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COP26 panel: Turning the tide on sustainable water

19 November 2021

Apex Group was part of a panel at the COP26 summit discussing one of the biggest environmental issues facing the planet – access to clean and sustainable water.

Apex Group is more than just a financial services provider. We’re leading the charge to drive positive ESG change in our industry. As the recent COP26 summit in Glasgow showed, we all share a responsibility in confronting the challenges our planet faces.

With much of the focus at the COP26 summit on carbon emissions, there was a feeling that the global water crisis was being overlooked. Given how vital issues such as water access, sanitation and hygiene are to everyday life across the world, it is an issue we simply can’t ignore.

Some 3.6 billion people lack safely managed sanitation services, and around two billion people lack access to safely managed drinking water services. And each day, more than 700 children under the age of five die from diarrhoea linked to unsafe water, sanitation and poor hygiene. Furthermore, around one million deaths each year are associated with unclean births.

At Apex Group, we are in a position to help tackle this issue, which is why we are supporting the Resilient Water Accelerator. This is a coalition aiming to boost climate finance and build the climate resilience of 50 million people through clean and reliable water resources and services.

Andy Pitts-Tucker, managing director of ESG Ratings & Advisory, represented Apex Group at COP26. He took part in a panel alongside WaterAid at the summit, saying “everybody has a part to play” in tackling climate change.

“We may not have a large environmental footprint, relatively speaking, and we may have a fairly limited way that we can directly move the dial on climate change,” he said, “but we can still do our bit.

“We, as an organisation, are changing internally. We recently set up a sustainability committee that is taking a long hard look at our internal processes, and we are putting in place new policies and programmes.

“And because we don’t move that climate dial as much, we have partnered with organisations such as WaterAid that do. We also partnered with other organisations such as the Eden Reforestation Project, with whom, by the end of this year, we will have planted in excess of 200,000 trees as part of our positive impact.”

Most importantly, we are working with our 6,000+ clients across the asset management industry, providing them with the tools and services they need to help strengthen their ESG credentials. Our ESG Ratings and Advisory service can help investors unlock real value and drive significant change.

For example, our Carbon Footprint Assessment & Climate Change Strategy identifies and tracks the three categories of emissions that contribute towards a company’s carbon footprint as defined by the Greenhouse Gas Protocol. Our Invest Check product helps investors assess their sustainability strategy, track performance and identify key gaps against an ESG data-set based on all of the key regulations and industry standards, including SFDR, TCFD, UNPRI, ESG Taxonomy and more.

The ESG Health Check provides a high-quality and efficient route to assess private companies, focusing on 30-40 of the most important data points tied to leading ESG standards and regulations. Each ESG Health Check report enables our clients to understand the relative ESG strengths and areas for companies to improve.

Finally, our full ESG Ratings and Reporting and Gap Analysis service provides clients with tailored and detailed ESG analysis across their entire portfolio.

However, we know not everybody’s approach to ESG is the same. That’s why our solutions can be tailored to meet your objectives and provide the information you need to implement your plans. Get in touch with our expert team to find out how we can help you.

For more insight on water conservation, listen to our podcast - ‘Bringing Private Finance of Water to COP26’ - to find out how Apex Group is raising awareness in this critical area.

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