JPMorgan asset arm creates new team to focus on sustainable investments

(Reuters) – JPMorgan Chase & Co’s asset management arm said on Monday it had created a new private equity team to focus on sustainable investments, the bank’s latest move to align its activities with its climate-change commitments.

With an investment of up to $150 million, the team will target growth-stage private companies that build solutions related to climate adaptation and resource efficiency for various industries.

The bank said it has hired Tanya Barnes, who previously headed Blackstone Inc’s impact investing platform, to jointly manage the new team with Osei Van Horne.

Horne has been leading J.P. Morgan Asset Management’s climate-focused growth equity investment practice since May last year.

Major U.S. financial and other institutions have been making renewed efforts towards their environmental, social and governance (ESG) related activities as pressure from global regulatory bodies mount with rising climate change and corporate governance concerns.

Blackstone, the world’s biggest alternative asset manager, said last week that it launched a platform meant for investments and lending to renewable energy companies.

Last year, JPMorgan set out mid-term, carbon reduction goals for clients in industries such as electric power, auto, oil and gas.

It had also said it aimed to lend, invest and provide other financial services for up to $2.5 trillion of banking business to be done for companies and projects tackling climate change and social inequality over the next decade.

(Reporting by Sohini Podder in Bengaluru; Editing by Ramakrishnan M.)