Culture and sustainability at 7IM

At 7IM, we are passionate about our culture and sustainability. But what do we really mean by this statement? We know that culture and sustainability, alongside diversity and inclusion, are terms more and more firms talk about.

But we have gone a step further and have challenged ourselves with putting a set of metrics around these terms.

We want to be able to show that all the initiatives and activity we undertake are resulting in real change, and the only way to demonstrate real change is to be able to measure it.

What we cannot reduce, 7IM will offset.

Cleaner Investments

30% reduction in CO2 in SAA

• In November 2022, we moved closer to achieving our goal to reduce the carbon intensity of the Strategic Asset Allocation (SAA) – which acts as the long-term plan for all our investment portfolios – by 30% by 2026
• Following research into the asset classes that form our SAA, we realised we could find investments in corporate bonds with a similar return profile to the traditional corporate bond benchmarks, but with much less exposure to carbon-intensive companies
• Our chosen investment is approximately 70% less carbon-intensive than the fund we previously held and can be accessed at a lower cost
• At the time of writing, the Investment Management team has invested £140m into the new low-carbon fund and plan to invest a further £65m before the end of the year.

Sustainable choices

20% reduction in Scope 1, 2, 3 CO2 and carbon-neutral from 2021

• 7IM has partnered with World Land Trust as part of our commitment to offset our carbon footprint
• This partnership allows us to support World Land Trust’s Carbon Balanced project in Guatemala, which is working with hundreds of landowners, including local communities, to register and obtain land titles to protect 133,827 acres of threatened coastal forest for the benefit of the region’s biodiversity.

Inclusive team

Achieve a diverse and equitable employee base

• In a male-dominated industry, we are making strides in creating a more diverse workforce and we have seen our percentage of women in the business increase from 35% in Q4 2021 to 38% in Q4 2022.

Giving back

Support charities aiming to reduce inequalities

• As a company, we will donate a minimum of £50,000 during 2023 to the charities for which we will undertake various fundraising activities
• We have introduced our Volunteering Policy, enabling 7IM colleagues more opportunities to give back
• We also offer a Give As You Earn scheme, allowing 7IM colleagues more opportunities to give back.