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Capital Q&A

'ESG isn't enough': How this $75b fund manager puts a number on sustainability

There's a flood of well-intentioned investors running headlong into green investments. This London asset manager believes many of them are getting it wrong.

Jack Derwin
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Hubert Aarts says Impax is looking for companies that provide environmental solutions. Credit: Supplied

Hubert Aarts is a senior portfolio manager and executive director at London-based Impax Asset Management, a $75 billion fund manager specialising in global sustainability. Late last year, Impax brought its Global Opportunities Fund to Australia.

Impax’s top holdings include tech giant Microsoft, waste companies Republic Services and Waste Management, industrial gas providers Air Liquide, Praxis and Linde, water treatment company Pentair, energy grid services provider Schneider Electric, utilities name Veolia, and health companies Agilent Technologies and Alcon. This interview has been lightly edited for brevity and clarity.

There is plenty of talk around ESG investing but what sets Impax apart?

You might be investing in these great companies, but you have to be able to answer the question, what does it really mean? You have to be able to quantify it.