Promoting a Sustainable Investment Approach

Promoting a Sustainable Investment Approach

The Fondation de Luxembourg believes in aligning a foundation’s investments with its philanthropic mission and the charitable causes it supports.

For this reason, we launched a Socially Responsible Investment (SRI) policy in 2009, which has recently been updated.

The Fondation de Luxembourg applies this SRI policy to the management of its own endowment, ensuring that all investments are made within a socially responsible framework.

Since our creation, we have been actively engaged in dialogue with the banking sector on how to strengthen the sustainable dimension of the investment portfolios of the foundations under our aegis. When a donor approaches us to establish a new foundation, we systematically recommend the adoption of our SRI policy for the future management of its endowment. However, the decision ultimately lies with them.

In order to further reinforce our sustainable investment approach, we have recently updated our SRI policy to reflect the latest developments in the field.

Three new pillars have been added to the policy:

•  UN Principles for Responsible Investment (UN PRI) The six principles for responsible investment are a set of voluntary and aspirational investment principles that offer a framework for integrating environmental, social, and governance (ESG) factors into investment practices.
•  Targeted Sectors
  In addition to excluding certain sectors such as weapons, pornography, and tobacco, the Fondation de Luxembourg has adopted a positive screening approach, prioritising investments in companies that demonstrate a positive ESG impact and a strong commitment to the UN Sustainable Development Goals (UN SDGs).
• Strengthening SRI capacities with our partners
  The Fondation de Luxembourg works with external investment managers (mainly Luxembourg-based banks and asset managers) to manage its endowment fund. Our aim is to promote a consistent and proactive approach to SRI among our partners.

The selection process for investment managers includes a review of their SRI capabilities, taking into account their expertise, internal resources, and screening methodology.