Sustainability

Committed to delivering a positive and sustainable impact

We are committed to managing our business in a sustainable way, investing responsibly and supporting our portfolio companies in making positive contributions to society by developing treatments for patients in areas of high unmet need.

We aim to have effective governance, a strong business culture, clear values, and positive engagement with the life sciences ecosystem through our engagement with industry and our support for charity.

We are actively engaged with our portfolio companies as they seek to build sustainable businesses.

“Delivering a positive and sustainable impact is at the heart of what we do at Syncona and we are motivated every day by our purpose of investing to extend and enhance human life.”

Chris Hollowood
CEO, Syncona Investment Management Limited

Key pillars of our Sustainability Policy

We have engaged with our key stakeholders to understand the sustainability issues which are most material to the business. The outcome of the materiality assessment has been used to develop our Sustainability Policy which focuses on four key pillars.

Sustainability Report 2024

Our Sustainability Report outlines or Sustainability Policy, our approach to responsible investing, how we will manage sustainability issues within the portfolio and covers our activities for the 2023/4 financial year.

20.06.24 | pdf (6.14Mb)
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Our approach to reporting

Making and demonstrating a positive contribution to the UN Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) is a key part of our approach to reporting on sustainability. The four key UN SDGs which our business is well-aligned with are:

Goal 3
Goal 3

Ensure healthy lives and promote well-being for all at all ages

Goal 8
Goal 8

Promote sustained, inclusive and sustainable economic growth, full and productive employment and decent work for all

Goal 9
Goal 9

Build resilient infrastructure, promote inclusive and sustainable industrialization and foster innovation

Goal 13
Goal 13

Take urgent action to combat climate change and its impacts

More about SDGs

Syncona is a signatory to the UN PRI

Syncona first became a signatory to the UN PRI in October 2021, underlining its commitment to reporting on its responsible investment approach. The PRI is recognised as the world's leading network for investors who are committed to integrating sustainability factors into their investment and stewardship practices. The Principles are aligned with the work being undertaken by Syncona as we engage with our portfolio companies on issues around sustainability in-line with our Responsible Investment Policy. Syncona submitted its first questionnaire to the PRI in FY2023/4 and remains committed to reporting to the PRI on an annual basis.

For more details, see here.

Reporting in-line with the recommendations of the Task Force on Climate-related Financial Disclosures

The TCFD recommendations ask companies to assess how they may be exposed to the physical risks of climate change, as well as the transition risks which could impact companies as there is a forced transition towards a green economy. Although Syncona remains out of scope for mandatory TCFD reporting, it began reporting against the TCFD guidelines in FY2021/2 to underline its commitment to a comprehensive sustainability reporting framework.

Publishing out first net zero target

The Net Zero Asset Managers (NZAM) initiative is a growing collective of leading asset managers, including over 300 signatories holding nearly $59 trillion of AUM. The aim of the initiative is to bring together asset managers committed to supporting the goal of reaching net zero GHG emissions by 2050 or sooner, in line with the Paris Goals.

We underlined our commitment to limiting our portfolio’s environmental footprint by signing up to the NZAM initiative in 2023, and publishing our first NZAM target in 2024. This supports our overall aspiration to be net zero across our full value chain by 2050. 

The Syncona Foundation

The Syncona Foundation was set up in 2012 with charitable objectives focusing on the prevention, treatment, cure and ultimately eradication of cancer and other diseases, as well as other charitable activities

About the foundation