See how our investment holdings Align to our positive themes

Medica, whose shares we hold in our CFP Castlefield Sustainable UK Smaller Companies Fund, is the market leader in the UK and Ireland in teleradiology. Teleradiology involves the transmission and display of radiological images, such as CT scans and X-Rays, to a different location to the clinical setting in which the image was taken. The company, which began life in 2004 as a small business above a flower shop, now has a global network of over 450 GMC-registered radiology professionals who review and report back on Plain Film X-Rays, CT scans and MRI scans to offer diagnostic support to clinicians working in around 100 NHS Trusts as well as in private healthcare facilities. Medica’s mission is to support doctors and the NHS in providing better outcomes for patients.

1 in 10 babies are born prematurely. Inspiration Healthcare aims to become the largest neonatal provider in the U.K.

Some of the company’s positive values and successes are as follows:

• Their core social value is to reduce infant mortality and morbidity. Preterm birth complications are the largest cause of mortality in infants under 5%. Helping to ease cost burden on health systems – a baby in intensive care costs £1,500 a day.
• They have been committed to investing in R&D to develop new products that improve patient outcomes.
• They supply ventilators to the NHS and provide their 24/7 technical support for all Challenge ventilators.
• Their employees are essential workers – most are working remotely. They have staggered shifts in production facilities for safety. No staff furloughed and no government support taken. They are a living wage employer.

Founded at the end of the nineteenth century, Vestas has undergone transitions and perilous times. Even since its listing in 1998, the company has had to innovate to keep itself ahead and prove itself in a fast-moving market where upstream fossil fuels have carried much political capital and, to be blunt, jobs and votes. This ability to innovate has stood Vestas in good stead and we continue to believe in the company’s ability to make a meaningful contribution to our investors’ returns.

Croda take pride in their ‘restorative strategy’. They aim to give back more than they take away and the company’s aims are to be climate, land and people positive by 2030.

Between 2015 and 2020, the company made good progress against six of their sustainability targets. Some achievements during this period were improving energy intensity and ensuring 85% of palm derivatives are now sustainable. In addition, one quarter of the fuel used is now from non-fossil sources. This is a huge achievement and positive ESG story for a company in the chemical industry.