Erste Group is first financial institution to commit to the European Commission’s Green Consumption Pledge

As the first financial institution in Europe, Erste Group has joined the European Commission’s Green Consumption Pledge initiative to accelerate its contribution to a sustainable economic recovery. The Green Consumption Pledge is the first initiative delivered under the New Consumer Agenda and part of the European Climate Pact. In addition to the first five companies who joined the initiative at the start of this year, Erste Group is among six companies participating in the second round of the initiative’s pilot phase.

“I welcome the commitments made by those six companies for concrete actions towards greater sustainable production and consumption, beyond what is required by EU law. This determination to step up climate action shows the kind of effort European consumers want to see. By now eleven companies are already participating in the Green Pledge and I am looking forward to even more in the future,” explains Didier Reynders, European Commissioner for Justice.

Commitment to sustainability for investment products

Erste Group commits to ensuring the availability of sustainable investment products and to providing better information to its clients for them to be able to make informed and sustainable choices. Joining the pledge emphasizes the banking group’s ambitions to continue its efforts towards a more sustainable society and economy and marks another important step on its sustainability path. Erste’s commitments will be implemented through Erste Asset Management (EAM). Reporting on the progress of Erste Group’s commitments will be carried out at least on an annual basis on the group’s website and in its sustainability report.

Sustainable investments: Widen product portfolio and increase transparency

With 20 years of experience in sustainable investments, Erste Group commits to offering all its customers across seven markets in CEE the opportunity to invest in ESG products supported by transparent and accessible information. Erste Asset Management therefore plans to increase the number of Erste-labelled funds awarded with the Austrian Ecolabel by over 50% to 17 by the end of 2023. Currently, a volume worth EUR 3.4 bn is managed in this area, representing almost 5% of EAM’s total assets under management. At the same time, customers will be informed more frequently about the latest ESG topics and activities, for example by publishing 100 articles on this topic on our finance blog until the end of 2023. By the end of this 2021, we as EAM further pledge to provide SDG-reporting for all Erste-labelled mutual funds, as well as impact reporting for all Erste-labelled impact funds managed by us, and make the report available on our webpage (www.erste-am.com) . Given this commitment to act sustainably in our role as an investor, Erste Asset Management will also exercise voting rights according to its Sustainable Voting Policy and publish our voting decisions on our website on a regular basis.

About the Green Consumption Pledge As part of the European Climate Pact, the Green Consumption Pledge represents one of several initiatives undertaken by the European Commission to encourage consumers in making more sustainable choices. The EU-wide initiative invites people, communities, and organizations to take on climate action by pledging to accelerate their contribution to a green transition to build a greener Europe. With the first five companies already participating in the pilot project launched in January 2021, additional renowned enterprises across several different industries are joining this initiative and committing to at least three out of five core pledges aimed at improving the companies’ environmental impact and helping consumers in making more sustainable choices.

Legal note:

Prognoses are no reliable indicator for future performance.

 

This document is an advertisement. Unless indicated otherwise, source: Erste Asset Management GmbH. The language of communication of the sales offices is German and the languages of communication of the Management Company also include English.

The prospectus for UCITS funds (including any amendments) is prepared and published in accordance with the provisions of the InvFG 2011 as amended. Information for Investors pursuant to § 21 AIFMG is prepared for the alternative investment funds (AIF) administered by Erste Asset Management GmbH pursuant to the provisions of the AIFMG in conjunction with the InvFG 2011.

The currently valid versions of the prospectus, the Information for Investors pursuant to § 21 AIFMG, and the key information document can be found on the website www.erste-am.com under “Mandatory publications” and can be obtained free of charge by interested investors at the offices of the Management Company and at the offices of the depositary bank. The exact date of the most recent publication of the prospectus, the languages in which the key information document is available, and any other locations where the documents can be obtained are indicated on the website www.erste-am.com. A summary of the investor rights is available in German and English on the website www.erste-am.com/investor-rights and can also be obtained from the Management Company.

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Note: You are about to purchase a product that may be difficult to understand. We recommend that you read the indicated fund documents before making an investment decision. In addition to the locations listed above, you can obtain these documents free of charge at the offices of the referring Sparkassen bank and the offices of Erste Bank der oesterreichischen Sparkassen AG. You can also access these documents electronically at www.erste-am.com.

N.B.: The performance scenarios listed in the key information document are based on a calculation method that is specified in an EU regulation. The future market development cannot be accurately predicted. The depicted performance scenarios merely present potential earnings, but are based on the earnings in the recent past. The actual earnings may be lower than indicated. Our analyses and conclusions are general in nature and do not take into account the individual characteristics of our investors in terms of earnings, taxation, experience and knowledge, investment objective, financial position, capacity for loss, and risk tolerance.

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