Environmental, social and governance

At Insignia Financial, we are committed to helping secure a better future for our clients, people and planet. In the face of global challenges such as climate change and social inequity, we acknowledge the role we must play in working towards sustainable outcomes in our business operations, and the products and services we offer.

Insignia Financial is evolving our responsible investment approach in line with our commitment to ESG. We believe in climate science and support global efforts to achieve net zero greenhouse gas emissions by 2050.

Our memberships with the Investor Group on Climate Change (IGCC) and Responsible Investment Association of Australasia (RIAA) through our MLC Asset Management business helps inform our response to ESG-related risks within our investment business.

We support the United Nations Sustainable Development Goals as a shared blueprint for peace and prosperity for people and the planet. The goals most aligned to our ESG strategy have provided a framework to guide our ESG principles and initiatives.

In June 2022, we became a carbon-neutral organisation by measuring and offsetting our scope 1, 2 and 3 operational carbon emissions. In September 2022, we achieved certification with Climate Active, further validating this achievement. Our focus now is to use our emissions baselines and set science-based reduction targets.

Alongside these approaches, we have:

• gained approval from Reconciliation Australia for our new corporate Innovate Reconciliation Action Plan (RAP)
• signalled the beginning of our alignment with the global Principles for Responsible Investment (PRI), by our boutique funds management business, Antares, becoming a signatory, and
• maintained overall gender equity in the business with 49.16% female workforce participation at 30 June 2023.

Material ESG matters

This financial year, we revised our materiality topics by implementing globally recognised best practice. In collaboration with our advisory firm, we carried out a Global Reporting Initiative (GRI) compliant materiality and significance assessment.

The material topics were assessed on the significance of their economic, environmental and social impacts, in accordance with the GRI guidelines. Each topic was assessed against multiple criteria, including scale, scope and likelihood, giving it an overall significance score. All topics are important, but those assessed as having the ‘Highest impact’ are the ones with the most importance to our stakeholders. They are, therefore, a priority for our organisation.

2023 ESG report

Insignia Financial Ltd’s 2023 annual report provides detailed information on our ESG material matters and how we are progressing.