2022 ESG Report

Contents

03. Introduction 04. 2022 in brief

07. Exclusion

08. Proxy Voting

13. Engagements

18. Environmental Reporting

20. SFDR 21. Appendix

The investment fund ValueInvest Danmark was founded 16th of April 1998 as a Danish, memberowned investment fund under the supervision of the Danish Financial Supervisory Authority.

Nordic Ecolabelling

At year-end 2022, the following sub-funds were Nordic Swan Eco-labelled:

• ValueInvest Global

• ValueInvest Global Akkumulerende

• ValueInvest Japan

Nordic Ecolabelling works to reduce the environmental impact from production and consumption of goods with the aid of their logo: the Nordic Swan Ecolabel. This makes it easy for consumers and professional buyers to choose the environmentally best goods and services.

Nordic Swan Ecolabel funds must fulfil requirements within four different sustainability strategies:

• Exclude the worst companies and industries within coal, oil, gas, nuclear, tobacco, weapons, and non-compliance with international norms

• Include more sustainable companies, by rewarding companies with strong sustainability work seen from a ESG and EU Taxonomy perspective. The criteria also have a special focus on sectors with high GHG emissions and / or high risk of biodiversity impact

• Exercise active ownership, by engaging with companies where there is uncertainty as to whether they live up to international norms if the company is not sold

• Publish all holdings in the portfolio and publish an annual sustainability report

The Investment Advisor of ValueInvest Danmark is Macquarie Investment Management Europe S.A. (MIME S.A.) based in Luxembourg.

Introduction

The board of directors of Investeringsforeningen ValueInvest Danmark (the “Fund”) is pleased to present the 2022 ESG report where the ESG team of the Investment Advisor of the Fund, Macquarie Investment Management Europe S.A. (“Investment Advisor”) presents the key ESG topics of the reporting year, including relevant data on proxy voting, engagements, and carbon emissions.

If you have any questions to the report or data presented, please contact the Investment Advisor of the Fund at MAMVIESG@macquarie.com

Like 2021, one of the major topics of 2022 was climate. With the EU Taxonomy technical screening criteria for the environmental objectives of climate change mitigation and climate change adaptation, which came into force on 1 January 2022, and another United Nations Climate Change Conference (COP27) taking the headlines, it may look like ESG and sustainability merely relates to climate change.

During the reporting year, the Investment Advisor did however see increased attention being put on nature and biodiversity. The Task Force on Naturerelated Financial Disclosures (“TNFD”) is developing a framework which will enable companies and financial institutions to integrate nature into decision making, similar to the Taskforce on Climaterelated Financial Disclosure ("TCFD").

On 19 December 2022, the United Nations Biodiversity Conference, COP15 in Montreal, Canada, concluded with an agreement that will guide global action on nature through to 2030. The KunmingMontreal Global Biodiversity Framework includes

concrete measures to halt and reverse nature loss, including placing 30% of the planet and 30% of degraded ecosystems under protection by 20301) For managers committed to managing their portfolios in line with net zero, and for companies committing to net zero, ending deforestation is a key component in delivering on those goals2)

For the Investment Advisor, this has included dedicating efforts to map the deforestation risks of the portfolios and plans to focus 2023 engagement efforts on portfolio companies with farm- and landbased value chains to encourage setting goals and increasing transparency on ending deforestation. The Investment Advisor has also seen a returning focus on social aspects like human rights and labour rights, and more companies acknowledging the importance of diversity, equity, and inclusion in their organisations and supply chains.

With regulatory disclosure requirements increasing there has been an increasing transparency in company reporting, including additional reporting, added details and data, or more and more companies disclosing their intention to develop roadmaps, policies, and targets and sharing work-in-progress which the Investment Advisor applauds.

On the coming pages you can read more about the activities conducted and results achieved by the Investment Advisor during 2022.

References can be found in the appendix.

From information disclosed by the companies, no direct material exposure and no significant financial indirect exposure was recorded.

2022 in brief

The Ukraine invasion

Russia’s invasion of Ukraine on 24 February 2022 was the biggest military invasion in Europe since the second world war. The invasion has impacted millions of people and has left the military, financial, and humanitarian situation in Europe changed.

The material risks associated with and created by the war grew tremendously from the day Russia invaded Ukraine.

Due to this heightened risk, the Investment Advisor mapped out portfolio companies’ exposure towards Russia and/or Ukraine to identify how much revenue, production, and procurement the individual portfolio companies assign to the two countries. The Investment Advisor engaged all portfolio companies on 28 February 2022 and received feedback from all companies.

From information disclosed by the companies at the time of engagement, no direct material exposure and no significant financial indirect exposure was recorded. The indirect exposure accounted for approx. 1-2% of revenue across the portfolios and did not present a material risk to the portfolios.

Wider macro-economic risks may be relevant and can include disruption of supply chains and rising inflation, interest rates, energy prices, increased raw material prices, as well as logistic challenges. During the year, the Investment Advisor monitored the developments and consequences at portfolio and company level and had follow-ups with companies where appropriate.

From a social and humanitarian perspective, companies also reported that they were monitoring the invasion and are working to protect their employees, donating to humanitarian support and relief for the people in Ukraine.

SAFETY OF EMPLOYEES

Nestlé

“Ensuring the safety and protection of our employees is our number one priority everywhere we operate. For this reason, in Ukraine we have temporarily closed our factories, warehouses and supply chain and we have recommended to our employees to stay at home and follow the latest official guidance from the government and local authorities. We remain committed to continuing to serve the local people and have contingency plans in place to ensure we can restart the supply of our products as soon as safe conditions allow.”

Engagement with Nestlé 28/02/2022

Sustainability is an opportunity

– not simply a risk

While sustainability is becoming more mainstream, companies and investors have made headway from perceiving sustainability and ESG as merely a risk to focussing on identifying opportunities where sustainability can influence the development of products and processes and potentially increase company revenue. Where a company can identify their sustainable edge and meet customer demands, real opportunity exists.

According to the Network for Business Sustainability (“NBS”), sustainable innovation involves making intentional changes to a company’s products, services, or processes to generate long-term social and environmental benefits while creating economic profits for the company.

As part of the 2022 proxy and engagement season, the Investment Advisor reached out to portfolio companies to understand how companies are considering sustainability factors in their innovation processes, whether sustainable innovation is a

strategic priority, and how the companies consider sustainability as a value-driver in their products, services, and processes.

During the engagements (written dialogue or virtual meetings), the companies highlighted their approach to innovation and how sustainability is considered in this process. The feedback from the companies show that most companies consider sustainability in their innovation processes and have implemented sustainability in their operation and business.

The following excerpts highlight how some of the companies are considering sustainable innovation in their business strategy and products.

SUSTAINABLE OPPORTUNITIES

Merck

According to Merck, “Consistent with the definition of sustainable innovation cited in your letter, we approach ESG from both a risk management standpoint and an opportunity for value creation across our operations.

To ensure our strategy maximizes opportunities for sustainable value creation, we apply our global resources and investments to ESG priority areas that matter most to our business: access to health, employees, environmental sustainability and ethics & values. Through these four areas, we continue to challenge ourselves to innovate, make ambitious commitments and form collaborative partnerships to solve major global issues.

SUSTAINABLE

INNOVATION

Essity

According to Essity, “Essity has worked with sustainability as part of the overall business strategy for many years. Reducing environmental impact, Essity’s as well as our customers’ and consumers’, also offers business opportunities and increases our competitive edge. Sustainability is essential predominantly in two of our strategic priorities; “Innovating leading brands” and "Leading in Sustainability".

Our strong sustainability profile as a company including our sustainable solutions helps us win contracts, build customer and consumer loyalty, and take market shares. In 2021, our market shares increased further for approximately 70% of branded sales in the retail trade. Sustainable innovation is one of the Group targets: at least 50% of the company’s innovations are to yield social and/or environmental improvements. In 2021, the outcome was 59%. Through innovation, Essity has reduced the greenhouse gas footprint in the company’s different product categories by 10–30% over a ten-year period.”

Engagement with Essity 16/03/2022

We invest to discover and develop novel medicines and vaccines that address some of the most critical health care needs for people and animals around the world. This investment in innovative science included $12.2 billion in R&D spend in 2021. We systematically evaluate our R&D candidates to identify the potential to address significant public health challenges and unmet medical needs of patients, including in resource-constrained settings.”

Engagement with Merck 11/06/2022

SUSTAINABLE ALTERNATIVES

Nestlé

“Sustainable Innovation is an important part of our growth algorithm. You lose market share if you don’t change, you grow if you do.”

Engagement with Nestlé 31/02/2022

The company is focusing on plant-based products, recycling of materials, and finding alternatives to plastic. Nestlé is also focused on development and innovation, and not only focusing on solutions that will benefit their own products, but solutions that will benefit the industry as a whole. As for now, Nestlé sees it as a cost-driver when innovating for new solutions but believes that it will be a huge growth opportunity going forward.

From the dialogue with portfolio companies, it is clear that the initial focus on ESG and sustainability has changed from being largely focussed on risks, to companies identifying and actively working on innovating products, services, and processes to include sustainability factors.

A common focus area for all companies is the need to innovate sustainably to reach the ambitious climate reduction and net zero targets. Almost all companies highlighted their efforts in reducing carbon emissions as an example of sustainable innovation, whether it includes a change in the product composition, production facilities, or when collaborating with suppliers and customers.

All companies acknowledged the importance of innovation - and considering sustainability aspects when innovating - in order to grow their business

and maintain market share. Some companies are already able to provide evidence that the consideration of sustainability factors has improved other business areas such as consumer confidence, product efficiency, and market share, whereas others are still in the initial phase of thinking of and/or integrating sustainability as a growth and valuedriver.

Specifically, most Japanese companies are highlighting that sustainability is a part of their business (though not specifically in terms of R&D or innovation) but are not able to provide examples beyond initiatives to reduce carbon emissions. Here it is clear that US and European companies are one step further, specifically consumer facing companies who see the benefits arising from sustainability when it comes to customer demands and maintaining market share.

Exclusions

The exclusion criteria of the Fund are either product based or conduct based as described below.

EXCLUDED PRODUCTS/INDUSTRIES EXCLUDED CONDUCTS

• tobacco

• controversial weapons

• conventional weapons*

• extraction of fossil fuels (coal, natural gas, crude oil, uranium)* refining of fossil fuels for fuel* power generation from fossil fuels*

*max. 5% of revenue

Screening and exclusion

Pre-investment: The initial screening which includes the elimination of tobacco companies as well as other excluded sub-industries, excludes 12% of the investable universe.

To assist with assessing adherence to the UNGC principles and other global norms, the Investment Advisor monitors the ESG policies, practices, and conduct of portfolio companies.

The Investment Advisor conducts in-house research, supported by third-party data, and every investment is analysed from an ESG-perspective, including product involvement screening, ESG policies and practices, and an assessment of any conduct or practice relating to the principles of the UNGC.

Post-investment and monitoring: On a bi-weekly basis, the Investment Advisor receives alerts from third-party ESG data providers and is notified of

• serious violation of human rights

• severe environmental damage

• gross corruption

• serious violation of individuals’ rights in situations of war or conflict other particularly serious violations of fundamental ethical norms

any changes in the ESG ratings/assessments, any controversies/incidents or breaches of global norms, including respect for human rights, labour compliance, and UNGC adherence.

If there is any doubt as to whether a company adheres to the UNGC, or if any practices indicate a violation of a conduct-based exclusion, the case is discussed internally and an escalation plan is drafted e.g., engagement, proxy voting or divestment recommendations.

In 2022, the Investment Advisor did not exclude any current investments based on these criteria.

Proxy Voting

The Investment Advisor exercises the Fund’s voting rights through proxy voting. The Investment Advisor votes according to the Fund’s guidelines and casts the votes on behalf of the Fund, utilising a third-party proxy service provider and pursues to vote proxies at all general meetings as below:

Proxy Voting: from policy to casting votes

• Proxy Voting Policy provides basis for voting decision Designed and implemented to ensure voting rights are exercised in the best interest of the client

• Research and platform provided by proxy service provider Additional in-house research by Investment Advisor

• Proxy service provider provides voting recommendation based on custom policy

Votes cast by Investment Advisor (four-eye principle)

• Ensuring compliance between policy and vote cast

• The final voting decision lies with the Investment Advisor's Portfolio Manager

2022 key trends

According to the Principles for Responsible Investment (PRI), in 2022, investors in listed equities demonstrated once again that they were willing to utilise voting to voice their ESG concerns with the increasing number of ESG-related resolutions filed. In 2022, a record number of 576 resolutions was filed, compared to last year’s 499 resolutions (also a record)3)

Once again, resolutions relating to climate issues were the most frequently filed with a significant increase in resolutions specifically targeting net zero emission reduction targets. The second-most filed resolution category was related to racial and civil rights audits which had tripled since 2021. The most popular governance resolutions related to varying forms of lobbying4)

A summary of key topics of the 2022 proxy season is presented here.

ESG in executive remuneration

In Europe, investor attention on the implementation and disclosure of ESG metrics in incentive plans increased. Inclusion of ESG metrics is thus becoming more common in Europe5). Similarly, in the US, focus on how ESG metrics are measured increased, particularly in cases where performance historically was determined on a subjective basis, specifically for human capital management and diversity6)

During the 2022 proxy season, the Investment Advisor collected data on ESG-linked remuneration in executive incentive plans across the portfolio companies. An overweight of global companies have incorporated ESG metrics in their incentive plans, keeping the board and executive management accountable for their ESG strategy and efforts. Japan still lacks disclosure on remuneration, but the Investment Advisor was able to determine that 42% of Japan portfolio companies have ESG metrics included in their executive incentive plans7)

by an increase in

mental proposals and Say on Climate proposals8) In Europe, Say on Climate proposals increased by 80% and the topic was also increasing in popularity in the UK and Australia.

In 2021, a significant percentage of votes were casts in favour of ESG-related resolutions in Europe, UK, and Australia. This year there was a slight decrease from 94% in 2021 to 89% in 2022.

According to Glass Lewis, a proxy service provider, drivers behind votes could be to encourage more credible climate strategies and drive shareholder engagement on the topic.

In the US, Glass Lewis also identified an increase in shareholder proposals relating to ESG, however with support declining from 36% to 33%. Especially environmental and social proposals dealing with financially material topics saw a notable decrease9) In Japan, total shareholder proposals increased by 58%, with over half relating to ESG and 16% environmental issues. No shareholder proposals were however passed10)

A general concern regarding Say on Climate proposals is that companies will not engage as much with shareholders and that the board will be less inclined to take accountability on their climate strategy if shareholders approve the Say on Climate proposals11)

The Investment Advisor is focused on how ESG is managed from a governance perspective and how executive management and the Board take accountability. Data collected from portfolio companies show that accountability and oversight are embedded to a large extent, both globally and in Japan.

Gender diversity

Local legislation on board diversity has been implemented in several countries (e. g. France, Germany, Netherlands, and Switzerland) and the average board-level gender diversity rate has increased since 2021. There has also been an increase in voting recommendations to vote against a director due to lack of gender diversity on the board of directors12)

Despite regulatory efforts and investor pressure on the Japanese market, Japan is still lagging when it comes to gender diversity on the board of directors. Only 20.6% of Japanese companies have appointed two or more women as directors.

background, and ideology and has engaged on board diversity with portfolio companies since 2020. Scholarly research suggests that companies perform better when they are led by a group of diverse board members who complement each other. The Investment Advisor hence encourages leadership that is varied in every way - in gender, race, economic background and ideology, and agrees with a number of studies that describe the positive impact of gender diversity and supports the premise that a minimum of three women on a board/at least 30% representation reflects positively on financial performance13)

In 2022, the Investment Advisor again addressed gender diversity in their proxy voting activities, following up on any progress or lack hereof from the previous year.

Number of women directors in Japan and Global Portfolios

Significant votes/proposals

The Investment Advisor does not prioritise or apply a hierarchy to voting across the portfolios, but votes at all meetings on all resolutions, wherever possible. A significant vote could include one or more of the following criteria:

• A company recently involved in a controversial issue, particularly one relating to governance or broader ESG matters

• A meeting which includes a board spill

• A resolution related to a merger/acquisition

Here, the Investment Advisor highlights significant votes or proposals that occurred during the 2022 proxy season:

Orange Management proposal14)

Proposal: 2022 Remuneration Policy (Chair and CEO, CEO and Deputy CEO’s).

The Board of directors decided to grant the outgoing chair and CEO, Mr. Stéphane Richard for his 12 years as head of the Group and proposed an exceptional remuneration of €475,000 in 2022. This was despite the fact that he was convicted for complicity in misuse of public funds, while he was Chief of Staff of the Minister of France in 2008. Two days prior to the AGM, Mr. Stéphane Richard waived the grant due to the “incomprehension of certain shareholders”. The remuneration policy was approved with 50.5% of votes.

Result: 49.5% voted against Vote cast: Against

Intertek Management proposal15)

Proposal: Election of Chairman, Andrew Martin.

The proxy service provider recommended to vote against the re-election of Intertek’s Chair, Andrew Martin, as the company, which operates and has facilities in Russia, did not provide an update and sufficient information on material risks regarding its exposure to Russia.

As part of the engagement outreach to all portfolio companies, the Investment Advisor had gained insight into Intertek’s exposure to Russia prior to the AGM and in a follow-up call was further assured that the company had limited exposure towards Russia and Ukraine.

In the call the Investment Advisor encouraged Intertek to disclose more information on the issue going forward as missing information may lead to a vote against management.

The Investment Advisor decided to vote for the re-election of Andrew Martin. Despite no publicly available information being available at the time of the meeting, the engagement dialogue provided sufficient insight to reach a vote decision. Following the publication of the proxy service provider’s proxy paper, Intertek addressed the company’s exposure to Ukraine and Russia giving shareholders more insight, although the voting deadline had passed.

Result: 89.5% voted for Vote cast: For

Conagra Brands Shareholder proposal

Proposal: That the Chair of the Board should be an independent director and the roles of CEO and Chairman shall be separated.

While the proxy service provider recommended a vote against the shareholder proposal due to Conagra Brands already having an independent Chairman instated and the roles of CEO and Chairman already being separated, the Investment Advisor decided to vote for this shareholder proposal as this practice should be followed and endured, also when there is a change in leadership in the future. This is in alignment with the Fund’s voting policy.

Result: 62.3% voted against Vote cast: For

Results from 2022 proxy season

* Voting instruction “take no action” as company was no longer in portfolio at time of AGM

ValueInvest Global portfolios

Votes by proposal category

* Voting instruction “take no action” as company was no longer in portfolio at time of AGM

2022 shareholder meetings by region and country

2022 shareholder meetings by region and country

Engagements

Engaging with the management of portfolio companies, on behalf of the Fund, is a core part of the stewardship practices of the Investment Advisor. Dialogue with management on ESG issues enables investors to reduce risk and increase economic, environmental, and social impact on behalf of clients.

As a responsible investor, the Investment Advisor wants to ensure that corporate management teams are monitored and held accountable for their actions. In the assessment of the Fund’s investments, the Investment Advisor seeks to understand how management teams acknowledge, manage, and reduce ESG-related risks and engage with portfolio companies on how these risks are being managed and mitigated.

If any company practices indicate non-adherence to the UNGC, or if any practices indicate a serious violation of human rights, severe environmental damage, gross corruption, a serious violation of individuals’ rights in situations of war or conflict, as well as any other particularly serious violation of fundamental ethical norms, the Investment Advisor may choose to engage with the company in question.

In general, the Investment Advisor seeks to motivate companies to implement positive changes and improve company practices over time. This includes engaging with companies in the following ways:

Thematic engagement

Focusing on ESG issues that are constituting the most material risks to the holdings.

Event-driven engagement

Driven by an ESG-related incident or controversy.

Collaborative engagement

Collaborating with other investors on aligned goals.

Proxy voting engagement

Engaging with and notifying boards and/or management of proxy voting motivations, votes against management, and policies.

Engagement subjects are identified by monitoring the companies invested in and identifying practices that need improvement, controversies or issues that need to be addressed, or by wanting to work with companies to improve certain ESG standards that are relevant to their industry/sector.

1 2 3

Due to the heightened risk of the Russian invasion of Ukraine, the Investment Advisor wished to map out portfolio companies’ exposure towards Russia and/or Ukraine and to identify how much revenue, production, and procurement the individual portfolio companies could assign to the two countries. The Investment Advisor engaged all portfolio companies.

While sustainability is becoming more mainstream, companies and investors have made headway from perceiving sustainability and ESG as merely a risk to focussing on identifying opportunities where sustainability can influence the development of products

and processes and potentially increase company revenue. As part of the 2022 proxy season, the Investment Advisor reached out to portfolio companies to understand how companies are considering sustainability factors in their innovation processes, whether sustainable innovation is a strategic priority, and how the companies consider sustainability as a value-driver in their products, services, and processes.

Net zero is unreachable without eliminating deforestation. Consequently, the Investment Advisor wants to approach all relevant companies to learn how they are managing deforestation and risks associated with

deforestation and agriculture. There are potential material and systemic risks associated with deforestation, and it is imperative that companies are held accountable for their actions and are working towards zero deforestation. The goal of this engagement is to map out how portfolio companies are tackling deforestation and the Investment Advisor will approach relevant companies on topics such as disclosure, certification, traceability, policies, audits, projects and initiatives etc. In 2022, research on all targeted companies was carried out. Read more about regenerative agriculture, biodiversity, and deforestation in the highlighted case on the following pages.

2022 Engagements

2022 Engagements

The Investment Advisor engaged in 118 activities during 2022. Examples of engagement topics and issues addressed are presented below.

Companies Topic Type Summary

All holdings Exposure towards Russia and/or Ukraine

Event-driven Mapped portfolio companies’ exposure towards Russia and/or Ukraine. Identify how much revenue, production, and procurement the individual portfolio companies could assign to the two countries.

All holdings Sustainable Innovation Thematic As part of the 2022 proxy season, the Investment Advisor reached out to portfolio companies to understand how companies are considering sustainability factors in their innovation processes, whether sustainable innovation is a strategic priority, and how the companies consider sustainability as a value-driver in their products, services, and processes.

1 company Capital allocation Event-driven + Proxy voting

Following an acquisition, the Investment Advisor shared with the company their intention to vote against the dividend pay-out at the 2022 AGM as well as the request to raise equity (to finance the acquisition). A call was scheduled to talk the finance of the acquisition and capital allocation.

1 company Employee relations Event-driven The company was approached due to allegations of mishandling of rape-claims in the HR department. Request to clarify how the company has handled the incident and what initiatives were put in place to mitigate similar issues from occurring again.

Outcome

100% response rate. No direct material exposure or significant financial indirect exposure was recorded.

Global: Dialogue with 35 companies (97.22%).

Japan: Dialogue with 19 companies (90.48%).

The abovementioned all confirmed that sustainable innovation was a strategic opportunity and an important area for the companies to increase value and revenue.

The Investment Advisor voted against the proposals relating to the finance of the acquisition. The engagement call did not lead to agreement.

The company conducts employee training to educate and influence staff to adhere to the company's anti-discrimination and DEI policy and to raise concerns if there is unwanted behaviour. The company conducts review of its policies annually and conducts ad-hoc reviews by third-party providers. Investment Advisor satisfied with remediation plan implemented.

The Investment Advisor is committed to managing the portfolios of the Fund in line with net zero emissions by 2040

Case study

Regenerative agriculture and deforestation

Macquarie Asset Management is an ally of the World Benchmarking Alliance (“WBA”), an alliance representing organisations working to shape the private sector’s contributions to achieving the Sustainable Development Goals (“SDGs”). WBA has created the Food and Agriculture Benchmark – an accountability tool for the private sector.

As mentioned in the Annual Report 2021, the Investment Advisor assisted the WBA in engaging with portfolio companies during 2021, encouraging them to join the WBA Benchmark. The engagement called on major food and agricultural companies to make a commitment towards a more sustainable food system.

The WBA assessed the performance of 350 of the largest food and agricultural companies and aims to influence companies to apply sustainable

business practices throughout their operations and supply chain.

In 2022 the results from WBA were published and demonstrated that the industry is not on track towards transitioning to a more sustainable food and agricultural system. The WBA highlighted gaps in the preparedness for climate change, progress on human rights, and the contribution to nutritious diets (figure below).

Top performers according to WBA were Unilever, Nestlé, and Danone (all three companies held within the Global portfolios as at 31 Dec 2022), but the overall average benchmark performance is low. Almost two-thirds of the companies in scope demonstrate significant room for improvement across all indicators.

Danone, the manufacturer and producer of dairy and nutritional products, which was held at a 2.9% weight in the portfolio (as at 31 Dec 2022) ranks third in the Food and Agriculture Benchmark. The company demonstrates strong performance across all areas measured and leads in the environmental area, as seen in the figure16)

The Investment Advisor’s research as well as engagements with Danone supports the conclusion that Danone is a leader in the environmental area and has several initiatives and targets within soil

Food and Agriculture Benchmark - Danone score card

#1 indicates the score for top performing company.

Food and Agriculture Benchmark Insights ReportWBA

health and agrobiodiversity, food loss and waste, protein diversification and plastic and packaging17)

However, the overall results demonstrate that the food and agriculture industry still has some road ahead to manage and achieve the best sustainable practices needed to transform the agriculture industry.

As the Global portfolio is exposed to the agricultural industry, the Investment Advisor found it important to focus on and engage with relevant companies on targets and efforts within biodiversity and agriculture, specifically deforestation. Biodiversity loss, human rights violation, and climate change are all critical challenges that are all linked to deforestation. There is no route to net zero carbon emissions without tackling and eliminating deforestation.

Despite recent efforts, deforestation increased by 12% between 2019 and 202118)

Ending deforestation is a necessity for companies with farm and land-based value chains to deliver on their net zero ambitions. Further, mere ambitions to end deforestation is, in the Investment Advisor’s view, not enough - quality of governance, strategic targets, and the pace of delivery of roadmaps are undeniably important.

Without tracking a commodity’s origin, companies cannot ensure that it was grown without elimination of trees. Once deforestation has occurred, the extent of the damage means that recovery is far into the future. While new trees can be planted, it takes decades for trees to develop the “photosynthetic machinery” needed to sequester carbon at high rates19). Planting new trees is not an instantaneously renewable resource.

At COP26, more than 100 countries signed the Glasgow Leader’s Declaration of Forest and Land Use, committing to halting and reversing forest loss and degradation by 2030. At COP27 a Forest and Climate Leaders’ Partnership was launched, with the aim to unite action by governments, businesses, and community leaders20)

Data from Carbon Disclosure Project’s (“CDP”) 2021 forest disclosures highlights that only 36% of com-

panies have public company-wide no-deforestation polices and only 13% of companies have commitments to zero-deforestation that are well-aligned with best practice21)

Macquarie Asset Management (“MAM”) is committed to investing and managing portfolios in line with global net zero carbon emissions by 2040. Eliminating deforestation plays a large role in achieving this commitment.

To support the goal of achieving a net zero portfolio, the Investment Advisor has researched and mapped out relevant portfolio companies’ commitments and efforts towards eliminating deforestation and will initiate engagement with the aim of influencing companies to improve where necessary. Relevant indicators researched include:

• Deforestation policy

• Supply chain policy

• KPI and targets

• Progress reporting

• Risk assessment

• Compliance strategy

• Certification

• Traceability

• Frameworks and benchmarks

• External collaboration

• Activities and initiatives

It is imperative that deforestation is considered when sourcing high-risk commodities, and it is necessary that companies take on the responsibility of eliminating deforestation throughout their supply chain. By engaging with portfolio companies on deforestation, the Investment Advisor hopes to influence them to recognise deforestation as an important factor in reaching net zero and to improve their deforestation-related policies and practices.

Engagement letters will be sent out 1H 2023 and engagement meetings with companies are planned to take place during 2023.

Environmental reporting

Net zero and carbon reduction targets was a key engagement topic during the 2021 proxy season. The Investment Advisor approached all portfolio companies on their reduction targets and how they plan to reduce emissions in the operation, production, and throughout the value chain, as well as their ambitions towards net zero emissions. In 2022, the Investment Advisor followed up on any progress and engaged companies yet to set carbon reduction targets, including net zero.

On a company level, similar to previous years, the largest emitter of the portfolios was Air Liquide. The company is responsible for 60% of the portfolio’s total emissions. The Industrial Gasses company operates not only company specific plants, but also customer plants, adding to the overall emissions of the company.

The Fund is committed to measure and disclose the carbon footprint of the portfolios and utilises the metrices referenced by the EU’s Sustainable Finance Disclosure Regulation (“SFDR”)22)

Progress

Since the 2021 report was published, the Investment Advisor changed carbon data provider which means that the data presented here is not fully comparable to the figures from last year’s report.

ValueInvest Global portfolios

Looking at the total emissions, the companies in the global portfolios increased their combined emissions by 12,913,585-ton CO2. The absolute carbon emissions of the portfolios hence increased by 18.8% compared to 2021, keeping in mind that the reported emissions from 2022 is not fully comparable with 2021 data due to difference in data providers utilised.

While Air Liquide is the largest emitter of the portfolio, it also is one of the most innovative companies when it comes to carbon emissions, carbon reduction, and carbon capture. During proxy season 2022, the Investment Advisor engaged with Air Liquide and a meeting was also held with Air Liquide during an ESG Conference in November 2022. The dialogue confirms that the company is a leader in terms of decarbonisation. Its activities include the supply of low-carbon gases, CO2 capture and management, as well as solutions to transform customers’ industrial processes.

In 2022, Air Liquide’s 2035 CO2 trajectory was validated by the Science Based Targets initiative and the company is committed to reaching carbon neutrality by 2050. As mentioned further above, 100% of the companies in the global portfolios have implemented carbon emissions reduction targets. Going forward, an overall decrease of the portfolio carbon footprint is expected.

ValueInvest Japan

Looking to Japan, the total emissions of the portfolio decreased by 938,499.82-ton CO2. The absolute GHG emissions of the portfolio hence decreased by 3.6% compared to 2021.

Carbon footprint of the three funds of ValueInvest Danmark

Source: Sustainalytics. Year of emissions: 2021. Currency: EUR

*MSCI World GHG Emissions differ between the two portfolios as the benchmark adjusts to the value of the portfolio.

The largest emitter of the portfolio is, similar to previous years, Nippon Sanso Holdings. The Investment Advisor engaged with Nippon Sanso Holdings on carbon emissions and emission reductions targets during proxy season 2022 and inquired how implementation of roadmaps to reduce emissions was progressing. Compared to peers, the Investment Advisor believes that Nippon Sanso Holdings is lagging in its climate ambitions. Nippon Sanso Holdings responded that “We have committed the Carbon neutral program 1&2 in this plan [Mediumterm Management Plan]. In addition, we are exploring new business toward Carbon neutrality with our group’s capability including products, services, and operational processes23) ”

The Industrial Gasses company did however lower their total emissions, compared to last year, which

the Investment Advisor find positive. Similar to Air Liquide in the global portfolio, Nippon Sanso Holdings operates in a carbon heavy industry but is committed to contributing to the realisation of a carbon neutral society. The group is actively prioritising the search for business opportunities to realise a carbon neutral society and, to further this effort, in October 2022, created a dedicated carbon neutral website in order to publicize their carbonneutral-specific technologies and solutions.

The company is aiming for carbon neutrality in 2050 and reduction targets include a reduction of scope 1 + 2 carbon emissions by 18% by 2026, and a reduction of 32% by 2031, compared to 2019.

In Europe, the European Union introduced the SFDR in March 2021. The regulation was introduced to eliminate greenwashing and is designed to help investors understand, compare, and monitor the sustainability characteristics of investment funds by standardizing sustainability disclosures.

Monitoring portfolio companies, including assessing their corporate governance practices, is a key component in reducing investment risks. ESG incidents can reveal gaps in a company’s management systems and vulnerabilities in corporate strategy – all of which are relevant to company analysis and assessment.

The Investment Advisor works to ensure compliance with Macquarie Asset Management’s Good Governance policy and the requirements specified for products subject to Article 8 of the EU’s SFDR.

An Investment Risk team runs a quarterly report to check for red flags related to governance issues at company level within each portfolio, including issues such as labour rights, bribery, and fraud. Flagged issues will be discussed internally (with the Macquarie Asset Management PI Sustainability team) and a remediation plan to address the issue with the flagged company is carried out.

Further, the Fund seeks to invest in companies aligned with the ten principles of the UNGC, which is an initiative calling for companies to align their strategies and operations with universal principles on human rights, labour, environment, and anti-corruption and to take actions that advance societal goals. The ten principles of the UNGC are:

Human Rights

• Businesses should support and respect the protection of internationally proclaimed human rights; and

• make sure that they are not complicit in human rights abuses.

Labour

• Businesses should uphold the freedom of association and the effective recognition of the right to collective bargaining;

• the elimination of all forms of forced and compulsory labour;

• the effective abolition of child labour; and

• the elimination of discrimination in respect of employment and occupation

Environment

• Businesses should support a precautionary approach to environmental challenges;

• undertake initiatives to promote greater environmental responsibility; and

• encourage the development and diffusion of environmentally friendly technologies.

Anti-corruption

• Businesses should work against corruption in all its forms, including extortion and bribery.

The Fund is subject to article 8 of the SFDR regulation and reports on relevant sustainability aspects in the 2022 Annual Report.

On valueinvest.dk investors can find additional information on how sustainability risks are an integrated part of the investment process and how the Fund promotes environmental and social characteristics: www.valueinvest.dk/esg-sfdr

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Disclaimer

ValueInvest Danmark is not responsible for the information contained in this information material - regardless whether this information should, contrary to expectations, be incorrect. ValueInvest Danmark is therefore not responsible for damages or losses directly or indirectly incurred by information contained in the information material. The content of ValueInvest Danmark's information material is intended as general information and not to be equated with advice. Investment could be associated with risk of loss, and historical performance is no guarantee of future performance. This information material contains information on historical performance and allocations, simulated performance and forecasts, which should therefore not be perceived as a guarantee for future performance or allocations. Performance may decrease or increase as a result of fluctuations in exchange rates and developments in the stock markets. Any statements about the future contained in this information material reflect the management's expectations at that given time for future events and financial results as well as for the world economy and the financial markets. Such expectations are inherently associated with uncertainty. As great uncertainty is furthermore associated with forecast on specific developments in the many individual markets in which we invest, we refrain from providing specific performance expectations for the coming year. Investors and others making decisions on the basis of this information are advised to make their own careful considerations about any significant uncertainties. We therefore always recommend seeking professional investment advice as well as guidance on related individual tax issues that could be affected by the investment. Reservations are made for printing errors, product changes, share prices, etc. For further information, including a prospectus, please refer to www.valueinvest.dk

Macquarie Investment Management Europe S.A. (MIME SA) is not an authorised deposit-taking institution for the purposes of the Banking Act 1959 (Commonwealth of Australia) and MIME SA’s obligations do not represent deposits or other liabilities of Macquarie Bank Limited ABN 46 008 583 542. Any investments are subject to investment risk including possible delays in repayment and loss of income and principal invested. Macquarie Bank Limited does not guarantee or otherwise provide assurance in respect of the obligations of MIME SA.

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