Commitment to sustainability for investment products
Erste Group commits to ensuring the availability of sustainable investment products and to providing better information to its clients for them to be able to make informed and sustainable choices. Joining the pledge emphasizes the banking group’s ambitions to continue its efforts towards a more sustainable society and economy and marks another important step on its sustainability path. Erste’s commitments will be implemented through Erste Asset Management (EAM). Reporting on the progress of Erste Group’s commitments will be carried out at least on an annual basis on the group’s website and in its sustainability report.
Sustainable investments: Widen product portfolio and increase transparency
With 20 years of experience in sustainable investments, Erste Group commits to offering all its customers across seven markets in CEE the opportunity to invest in ESG products supported by transparent and accessible information. Erste Asset Management therefore plans to increase the number of Erste-labelled funds awarded with the Austrian Ecolabel by over 50% to 17 by the end of 2023. Currently, a volume worth EUR 3.4 bn is managed in this area, representing almost 5% of EAM’s total assets under management.
Regular information about ESG
At the same time, customers will be informed more frequently about the latest ESG topics and activities, for example by publishing 100 articles on this topic on our finance blog until the end of 2023. By the end of this 2021, we as EAM further pledge to provide SDG-reporting for all Erste-labelled mutual funds, as well as impact reporting for all Erste-labelled impact funds managed by us, and make the report available on our webpage (www.erste-am.com) . Given this commitment to act sustainably in our role as an investor, Erste Asset Management will also exercise voting rights according to its Sustainable Voting Policy and publish our voting decisions on our website on a regular basis.