Natixis: A climate contribution solution for fund managers

As the demand for sustainable investment solutions grows, fund managers are working to integrate climate action into their strategies without compromising performance or increasing costs for investors. In order to tackle this new development head-on, Natixis sought to develop an innovative approach that enables institutional and retail banking clients to contribute to climate goals transparently and efficiently without compromising on fund performance or profitability, they made the decision to do this through the voluntary carbon market (VCM).

Natixis sought a trusted partner with deep expertise in carbon markets to help source and evaluate high-integrity carbon credits so that it could implement its climate contribution fund structure. The goal was to ensure that investments were directed towards credible, high-impact projects, reducing any risks that Natixis may be exposed to. Additionally, the initiative needed to be fully compliant with regulatory standards.

‍

To deliver on this ambition, Natixis allocated a pre-determined percentage of fund fees to purchase high-integrity carbon credits. This approach allowed the firm to support impactful climate projects, such as forest conservation and mangrove restoration, without affecting the fund's investment strategy or fee structure.

Abatable helped Natixis navigate the complexities of the voluntary carbon market (VCM) by providing:

• Market intelligence and due diligence, ensuring carbon credits were sourced from projects with proven climate impact and co-benefits such as biodiversity conservation and social development.
• Benchmarking and price analysis, supporting Natixis in understanding price discrepancies across different project types and geographies.
• Regulatory alignment, assisting in meeting compliance and reporting requirements, including adherence to SFDR (Sustainable Finance Disclosure Regulation) standards.
• Flexible execution strategy, providing a streamlined process for selecting and purchasing carbon credits, reducing operational complexity for Natixis.

Through this collaboration, Natixis integrated credible and high-impact carbon offsetting into its fund strategy while ensuring full market transparency and adherence to best practices.

By leveraging Abatable’s expertise, Natixis has successfully implemented a high-quality, transparent carbon offsetting initiative that aligns with its sustainability goals. Key impacts include:

• Supporting high-integrity carbon projects, investing in initiatives like forest conservation and mangrove restoration to deliver measurable climate and social benefits.
• Enhanced transparency, providing investors with clear reporting on CO2 tonnes compensated and funds allocated.
• Scalable and replicable model, establishing a framework that can be expanded across funds without disrupting financial performance.
• Strengthened ESG positioning, differentiating Natixis in the investment landscape while aligning with corporate sustainability objectives.
• Gaining deep VCM expertise, without increasing team headcount or diverting existing staff focus.‍
• Keeping pace with competition, staying ahead of customer expectations and building the expertise needed to develop more complex ESG fund structures in the future.