Investec

In terms of senior leadership accountability, the responsibility for sustainability issues within Investec lies with the board of directors. The financial institution publicly commits to gender equality and women’s empowerment and discloses a target to achieve a 30% representation of women in senior leadership roles by 2022. Investec has an engagement policy where it describes its approach on sustainability themes and impact topics with clients and investees.

As a member of the Net-Zero Banking Alliance, the financial institution has set a target of net-zero financed emissions by 2050. Additionally, the financial institution is a member of Climate Action 100+ and the financial institution discloses that it collectively engages with its clients on the topic of climate change. Investec discloses the aggregate amount and share of finance it devotes to climate solutions while specifying what these solutions are. In addition, it provides evidence that it collectively engages with companies to which it provides financial services on the topic of their nature- and biodiversity-related impacts.

Investec has a publicly available policy statement committing it to respect human rights and a statement committing it to respect the ILO core labour rights. The financial institution discloses the proportion of its total direct operations workforce for each employee category by age group and gender. Additionally, the financial institution discloses the amount of finance it directs towards small- and medium-sized enterprises.

In terms of its approach to senior leadership accountability, Investec has an opportunity to link the remuneration of its executive or management teams to sustainability performance criteria. In terms of gender equality, the financial institution also has an opportunity to reach at least 40% female representation in the highest governing body and senior leadership positions. In addition, the bank could disclose the ratio of basic salary and remuneration of women to men in its total direct operations workforce for each employee category. It has an opportunity to describe its engagement approach on sustainability themes and impact topics with investees and could publish an engagement report detailing how the policy is applied in practice, with case studies describing where it has engaged successfully and unsuccessfully with investees on sustainability themes.

Investec could disclose interim emissions reduction targets at the group level, such as a 45% reduction in financed emissions by 2030. The bank has an opportunity to disclose the key sectors and companies it has identified as priorities to engage with on climate change, specifically on the alignment with the Paris Agreement. Although the bank discloses the aggregate amount of finance it devotes to climate solutions, there is no evidence that Investec discloses time-bound targets explicitly for them. No evidence was found regarding the financial institution’s approach to fossil fuels that spans across the fossil fuel value chain, such as the amount or share of finance it directs towards fuels, or its stance on financing companies with new fossil fuel projects. There is no evidence that the bank is committed to minimising the negative impacts it has on nature and biodiversity.

Investec has an opportunity to describe the process for identifying its human rights risks and impacts through its relevant financing activities. Additionally, there is no evidence that the financial institution has one or more channels/mechanisms, or participates in a shared mechanism, accessible to all external individuals and communities who may be adversely impacted by the financial institution to raise human rights complaints or concerns. To provide transparency on financial inclusivity, the financial institution has an opportunity to disclose the amount of finance directed towards women-owned businesses or low-income developing countries.