I read the other day that your wellbeing can benefit from making the effort to notice (at least) one positive thing daily. This doesn’t have to be anything hugely important (insert something BIG you’d like to happen here). It can be as trivial as spotting a cute dog on your commute. But the constant flow of anxiety-inducing news (talk of an AI bubble, post-Budget blues, depressing climate change stats) can make it hard to recognise that good things are happening.
I read about the potential risks to our holdings, day in, day out. How are they managing risks around climate, governance, water, human rights, etc, etc… The list of worries goes on and on, focusing on the bad. As we look towards 2026, I’m resolving to spot uplifting things too. Encouragingly, I’m discovering plenty during company engagements. I’m also noticing some helpful big picture news. That allows me to highlight the good stuff that’s going on and explain how some of our holdings are contributing to it!
Chilling out…
We recently had an encouraging discussion with lender Barclays, which we hold across several of our funds, about its investments in clean energy ventures. In particular, it cited the success of Sunswap, a Leatherhead-based firm that makes electric and battery-powered refrigeration units for lorries carrying food, medicine and vaccines that need to be kept cold. Tesco, which we also hold across several funds, is deploying Sunswap’s zero-emission refrigeration units across its transport fleet. And it’s estimated they could help the fleet save up to 70% on its operational expenditure
We also were relieved to hear that Amazon is thinking ahead about the water its data centres consume. There’s a lot of concern about the huge amounts of water the big tech firms’ data centres need for cooling and to generate the electricity they require. Amazon has set itself a goal to get 120 of its data centres using recycled water by 2030 (roughly 15% of the total). In addition, Amazon has pledged not to use water cooling technologies at its centres in water-stressed areas.
DEI is alive and kicking
There was a lot of noise this year about shareholder proposals opposing certain diversity, equity and inclusion (DEI) initiatives given the changing tide in the US (you can find out more about our perspective here ). US membership retailer Costco was the first major company to receive an anti-DEI proposal in 2025. Its shareholders, including us, voted 98% against the proposal. The company responded to the resolution by defending the importance and usefulness of diversity within its business.
The Waste and Resources Action Programme estimates that we waste about 9.5 million tonnes of food in the UK each year. That amounts to more than £19 billion of food going to waste each year, not to mention the greenhouse gas emissions incurred to produce it and the hungry people who could have eaten it. Don’t worry, there is some good news coming! Tesco is partnering with FareShare, a national network of charities redistributing surplus food, to get surplus food at its stores out to the people who need it. It’s also building a processing facility that can turn up to 1,000 tonnes of food into animal feed each week, and removing ‘best before’ dates on a lot of items to discourage consumers from throwing away edible food.
Across the pond, Walmart has been helping Feeding America food banks secure food for people facing hunger for 20 years, supplying 4.1 million tonnes of food and donating $177m for the charity to buy more. Some 24 of the firm’s suppliers participate in this initiative. And Walmart and its charitable foundation have invested another $16 million in grants to strengthen the food bank infrastructure in the US. All in all, this amounts to a hugely impactful contribution to fighting hunger.
The positive developments we uncover through dialogue with our investee companies aren’t just uplifting. They can also strengthen the investment case for some of the stocks owned in your funds, the sustainable ones.
Finally, here’s some big picture good news not related to our investments specifically, but which feels notable all the same:
• Brazil has announced that Amazon deforestation fell 11% in the year to July 2025, reaching an 11 -year low!
• Deaths from hunger are down 98% in the last 100 years even though the global population is four times larger.
• Wind and solar together now generate more electricity in the US than coal or nuclear power.
Hopefully all this helps your efforts to tally one joyful moment each day. Outside work, I’ll have to keep looking out for the amazing colours of winter sunrises, that first sip of coffee in the morning and the days where it doesn’t rain in the UK for my piece of daily joy!
