SUSTAINABILITY AT BLACKROCK

Our fiduciary approach to sustainability and the low-carbon transition

BlackRock was founded on the premise of understanding and managing investment risk, anticipating our clients’ needs, and supporting them in achieving their long-term investment goals. That is why we look at sustainability information — as an investor and a fiduciary.

Our investment approach is informed by three principles:

Image of Client Choice, Performance, and Research

We apply those same principles to sustainability and the low-carbon transition.

Client choice

We start with the client

Client choice

Our role is to listen to and deliver choice for our clients. Our clients choose their investment objectives, and they look to BlackRock to meet their needs. We offer them choices across a wide range of index, active, and whole portfolio solutions. For clients asking how to mitigate risk and capture opportunities associated with sustainability-related trends (such as the low-carbon transition), or for clients asking for products with sustainability- or transition-focused objectives, we offer a range of options and choices in products, portfolio construction, analytics, and stewardship (Voting Choice).

We continue to innovate for and with clients, responding to client demand.

Performance

We seek the best risk-adjusted returns

Performance

We seek the best risk-adjusted returns within the mandates clients give us. As a fiduciary, we manage material risks and opportunities that could impact portfolios, including those related to sustainability. When financially material, we incorporate environmental, social, and governance information alongside other information into our firmwide processes to enhance risk-adjusted returns.

Research

We underpin our work with research, data, and analytics

Research

Research informs our investment decisions and product innovation. We research major structural trends shaping the economy, markets, and asset prices. We assess how these trends could affect long-term value and how they could unfold over time. The transition to a low-carbon economy is one trend that we research, because we see it having implications on macroeconomic trends, company financial prospects and business models, and portfolios.

More information about our fiduciary approach

Read more about our fiduciary approach to sustainability and the transition to a low-carbon economy.
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Participation in industry Initiatives

BlackRock is governed strictly by its fiduciary duty to clients and conducts its stewardship activities and proxy voting independently. BlackRock is a member of several industry initiatives, including some that focus on issues related to sustainability, because membership allows the firm to participate in dialogue on matters of interest to clients. BlackRock, Inc. is a member of the U.N. Principles for Responsible Investment (PRI). More information about BlackRock’s participation in PRI can be found here. BlackRock, Inc.1 is also a member of the climate-focused initiative Ceres, and is represented in the Principals Group of the Glasgow Financial Alliance for Net Zero (GFANZ). BlackRock International or other non-U.S. subsidiaries are also members of additional industry associations and initiatives, including regional ones.