Meet the organisations working for environmental outcomes in our new Positive Impact Funds

Our all new Positive Impact Funds, available in the ASB KiwiSaver Scheme and ASB Investment Funds, are intended to help you invest in a brighter future for both yourself and the world. But how are these funds really different? It’s down to an allocation of each fund that invests your savings specifically in companies having a positive social and environmental impact, a strategy known as impact investing. We’ve profiled a couple of the companies tackling environmental concerns below.

One way we can reduce the likelihood of increased extreme weather events is by working to reduce climate change. Climate change exacerbates the destructive impact of extreme weather events, which can not only have dramatic impacts on individual and community wellbeing, but on businesses and entire economies. To slow the rate of climate change and reduce these effects, we have to reduce our emissions and work towards a future less reliant on traditional modes of energy.

That’s where companies like Avangrid come in. The Positive Impact Funds invest in Avangrid because it is an energy services company operating renewable energy plants throughout North America. Its large-scale wind, hydroelectric and solar energy infrastructure currently supports over 3 million customers as it strives to make alternative energy more affordable, reliable and accessible. 11.8 million metric tons of CO2 emissions have been avoided in the process.

Along with finding new ways of doing things, we also need to find better ways of dealing with what we’ve already produced. One of the organisations working towards this goal is Covanta. With a global network of facilities, Covanta provides sustainable waste processing and recycling services aiming for zero waste and significantly reduced landfill use. It does this by transforming liquid and solid waste, including hazardous materials, into energy through advanced technology and processes. As a result, Covanta has avoided over 7.1 million metric tons of CO2 emissions to date.

Covanta and Avangrid are just two of the companies that each fund invests in. Find out more about our Positive Impact Funds available in the ASB KiwiSaver Scheme and ASB Investment Funds and how you can invest in them. Want to learn more about the companies centred on positive social impacts? Click here.

The Positive Impact Funds invested in the companies outlined in this blog at the time of publishing.

Interests in the ASB KiwiSaver Scheme and ASB Investment Funds (the Schemes) are issued by ASB Group Investments Limited, a wholly owned subsidiary of ASB Bank Limited (ASB). ASB provides administration and distribution services for the Schemes. No person guarantees interests in the Schemes. Interests in the Schemes are not deposits or other liabilities of ASB. They are subject to investment risk, including possible loss of income and principal invested. For more information see the respective Scheme’s product disclosure statement available from ASB’s website and the register of offers of financial products at www.disclose-register.companiesoffice.govt.nz  (search for ASB KiwiSaver Scheme or ASB Investment Funds).