The Caisse de dépôt et placement du Québec is teaming up with New York-based, non-profit Clean, Renewable and Environmental Opportunities Family Office Syndicate to foster more capital towards climate-related investments.
CREO is a group of global family offices interested in investing towards the transition to an environmentally friendly economy, with particular focus on clean energy, transportation, sustainable food, agriculture and water, among other opportunities.
“Through this partnership, we are breaking down silos within the financial industry to allow aligned family office and large institutional investors that have a long term outlook to work together and advance common goals including addressing climate risk and opportunities and helping transition towards a low carbon economy for the public good. Business as usual is no longer good enough,” said Régine Clément, president and chief executive officer of CREO, in a press release.
The release noted the partnership is consistent with the Caisse’s commitment to leverage knowledge of best practices and market intelligence with other investors seeking new opportunities where climate change in concerned. Notably, the Caisse’s 2018 sustainability report stated the fund has decreased the carbon intensity of its portfolio by 10 per cent since 2017 and has increased investments in low-carbon assets by $10 billion to $28 billion.
“We are pleased to create this new partnership with CREO, with whom we share values, a long-term perspective and a commitment to make sustainable investments a priority,” said Mario Therrien, senior vice-president of strategic partnerships for developed markets at the Caisse. “Our joint efforts to contribute to the transition toward a low-carbon economy, by factoring in climate change in our investment decisions, will bring meaningful value to both organizations and its members.”