2025

Climate Report

Responding with purpose

A family walk through the outdoors together

Welcome

Climate change presents real financial risks and opportunities – for the economy, for the companies we invest in, and ultimately for our clients’ long-term outcomes. In this, the 2025 Climate Report, we set out how Rathbones assesses and responds to those dynamics, and how climate considerations shape our governance, strategy and risk management.

The report covers our journey to net zero, the metrics we use to track progress, and the scenario analysis that helps us understand how different climate futures could affect portfolio value. It also explains how we are strengthening our disclosures in line with current UK requirements, while preparing for the next generation of reporting standards such as UK SRS – and how we are extending our approach to incorporate nature-related risks.

This webpage houses key parts of the report for 2025. Use the links to jump to specific sections, or download the entire report as an interactive PDF via the button below. 

Chair's welcome

2025 marks ten years since the Paris Agreement, where the nations of the world came together to agree to limit global warming to 1.5°C from pre-industrial levels. While the world’s ability to meet that goal looks – at best – uncertain, at Rathbones we have continued to make progress on our journey to net zero and towards the near-term targets we have set for 2030.

As stewards of our clients’ capital, we recognise that climate change is not only a global environmental challenge, but also that it presents significant financial risks to the securities in which we invest on behalf of our clients, as well as presenting opportunities.

In 2025, we are building on the strong foundations already in place to further strengthen the integration of climate considerations across our investment decisions. In 2025, the investment teams at Rathbones have investigated the management of physical climate risk: the direct impacts of climate change on assets, supply chains, and economic systems. We have continued to integrate climate risk considerations within the investment process, ensuring these considerations inform how we set objectives with our clients and our active engagement with the companies we invest in, encouraging and prompting them to take deeper and more meaningful action on climate change.

Clive Bannister

Clive C R Bannister
Chair

Compliance summary

Current disclosure and reporting requirements

Our Climate Report is fully aligned with the UK Government’s mandatory climate-related financial disclosure requirements for public quoted companies. In developing the report, we have considered the 11 recommendations of the Task Force on Climate-related Financial Disclosures (TCFD). While the TCFD was formally disbanded in 2023, its recommendations remain embedded in UK listing rules and provide a foundation for climate-related reporting.

Future disclosure and reporting requirements 

The Financial Stability Board has tasked the International Financial Reporting Standards (IFRS) with overseeing future development through its International Sustainability Standards Board (ISSB) standards, whose IFRS S2 Climate-related Disclosures standard incorporates and builds on the TCFD framework. Rathbones has undertaken a gap analysis against these standards to strengthen alignment with IFRS criteria in future disclosures.

Looking ahead, we are also preparing for the UK Sustainability Reporting Standards (UK SRS), which will be based on ISSB requirements and expected to become mandatory for UK-listed companies for the next reporting cycle. Our work to align with IFRS S2 positions us well for these upcoming requirements, and we are actively reviewing processes, governance structures and data capabilities to ensure readiness for UK SRS implementation.

Open the report for details on reporting requirements alignment

Our journey to net zero and transition plan

We are committed to reaching net zero1 emissions by 2050 or sooner, in line with the goal of the Paris Agreement. In 2024, we restated our emissions targets to ensure they reflected the change that occurred due to the combination with Investec Wealth and Investment (UK) in 2023. Building on this, our focus in 2025 was to develop a Climate Transition Plan that sets out how we will meet our targets and align with a low-carbon, climate-resilient economy. 

Our plan, which will be finalised and published in 2026, will be developed in line with the UK Transition Plan Taskforce guidance and delivered through Rathbones Responsible Business Framework.

The infographic below summarises our near-term targets2 and implementation priorities, which centre on three pillars: Engagement and Voting, Integration and Transparency. These pillars guide our actions across the short term (to 2030), medium term (to 2035) and long term (to 2040), supporting our goal to reach net zero by 2050 while safeguarding the long-term value of our clients’ portfolios.

Our targets

Corporate          Investments

42%

reduction in Scope 1+2 emissions

by 2030

70%

of suppliers by emissions to have validated targets

by 2030

55%

of in-scope3 FUMA to have validated science-based targets

by 2030

77%

of in-scope3 FUMA to have validated science-based targets

by 2035

100%

of in-scope3 FUMA to have validated science-based targets

by 2040

Net zero

by 2050

  1. Rathbones Group Plc define net zero as balancing the release of greenhouse gases into the atmosphere by absorbing or avoiding an equal amount. As defined in our glossary.
  2. Targets are set against a 2023 base year
  3. In-scope: equity, bonds, fixed income, structured products, collectives and passive funds

Our pillars

Corporate          Investments

Engagement and voting

Activities:

Engage investee companies, third-party funds, clients, industry and government

Use proxy voting rights with investees

Engage suppliers and facilities managers

Integration

Integrate net zero ambition into:

Investment processes

Clients suitability assessments

Product offerings

Training and education

Buildings and operations

Transparency

Increase transparency through:

Increasing visibility within third-party funds

Sharing personalised climate reports with clients

Statements following inaction

Annual corporate footprint reporting

Our progress

Corporate          Investments

24%

reduction in Scope 1+2 emissions

29%

of suppliers by emissions with validated targets

26%

of in-scope FUMA have validated SBTi targets

Investments

Our commitment to becoming a net zero business by 2050 or sooner covers both operations and investments. However, as most emissions and risks arise from the investments we hold on behalf of our clients, we focus on influencing positive change through stewardship. As members of the UN-supported Principles for Responsible Investment (PRI), we apply their principles to guide ESG risk management across portfolios. Our responsible investment committee oversees the implementation of these principles and our own Responsible Investment Framework, reviewing progress against targets. We are now extending this lens to nature-related risks, an important next step in building resilience.

Operations

We pursue an absolute reduction in our carbon footprint and invest in carbon credits to help remove and store greenhouse gases (GHGs) from the atmosphere. Our operational carbon reduction efforts focus on resource consumption, energy efficiency, digitising our business, and business travel. Climate considerations are embedded into decision-making, for example when reviewing new office locations and assessing facilities upgrades, and progress is tracked against targets and reported transparently to stakeholders.

Our investment proposition carbon footprint

We calculated our carbon metrics, using MSCI methodology based on our 31 December 2025 investment holdings. The results, shown in the graphs, covered our equities (listed and unlisted), bonds (listed and unlisted), and sovereign bonds. At this time not all companies provide emissions data. Data coverage can be seen in the footnote to the graphs. Calculations include our holdings’ Scope 1 and 2 emissions from the asset classes that are in scope. Although not linked to a direct target, these investment metrics enable us to monitor how we are responding to market risks and opportunities. More details on the MSCI methodology can be found in the Climate Report's appendix on page 46.

Investment metrics1,2

Financed carbon emissions3
(tCO₂e/$m invested)

 

WACI corporate constituents5
(tCO₂e/$m sales)

 

Total financed carbon emissions3
(tCO₂e)

 

Weighted average carbon intensity4
WACI (tCO₂e/$m sales)

 

WACI sovereign constituents6
(tCO₂e/$m GDP nominal)

 

Notes: 

  1. Data has been restated for 2023 to include securities held by IW&I (UK)
  2. Metrics include Scope 1 and 2 emissions
  3. Financed Carbon Emissions portfolio coverage: 73.7%
  4. WACI portfolio coverage: 41.5%
  5. WACI Corporate Constituents portfolio coverage: 73.8%
  6. WACI Sovereign Constituents portfolio coverage: 13.3%

Coverage is defined as the market value of covered assets divided by the portfolio total market value, excluding out-of-scope positions.

Seeking more climate reporting?

Open the full report as a PDF file

Other 2025 reports

Annual Report and Accounts

Open

Responsible Business Update

Open

Gender Pay Gap Report

Open as a PDF file

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