LGPS funds invest in clean tech fund, PPF bets on forestry

LGPS funds invest in clean tech

The £10.5bn Merseyside Pension Fund and the £10.8bn South Yorkshire Pension Fund are two of the pension funds that have invested in the Clean Growth Fund, a venture capital fund investing in early-stage UK clean technology companies. The two LGPS funds, Queens’ College Cambridge and Aviva Investors have together invested £31mn in the Clean Growth Fund, which was established in 2020 with cornerstone funding from the Department for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy and investment manager CCLA. With commitments of £101mn, the fund has surpassed its £100m target for its first close. The Clean Growth Fund seeks to accelerate the commercialisation of clean growth technologies in the UK, contributing to the UK’s efforts to deliver net zero by 2050, and encourage more private capital into the sector. Following its first close, the fund will now focus on expanding its investment portfolio across the UK. Over the past 15 months, it has made investments in the areas of smart charging, low-carbon heating, grid services, renewable energy generation and emission reductions in heavy industry. 

This article originally appeared on MandateWire.com

PPF increases forestry investments

The Pension Protection Fund’s investments in forestry have grown by 20 per cent to hit £1bn over the past year. The PPF currently invests in soft and hardwood forestry assets globally, with investments in Australia, New Zealand, the US, the UK, Ireland, the Baltics and the Nordics. Outside its sustainable investments through pooled funds, it now also invests approximately 30 per cent of its forestry allocation through five direct and co-investments. These include a recent direct investment in the New Zealand plantation Wenita, the largest producer of timber in Otago, with 30,000 hectares of sustainably managed forests. Elsewhere, the PPF is preparing to launch its strategic plan for the next three years (2022-25), which will incorporate sustainability in all parts of its operation.

This article originally appeared on MandateWire.com

Church of England Pension Board launches mining initiative

The £3.7bn Church of England Pension Board has announced it will lead Mining 2030, a year-long investor initiative to define an agenda that will look to tackle the systemic issues challenging the mining sector by 2030. In a series of investor-led roundtables, Mining 2030 will address the eight systemic issues it has identified that are challenging the mining sector and the low-carbon transition. These include: resources for the transition, deep sea mining, biodiversity and land use, mine waste (tailings) and site closure, climate change, automation and future workforce, indigenous rights, artisanal mining and child labour.

This article originally appeared on MandateWire.com