LCP announces it is committing to become operationally Net Zero from 2021, as part of the firm’s wider commitment to helping clients, stakeholders and communities build towards a more sustainable future, as well as advancing its own ongoing organisational sustainability.  

The transition to low carbon and environmental resilience has been a key focus for the firm for many years. Amongst other activity, LCP has focussed on making its business more environmentally friendly in a number of ways, including incorporating solar panels in its offices, and monitoring and reducing energy usage, business travel and waste. The firm’s CSR team, operations team and Green Champions network have led initiatives to promote environmentally friendly office practices and ensure third party relationships are as green as possible. This has already contributed to significant reductions in both direct and indirect emissions which the firm is committing to protect and build on.  

With COP26 approaching and the August 2021 IPCC report stressing the urgency of beating rather than meeting the Paris Accords, LCP wants to formalise its promise to minimising its environmental impact as quickly as possible. In order to achieve this, the firm will continue to seek further methods for achieving genuine reductions. In the meantime, to demonstrate its commitment in this area, LCP will utilise fully certified and high-quality carbon offset schemes to achieve Net Zero immediately, with the aim of reducing the reliance on offsets in the future.  

Aaron Punwani, CEO, says: “Setting commitments to run our business in a responsible, sustainable way, both internally and externally, is really important to us. Success for us is about much more than growth and income; it’s about building our business with the best interests of our people, clients, communities, and the environment always front of mind. It’s clear that now is the critical time for businesses to step up in achieving our UK and global climate goals. We see ourselves as part of the solution and LCP’s promise is to put sustainability at the heart of how we operate, and how we support, serve and inspire our clients.” 

Kate Sinclair, partner and head of CSR adds: “We’re extremely proud of the efforts we’ve already made to ensure we are a sustainable business and reduce our environmental impact. We will continue to reduce our carbon footprint by integrating renewable energy sources into our energy mix, reducing travel, and encouraging new ways of working. We plan to reduce our reliance on offsets and are building a robust long-term roadmap to reduce our emissions."

Alongside LCP’s Net Zero pledge, the firm is committed to using its influence and knowledge to support clients in their own sustainability goals. As signatories of the UN Principles for Responsible Investment and the Financial Reporting Council’s UK Stewardship Code, LCP is already taking direct action in this area. The firm is working with investment managers to develop new investment products to meet climate-related and sustainable investment objectives, and played an active role in the development of guidance on climate change for UK pension scheme trustees. 

Clay Lambiotte, head of investment, adds: “We recognise that our impact and responsibility extends well beyond our own business. With over £400bn in assets under advice, we have an opportunity to influence change on a much greater scale. Net Zero is ultimately about protecting everyone’s future, so working together with our clients and their investment managers is a critical part of our plan.”