As we look to the future, we remain committed to setting higher standards for ourselves. We will continue to integrate sustainability into our business, striving to make a positive impact on our clients, our people, and our communities.
I am proud to present our annual Stewardship Report for 2022. As I reflect on the year—a most unusual one — I’m proud to share our progress, acknowledge our challenges, and reaffirm our commitment to the Firm’s ongoing journey toward a more responsible and sustainable future. This report provides a transparent accounting of our sustainability efforts and their impact on our clients, our people, and our communities.
As a Firm, we have made meaningful progress each year since we first established a formal, intentional sustainability program in 2019. Of course, in a 205-year-old organization, the spirit of Sustainability has always been a part of our unique culture. Still, to avoid complacency, we know we must be tireless in reminding ourselves to embed these principles into everything we do.
One step in this direction is to make sure every BBHer understands how they can support and advance progress toward achieving the Firm’s Sustainability goals. At the end of 2022, as we were planning for 2023, we approved a set of Sustainability-related performance goals for the coming year against which each BBH employee is measured in their annual reviews. Not only do these goals serve to remind us of our institutional priorities, but they also hold our senior leaders accountable for modeling how every BBHer should be actively motivated and involved.
We also recalibrated our Executive Sustainability Council's strategic objectives during the year. Our Council is made up of senior leaders of the Firm who are accountable for continuous progress in our ten focus areas. In 1H 2022, we adjusted our membership to better orient ourselves toward delivering on our three priority program areas: general program oversight, delivery against our goals, and market engagement. The Council was tasked with the following:
- Internal and external advocacy through thought leadership, client engagement, and external speaking engagements,
- Benchmarking against leading ESG programming and tracking/staying abreast of current ESG trends in the financial services industry,
- Gathering client and employee insights and sentiment, and bringing them to the Committee for discussion,
- Taking an active and visible role in promoting our Sustainability Initiatives throughout BBH and our client/industry community.
The Council also critically reviewed our ten focus areas and determined that combining our ESG Integration and Sustainable Investing goals would simplify, strengthen, and align our reporting on ESG factor analysis in the investment process across both our Investment Management and Private Banking businesses. By integrating two goals into one, we were able to develop a new “10th Goal,” ESG Solutions for Banks and Asset Managers, which we added to our priority list. This new goal encourages our Investor Services line of business to develop products and services designed to help our clients meet their own ESG goals and requirements, usually through customized ESG reporting solutions employing our Connectors Program (which incorporates leading ESG data solution providers).
Our commitment to reducing our own environmental impact remains strong. In 2022 we adopted an Environmental Policy for the Firm that outlines our guiding principles around our own environmental sustainability. This has helped us prioritize investments in renewable energy sources, energy-efficient technologies, and waste reduction programs, which have not only reduced our environmental footprint but in some cases even enhanced our own operational efficiency. We are proud to share that our total Scope 1 emissions were down 45% in 2022. For Scope 2, our market-based emissions were down 38% and location-based emissions were down 41%. While our predominantly remote work environment in 2022—a result of the COVID-19 pandemic—no doubt enabled these results, now that we are back in the office a minimum of 3 days per week, we are determined to build upon this success.
Our leadership recognizes that part of BBH’s social contract is that we must contribute positively to the communities in which we operate. In 2022, that commitment intersected with sudden geopolitical unrest. Within days of Russia’s invasion of neighboring Ukraine, a humanitarian support page was launched on our intranet to serve as a centralized hub for BBHers to find constructive ways to lend a hand. Hundreds of Krakow-based BBHers jumped into action to support refugees directly, many inviting them to shelter in their homes. Assisting our Krakow colleagues, thousands of USD worth of toiletries, bedding, socks, and underwear were shipped from BBH’s other locations to our Krakow office to be distributed to those in need.
Like Sustainability itself, creating a diverse, equitable, and inclusive work environment is a journey. We strive to cultivate a workplace where all BBHers feel a sense of genuine belonging; where they feel valued, included, and empowered to deliver their best. In 2022, we launched a new firmwide development program exploring the role bias can play in preventing individuals from being open to change and new ideas. “Breaking Through Bias” taught BBHers how to identify and understand bias as it occurs and why it occurs. Importantly, the course taught strategies to then adapt, educate, and engage when you or a colleague experiences bias.
Transparency and accountability are at the heart of our sustainability efforts. This report provides a comprehensive look at our progress in 2022 and is an invitation to our stakeholders to provide feedback and advice. As we look to the future, we remain committed to setting higher standards for ourselves. We must and will continue to integrate sustainability into our business, striving to make a positive impact on our clients, our people, and the communities we are a part of. We understand that the challenges facing our world are significant, and we recognize our responsibility to do our part to address them in the areas where we can have a material impact. It is our firm belief that by working together, we can and will help build a more sustainable and equitable future.
Sincerely,
William Tyree
Managing Partner
Based on 2022 data
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