Sustainability is never static

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Niam is now a multi-strategy fund manager with a strategic focus on Real Estate, Infrastructure and Credit. This gives Niam a unique position to make positive impact within sustainability. During 2023 Niam has put a lot of focus on governance and also to move from policy to action. All to be prepared for the ever-changing sustainability landscape ahead.

Niam’s sustainability journey is based on the firm belief that good governance is essential to success. Not least importantly, when facing stakeholder expectations, laws and regulations in constant development, you need to establish secure and good data quality and coverage.

One of Niam’s priorities within sustainability has been to collect ESG data that are both correct and cover appropriate areas. Only then can you be sure of your standing and how you should prioritise and proceed in order to have the most positive impact.

“We put a lot of effort in 2023 into establishing good ESG data quality and coverage, as well as on setting up all the necessary documentation for all our assets. In this year’s sustainability report we are for the first time including all our three platforms: Real Estate, Infrastructure and Credit. It fully reflects the width of Niam and our impact,” says Gustav Thörnqvist, Sustainability and Quality Manager at Niam.

The results of this years governance efforts is that Niam now has:

• Labeled all relevant facility and tenant energy meters so that GHG emissions will be calculated in the correct scope, in our energy collection system Mestro
  
  
• Automatic transfer of energy/water consumption and GHG emissions though an API connection from Mestro to our general ESG platform Position Green
  
  
• All relevant ESG data gathered in Position Green and Mestro that gives Niam the ability to  analyze, visualize, and report ESG performance and also the ability to make wise decisions on the best ESG actions needed to meet our Sustainability goals.

The Tennis Palace, a historic landmark in the heart of Helsinki, Finland

With the new platforms, an increased number of people are working within sustainability and new competence has been added, as well as a beneficial collaboration and mutual support in the area.

“We have now moved more from policy to action, which is reflected in the cases presented in this report, concerning new EV charging infrastructure, sustainable energy measures in properties, research-based ways to promote social sustainability and Niam as an employer,” he continues. 

Within sustainability, new legislation and frameworks are frequently being introduced, along with new or increased demands from stakeholders and employees.

“Our sustainability goals have not changed in 2023, apart from some minor adjustments and clarifications. But sustainability is never static and as a company you need to improve continuously. Niam will continue to focus on our approach of prioritising ESG data quality, coverage and transparency in how we perform,” explains Gustav Thörnqvist.

Niam is aligned with the SFDR regulation and plans to consider PAI and to do the first report with SFDR PAI indicators for all three platforms during 2024. Niam is reporting on the TCFD framework in 2023 and will keep working on continuous improvements in this regard.

“Niam is not formally obligated to report in accordance with CSRD and ESRS but we are proactively conducting a double materiality assessment that will be finished in 2024. Additionally, to make it easier to compare us to others, we will align our reporting with parts of ESRS starting from the calendar year 2024. We also plan to do updated assessments of Niam SFDR Article 8 assets’ Taxonomy alignment during 2024 to be reported in 2025,” says Gustav Thörnqvist.

He underlines the importance of Niam’s employees for the company’s sustainability efforts. Their collaboration, initiative, knowledge, commitment and patience are crucial to moving forward with continuous improvements. The employees also play a crucial role in spreading the company’s sustainability efforts and progress to the stakeholders, including investors and future employees. From 2023 Niam has actively worked to improve the transparency and accessibility of the sustainability information to ensure broader awareness and understanding within the organisation and beyond.