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SAM Group Holding AG
Company typeSubsidiary
IndustryFinancial services
Founded1995
HeadquartersZurich, Switzerland
ProductsAsset Management, Indexes, Private Equity
Number of employees
100
ParentRobeco
Websitewww.sam-group.com

Sustainable Asset Management (SAM) is an international investment company with a specific focus on sustainability investments [1]. The company is based in Zurich, Switzerland and considers economic, environmental and social criteria in its investment strategies. In addition to asset management, the company has an indexes and private equity portion of the business[2]. SAM has a series of products based on themes such as water, energy, climate, agriculture, and healthy living[3]. In 2006 SAM introduced a division called sustainability services that provides sustainability benchmarking reports to companies[4]. In 2001, SAM became the first carbon neutral company in Switzerland[5].

History

The company was founded by Reto Ringger in 1995 as the world’s first investment company focused solely on sustainability themes [6]. The headquarters are in Zurich, Switzerland and SAM has approximately 100 employees [7]. Its parent company is the Dutch based Robeco, which is a subsidiary of Rabobank. Rabobank is a AAA rated bank by Standard & Poor's.

Timeline

1995 Reto Ringger founds SAM

1999 SAM and Dow Jones launch the Dow Jones Sustainability Indexes

2001 First global sustainable water fund launched (SAM Sustainable Water Fund)

2001 SAM becomes first Carbon Neutral company in Switzerland

2003 SAM Smart Energy Fund launched[8]

2006 Acquired by Robeco

2009 Integration of Robeco SAM Clean Tech Private Equity at SAM’s headquarters

2010 SAM named SRI/Sustainable Investment Manager of the Year[9] by Financial News

2010 Robeco Switzerland merges with SAM[10]

2011 SAM manages SAM Sustainable Agribusiness Equities Fund and SAM Sustainable European Equities Fund[11][12]

Operations

The company’s total assets amount to about USD 16.4 billion[13].

The main areas of business are: asset management, indexes, private equity and sustainability services (company benchmarking reports) [14][15].

In 1999, SAM and Dow Jones Indexes came together to produce the world’s first sustainability indexes known as the Dow Jones Sustainability Indexes (DJSI)[16]. The DJSI include broad, blue chip, single theme and multi-theme indexes. Many major global companies, such as Akzo Nobel and TNT N.V., have linked top-management remuneration to the Dow Jones Sustainability World Index[17][18].

Asset Management

For the asset management business SAM has strategies based on major sustainability trends such as water and energy as well as regional products such as a sustainable global active fund and a sustainable europe active fund [19][20]. The SAM Sustainable Water Fund received a lot of recognition as it was one of the first of its kind to be launched in 2001 [21].

The company also has an in-house research team that performs sustainability assessments of major companies. Within this respect, SAM has developed a large sustainability database as they annually assess over 2,000 of the largest listed companies based on sustainability criteria [22].

Clean Tech Private Equity

SAM houses the clean tech private equity team of its parent company Robeco, which is a member of Rabobank[23]. The concept of clean tech investing is based on a world that is characterized by rapid population growth, finite natural resources, high prices and material shortages; all of which call for more efficient production processes. Investments include products, services, and processes across industry verticals that are designed to improve the productive and responsible use of natural resources, greatly reduce or eliminate negative environmental impacts and provide superior performance at lower costs.[24]

SAM Clean Tech Private Equity invests in sustainable private equity through co-investments in unlisted companies or through private equity fund of funds. Since 2004, they have been integrating the ESG framework into investment process. Investment & Pensions Europe (IPE) named SAM Private Equity as the most Responsible European Private Equity investor.[25]

The table below demonstrates some examples of clean tech sectors and technologies:

Sectors Clean Technology Examples
Energy Generation Wind, Solar, Hydro, Marine, Biofuels, Geothermal , Clean Coal Technologies, Coal Bed Methane
Energy Storage Fuel Cells, Advanced Batteries, hybrid systems
Energy Infrastructure Management, smart grids, Transmission
Energy Efficiency Lighting, Buildings, Glass, ESCOs, Combined Heat & Power
Transportation Structures, Fuels, Hydrogen Highways, Biofuel Distribution, Electric Vehicles, Vehicle Sharing
Water & Wastewater Water Treatment, Water Conservation, Wastewater Treatment, Desalination
Air & Environment Cleanup/Safety, Emissions Control, Monitoring/Compliance, Carbon Capture, SOX/NOX Removal
Materials Nano, Bio, Chemical
Manufacturing/Industrial Advanced Packaging, Monitoring & Control, Smart Production
Agriculture Natural Pesticides, Land Management, Aquaculture
Recycling & Waste Recycling, Waste Treatment

[26]

Sustainability Services

SAM's sustainability services division provides company benchmarking reports[27]. The report gives companies details about their individual sustainability performance and provides a peer comparison[28].

SAM Research

SAM’s asset management, index and sustainability services are all rooted in its proprietary in-house research division. The financial analysts generate stock recommendations based on a combination of financial sustainability criteria.

The Research team develops the methodology for the annual corporate sustainability assessment that is used to determine the Dow Jones Sustainability Index[29]. SAM research has been analyzing companies along sustainability metrics since 1995 and has developed one of the largest global corporate sustainability databases. The research department often collaborates with academia to share the valuable data from this proprietary database. Ongoing collaborations include projects with ETH and IESE Business School.

Corporate Sustainability Assessment

SAM annually assesses around 2,000 of the world's largest companies over 58 market sectors and determines their respective sustainability rating[30]. The assessment examines companies based on environmental social and corporate governance factors (ESG factors), which serve as the primary basis for determining a company's level of sustainability and subsequent global impact[31]. Some of the sectors they look at include: airlines, communication technology, beverages, auto parts & tires, waste & disposal services, and electricity [32].

Based on the results from this assessment, SAM produces a "Sustainability Yearbook" [33] in which they announce the companies that have been ranked as sustainability "sector leaders" and/or "sector movers". They also give a small number of companies a classification of gold, silver or bronze to recognize their added commitment to sustainability issues [34]. Sector leaders in the past have included: adidas AG, BMW, Nokia, Panasonic, PepsiCo, Pirelli, and Rolls-Royce Group plc. Sector movers in the past have included: Air France, Fiat, Hormel, IBM, Mitsubishi, and Starbucks.

Memberships

SAM is a member of the following organizations[35]:

  • PRI, Principles for Responsible Investment[36]
  • Eurosif, European Social Investment Forum
  • Ceres , Investors and Environmentalists for Sustainable Prosperity
  • ASrIA, The Association for Sustainable & Responsible Investment in Asia

Sustainability Leadership Awards

In 2001, SAM and Sustainable Performance Group (SPG)[37] founded the sustainability leadership award. The award ran from 2001–2010 and was presented annually to a chosen sustainability leader and pioneer [38].

It was founded under the belief that individuals who place a great importance and effort to promote sustainability in the workplace should be publicly recognized [39].

Previous award winners include:

  • 2001 Ray Anderson (Founder and CEO Interface Inc.)
  • 2002 Dr. Michael Otto (Chairman of the Board of Directors, Otto) and José Maria Figueres Olsen (former President of Costa Rica, founder of Costa Rica Foundation for Sustainable Development)
  • 2003 Tessa Tennant (Executive Chair, AsrIA)
  • 2004 Antony Burgmans (Chairman Unilever) and Robin Cornelius (Founder and CEO of Switcher SA)
  • 2005 Lars Rebien Sørensen (Chairman and CEO of Novo Nordisk) and Bob Welsh (CEO, VicSuper)
  • 2006 Travis Engen (Alcan) and Jeremy Leggett (solarcentury)
  • 2007 Yogesh Chander Deveshwar (Chairman of ITC Ltd.) and David Johnston (Founder and President of What's Working Inc.)
  • 2008 Yvon Chouinard (Patagonia Inc.) and L. Hunter Lovins (Natural Capitalism Inc. / Natural Capitalism Solutions)
  • 2009 Peter Bakker (CEO of TNT) and Dr. Ashok Gadgil (professor for environmental technology at the University of California, Berkeley)

See also

References

  1. ^ http://www.sustainability-zurich.org/en/p67000287.html
  2. ^ http://www.sustainability.com/about/profile.asp?id=72
  3. ^ http://www.sam-group.com/en/investment-funds/sustainability-theme-investing/index.jsp
  4. ^ http://www.sam-group.com/en/news-and-media/archive/index.jsp
  5. ^ http://cleaninvest.wordpress.com/tag/robeco/
  6. ^ http://www.kellogg.northwestern.edu/centennial/bio_zurich.html
  7. ^ http://www.csrwire.com/press/press_release/28966-SAM-rates-Johnson-Controls-as-a-Gold-Class-Sustainability-Leader
  8. ^ http://www.sam-group.com/en/news-and-media/archive/archive-2003.jsp
  9. ^ http://www.efinancialnewsevents.com/award/assetmanagement2011/winners.html
  10. ^ http://www.sam-group.com/en/news-and-media/archive/archive-2010.jsp
  11. ^ http://www.bloomberg.com/news/2011-02-28/syngenta-mosaic-favored-as-sam-s-agribusiness-fund-in-zurich-sees-a-peak.html
  12. ^ http://www.sam-group.com/en/news-and-media/archive/index.jsp
  13. ^ http://www.sam-group.com/en/news-and-media/archive/index.jsp
  14. ^ http://www.sam-group.com/en/index.jsp
  15. ^ http://www.eurosif.org/member_affiliates/list_of_member_affiliates/sam
  16. ^ http://www.sustainability-index.com/
  17. ^ http://www.responsible-investor.com/home/article/shell_freezes_exec_salaries_and_includes_sustainability_performance_after_s/P0/
  18. ^ http://www.ft.com/cms/s/c125d9a8-20e5-11df-b920-00144feab49a.html
  19. ^ http://www.milleniumassociates.com/PDF/SAM%20Group%20pressrelease%2013Dec06_e.pdf
  20. ^ http://www.rabobank.com/content/about_us/corporate_social_responsibility/products_and_services/sustainable_asset_management.jsp
  21. ^ http://www.nedwater.eu/Water%20Blue%20Gold.htm
  22. ^ http://www.csrwire.com/press/press_release/28966-SAM-rates-Johnson-Controls-as-a-Gold-Class-Sustainability-Leader
  23. ^ http://www.bloomberg.com/news/2010-06-09/robeco-s-sam-raises-200-million-for-clean-technology-fund-seeks-more.html
  24. ^ www.igcc.org.au/Resources/Documents/clean_tech_11_h23.pdf
  25. ^ http://www.sam-group.com/en/private-equity/about-private-equity.jsp
  26. ^ www.igcc.org.au/Resources/Documents/clean_tech_11_h23.pdf
  27. ^ http://www.sam-group.com/en/sustainability-services/index.jsp
  28. ^ http://www.sam-group.com/en/sustainability-services/company-benchmarking-report.jsp
  29. ^ http://www.sustainability-index.com/07_htmle/assessment/overview.html
  30. ^ http://www.adidas-group.com/en/sustainability/awards_and_recognition/default.aspx#Dow Jones Sustainability Index
  31. ^ http://papers.ssrn.com/sol3/papers.cmf?abstract_id=995271&rec=1&srcabs=1283646
  32. ^ http://www.sam-group.com/htmle/yearbook/
  33. ^ http://www.sam-group.com/htmle/yearbook/
  34. ^ http://global.epson.com/newsroom/2010/news_20100209.htm
  35. ^ http://www.sam-group.com/en/about-us/facts-and-figures.jsp
  36. ^ http://www.unpri.org/signatories/
  37. ^ http://www.sustainable.ch
  38. ^ http://www.bruggerconsulting.ch/en/p79000275.html
  39. ^ http://www.asria.org/news/press/1111114106
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