St James's Place PLC

###### Governance

Our people

Our PLC Board set the overall vision which guides our Group Executive Committee.

The Investment Committee supports management to provide oversight of our responsible investment strategy, ratifying various frameworks and holding our investment teams to account.

The Responsible Investment team, in conjunction with our wider investment team, are responsible for implementing our responsible investment frameworks. This helps to ensure the controls we have in place, such as our annual responsible investment manager assessment, are operating effectively.

The plc Board sets the strategic direction in relation to our climate approach. The CEO is supported by his Executive Committee who facilitate the execution of climate-related activity. We have specific governance forums at St. James's Place plc Board, executive and management level which oversee and manage climate-related risks and opportunities for the wider Group. The authority for ESG is delegated to executives, with the plc Board holding ultimate accountability for the Group's position and strategy regarding ESG. As part of a vertically integrated financial services group, SJPUK and SJPUTG are aligned with the Group. The plc Board delegates some elements of its responsibility to certain groups and individuals within the business, as shown in the diagram to the right. These groups and individuals are regularly updated on climate-related risks and opportunities and can request updates when desired. [...] St. James's Place plc Board of Directors has ultimate responsibility for oversight of climate-related risks and opportunities. Sustainability is an important component of our strategy, from integrating ESG factors into our operations and supply chain, to embedding ESG into our investment strategies and stewardship priorities. The Board provides leadership and direction to the Group, aligned to our key values and culture. Regular updates are provided to the plc Board and environment targets are included in the business plan, which the plc Board receive a detailed update on twice a year. Our Responsible Business Framework outlines the outcomes we are driving towards in relation to tackling climate change and in 2022 we continued to develop the key performance indicators to help us measure our progress. The availability of accurate data is essential for us to report effectively, and we will continue to build our capability in this area in 2023 and beyond.

Describe the process(es) your organization has in place to ensure that your engagement activities are consistent with your overall climate change strategy[…]We monitor our fund managers to ensure this, for example:
1 – we have minimum standards, such as becoming a signatory to the UN PRI, and part of this process involves completion of a climate module;
2 – we conduct an annual assessment which feeds into our Value Assessment Statement and Investment Committee and there is a section on climate change within this assessment;
3 – we review specific data and insights on our systems regarding the carbon footprints of funds and companies.