Mirova, the sustainable investor affiliate of Natixis, has won the responsible investor award for the second year in a row as it continues to strengthen its position as a leading asset manager in this area.

In 2020, Mirova's fourth energy transition infrastructure fund, Eurofideme 4, closed at €859m, making it the largest renewable energy fund dedicated to the European market to date. With the closing of this fund to more subscriptions, the total unlisted assets of Mirova's energy transition is now €1.3bn.

Over the past 12 months, despite the pandemic standing at the forefront of people's minds, Mirova's energy transition team closed 11 transactions, proving that sustainability factors would last beyond the crisis.

Born of an innovative climate impact methodology developed with French-based consultancy firm Carbon 4, Mirova's carbon-neutral strategy goes beyond the current mode of thinking with respect to carbon footprint measurement. It shows a portfolio's alignment with climate scenarios using calculated greenhouse gas emissions on a lifecycle basis, both induced and avoided.

The judges commented on how, out of all the entrants to the awards, Mirova had the most comprehensive approach to ESG, with strong commitments.

"[Mirova has a] strong footprint in energy transition and natural capital preservation funds, with a distinctive, broad and innovative range of investment propositions that generate significant impact," one judge said.

Another added that the growth in AuM to $400m and plans to allocate €1bn to natural capital assets over the next five years "demonstrates Mirova's successful commitment to responsible investing".