ESG spotlight: A roundup of the latest news on environmental, social and governance initiatives, including the launch of practical case studies to help schemes achieve climate goals, and The People’s Pension divesting £226m from companies that failed to meet standards.
PLSA publishes series of practical case studies
The Pensions and Lifetime Savings Association published on Thursday a series of real-world case studies to help pension schemes achieve their climate goals. ‘Towards a greener future: case studies from the pension sector’ sets out practical examples on how to meet a broad range of regulatory challenges and investment ambitions, and includes essays authored by experts from schemes such as Nest, Railpen and several Local Government Pension Scheme pools, among others. “From setting climate goals to gathering data, from reporting against standards set by the Task Force on Climate-related Financial Disclosures, to implementing an investment strategy that aligns with the Paris Agreement, the essays should offer meaningful insight to pension trustees, no matter what stage of the climate journey they are on,” the PLSA stated.
The People’s Pension divests £226m from firms failing to meet standards
The People’s Pension announced on Wednesday that it has removed companies worth up to £226m from its funds because these businesses have failed to meet ESG standards. Approximately 150 stocks have been removed from its portfolio, including controversial weapons companies, as well as organisations linked to severe controversies involving human rights, labour, environment, and corruption. Jon Cunliffe, managing director of investments at B&CE, provider of The People’s Pension, said: “We’ve taken the significant step of divesting from companies which fail to meet our ESG standards because of the risks they pose to member accounts and the reputation of the scheme. We have removed investments from these holdings, in the best interest of our members, as engagement with companies which flagrantly breach good practice is unlikely to work.”
UK social impact investment market hits record £6.4bn
Social impact investing in the UK has increased by almost eightfold over nine years, from £833m in 2011 to £6.4bn in 2020, according to research from Big Society Capital. The data from the social impact investor showed there has been consistent growth year on year, with a particular acceleration between 2019-20, which saw a 26 per cent increase in the value of social impact investments in the UK. Social property funds continue to account for the largest portion (45 per cent) of the social impact investment market and have seen eightfold growth since 2016. Social lending accounts for 43 per cent of the market, achieving threefold growth since 2011.
