BMW disputes inclusion on Make My Money Matter net zero target list

The roster, compiled by Make My Money Matter, covers schemes with more than £200bn of assets under management, the campaign said. “Investments this size potentially enable 24mn tonnes of carbon to enter our atmosphere every year,” it claimed.

The campaign said that it has been contacting the schemes for a year. They are a mix of corporate and Local Government Pension Scheme funds, including the Zurich Financial Services UK Pension Scheme, the Lothian Pension Fund, and the Northern Ireland Local Government Officers’ Superannuation Committee.

When approached by Pensions Expert, German car manufacturer BMW said that its UK scheme has in fact committed to net zero, contrary to Make My Money Matter’s announcement.   

We wrote to BMW on five separate occasions and did not receive a reply

Tony Burdon, Make My Money Matter

A spokesperson told Pensions Expert: “The BMW (UK) Operations Pension Scheme does have a net zero commitment which is fully in line with BMW Group strategy. 

“The scheme publishes its annual report in Q3 each year and at the same time in 2022, the scheme will publish its first Task Force on Climate-related Financial Disclosures report in line with regulatory requirements which will show the scheme’s net zero commitment.”

Meanwhile, the Santander UK Group Pension Scheme, which is also on Make My Money Matter’s list, told Pensions Expert that it plans to adopt a net zero commitment later in June.

Net zero, actually

Make My Money Matter has been campaigning for pension schemes to target net zero since it was co-founded by film director Richard Curtis and former government adviser Jo Corlett in June 2020.

Its announcement noted that some schemes were misaligned with their sponsors’ net zero targets for their corporate operations.

“These contradictions mean that the billions managed by their pension schemes could be undermining the hard work these businesses are doing to fight climate change,” it said. 

The campaign encouraged schemes to follow recent climate commitments made by M&S, Royal Mail and Co-Op schemes.

Make My Money Matter chief executive Tony Burdon emphasised that efforts had been made to research schemes’ net-zero commitments and contact schemes.

Burdon told Pensions Expert: “We have written to each of the schemes named in our analysis multiple times over the past year and had a very poor response. 

“We wrote to BMW on five separate occasions and did not receive a reply, as well as conducting extensive research independently to see if we could find any public evidence of a net zero commitment. 

“BMW’s commitment, planned for Q3 2022 and mentioned [on June 9] for the first time publicly, has yet to be announced and its targets are unknown. It has therefore not been considered to represent a formal net zero target for this analysis.”

‘All roads lead to net zero’

Other schemes on the list told Pensions Expert that they were developing their approaches to environmentally responsible investment, with some wanting more time to plan before publicly committing to net zero goals. Santander, meanwhile, revealed that it is close to telling members of its plans to adopt net zero.

A spokesperson said: “The Santander (UK) Group Pension Scheme plans to adopt a net zero commitment later this month, subject to trustee board approval. Upon a formal adoption by the board, we will then communicate the decision to the scheme’s members. 

“There has been extensive engagement with the trustee’s climate change adviser and careful consideration of the impacts and requirements of a commitment to a net zero target on member’s benefits.”

A spokesperson for the ICI Pension Fund acknowledged the importance of sustainability issues, but queried the scheme’s ability to set useful net zero targets given the make-up of the scheme’s investments.

“The fund’s investments are in illiquid, bulk annuities and a single fund-specific mandate comprising gilts and cash with no opportunities to exercise voting rights and very limited opportunities to make any changes to the investment portfolio,” they said.  

“As a result, we are still considering the extent to which robust and meaningful targets on net zero can be set.”

A Zurich spokesperson said: “Zurich’s UK pension scheme trustee already has a comprehensive responsible investment strategy in place, and is committed to continuing to develop this, together with a longer-term climate change target.

“Our pension scheme trustee has been integrating ESG factors at various steps in its investment process for many years. This includes a 25 per cent weighted average carbon intensity reduction target over five years for equity and corporate bond portfolios.”

NILGOSC chief executive David Murphy told Pensions Expert: “NILGOSC has not made a public commitment to net zero at this time because it wants to have a robust action plan in place before doing so. 

“We are a supporter of the Paris Agreement so our direction of travel is clear. We do not plan to make a net zero commitment until we determine clear and achievable milestones.”

A Lothian Pension Fund spokesperson said: “While we believe that all roads lead to ‘net zero’, we want to understand the consequences and have a clear roadmap of how we will achieve it before we make a public commitment.”

The Shell Contributory Pension Fund, meanwhile, declined to comment.