Sunday evening saw the airing of the final episode of Sir David Attenborough’s Frozen Planet II. The entire series, whilst beautiful to watch (as every Attenborough documentary usually is), was a stark reminder of the devastating effects of global warming. Perhaps for the first time, viewers saw with their own eyes the ice caps melting, the sea levels rising, and most upsettingly, animals dying - evidence of the very real risk of entire species becoming extinct.

We now know that the main driver of climate change is human activity and the emissions that this generates. But the awareness and concern is greater now than it ever has been - we now recognise the severity of humanity’s impact and the fact that we need to do something and we can do something - which gives us hope.

The TAM Sustainability Mission demonstrates TAM’s commitment to reducing our environmental footprint and inspiring others to do the same. As a firm we have worked towards becoming carbon neutral, and for our clients we have launched an initiative that enables them to offset their carbon footprint for every year that they are invested with us.

TAM has been working closely with Carbon Footprint Ltd, the Quality Assured Standard (QAS) provider of internationally recognised carbon footprint calculators and certified offset projects, and we are proud to be one of the first, if not the first, DFM in the world to be awarded Carbon Neutral Plus status, by offsetting an additional 25% of our annual carbon footprint.

As investors, we know it is critical that we become part of the solution and achieving carbon neutrality is pivotal to accomplishing this - but it's just the beginning. We will continue to monitor, review and offset TAM’s annual carbon emissions, but we are also looking at new and innovative ways to reduce our carbon footprint even further.

Now more than ever we understand the importance of tackling climate change and sustaining our environment for future generations, and we know it’s a key concern we share with our clients who are showing a growing appetite to reduce the impact of their investments on the environment. This is why we were so excited to launch our Client Carbon Footprint Commitment, a simple and effective initiative that provides our GIA and ISA investors with the opportunity to offset their carbon footprint every year they are invested with us, enabling them to contribute meaningfully towards mitigating climate change.

Almost one year ago at COP26 in Glasgow, 120 nations committed to limiting global warming to 1.5 degrees. To stand a chance of achieving this and avoiding a devastating environmental catastrophe which could result in terrible consequences for both humanity and the fragile natural status quo, we must honour that commitment despite the challenges.

It won’t be easy, but it is doable. If we understand the effects of greenhouse gases in the atmosphere we can make the effort to do at least one thing to reduce our carbon footprint and we can make a difference. We can try to consume less, we can consider how we travel, we can think about the food we eat and how that’s produced, and we can aim to achieve a lifestyle that’s sustainable.

Together, little by little, step by step, we can reverse the effects of global warming and save our planet. In the words of Sir David Attenborough, ‘We can do it; it’s within our power to do it; we must do it.’

If you would like to speak to us about the TAM Sustainability Mission and our commitment to reducing our environmental footprint, or to discuss your clients joining our Client Carbon Footprint Commitment, please get in touch with our UK Business Development Manager today.