members are women. The asset manager has an opportunity to disclose how it is addressing the gender pay gap as well as the representation of women in senior leadership roles. It could also provide more details around its engagement process on sustainability themes and impact topics with its investees.

In addition to its 2050 net-zero target, Brookfield could disclose interim emissions reduction targets at the group level, such as a 45% reduction in financed emissions by 2030. The asset manager also could disclose its approach to fossil fuels, such as the amount or share of finance it directs towards fuels, or its stance on financing companies with new fossil fuel projects. Furthermore, no evidence was found that Brookfield engages with its investees on the topic of climate change, specifically on the alignment with the Paris Agreement. Regarding nature and biodiversity, Brookfield has an opportunity to commit to minimising its negative impacts or financing regenerative solutions.

Brookfield could describe a comprehensive process for identifying its human rights risks and impacts across all its activities, especially its financing activities. It also has an opportunity to disclose the proportion of its total direct operations workforce for each employee category by age group or another indicator of diversity. To provide transparency on financial inclusivity, the asset manager could disclose the amount of finance directed towards, for example, women-owned businesses, small- and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) or low-income developing countries.