Mapping WHEB's impact
All products and services have an impact
Understanding impact is becoming a ‘third dimension’ of investment expertise alongside established disciplines in assessing investment risk and return. Our team of sustainability experts have developed bespoke tools used to analyse companies as part of our rigorous investment process.
The Impact Engine is an analytical tool that helps us evaluate the ‘intensity’ of the positive impact from products and services offered by companies. It provides an overall intensity rating for each company.
Fundamental Quality analysis is the second step in our process. This is used to assess the overall quality of a business, including how it manages critical environmental, social and governance (ESG) issues alongside the quality of the company’s business model and financial management.
Our interactive Impact Map provides a visual representation of the outcomes of this analysis, plotting the impact intensity on the x-axis and the fundamental quality on the y-axis.
Click on the ‘dots’ plotted on the map below to see the impact engine score and fundamental quality score for each of our portfolio companies. You can also toggle the view to see how business sectors generating negative impacts (businesses ‘at risk’) compare.
How we assess negative impacts
When we analyse companies, we think carefully about any potential negative impacts associated with their products and services as well as their operations. Our rigorous approach means that we only invest in companies where we're clear on the overall positive impact of the business.
As a result, we've never invested in any company with activities significantly (>5% of revenues) involved in the production and sale of alcoholic beverages, cosmetics involving animal testing, gambling products/services, fossil-fuel exploration/production, intensive farming practices, nuclear power generation, pornographic materials, unsustainable timber products or weapons.
Furthermore, our strategy has no exposure to the following activities where a 0% revenue threshold applies:
- Companies involved in the production of tobacco-based products or alternatives;
- Companies involved in the development, production and maintenance of nuclear weapons;
- Companies involved in the development or production of biological and chemical weapons, depleted uranium ammunition/armour, anti-personnel mines or cluster munitions/ sub-munitions and their key components, in line with international regulations banning investment in these industries.
As far as we're concerned, companies with significant activities have a negative impact and are therefore ineligible for WHEB's investment universe.
Only 15% of listed companies meet our positive impact threshold criteria and are potential candidates for investment.
* 'At risk' businesses have been assessed at the level of the sector and are included for illustrative purposes only.
Our methodology
At WHEB, we believe in continuous improvement
We're consistently developing new techniques and methodologies, and share best practice. We champion excellence in impact investing, measurement and reporting and this is an evolving and dynamic field.
For example, WHEB’s methodology is peer-reviewed by the Carbon Trust, and we revise and update this document annually to reflect our learnings and evolving best practice.
Our Impact Assessment and Measurement Methodology sets out our approach to assessing and measuring the positive impact associated with the products and services of our portfolio companies.
