Priority themes
Climate, nature and human rights: risks, opportunities, and progress.
Climate change
Climate change poses significant financial risks – to individual companies and to the entire global economy.
Take a supermarket chain we invest in. Flooding could damage a store. Droughts could destroy farmland that supplies food to that supermarket. Both would affect how well the company does financially. But climate change offers opportunities too.
To tackle climate change, many countries are transitioning to a lower carbon economy. This drives demand for companies that provide renewable energy or build electric cars, for example – helping them do well financially. We want the companies we invest in to demonstrate they have a strategy for managing the risks and opportunities climate change brings.
We want them to reduce their emissions and transition to a low-carbon future – as much as they reasonably can.
We moved over £20bn into climate-aware investments
We now invest less in heavy polluters like fossil fuels and more in companies and projects that are enabling the climate transition, like renewable energy.
This move:
- Reduces the carbon footprint of these investments
- Better protects your money from the financial risks of climate change
- Reduces investment costs – and when you pay less to invest, more of your money has the chance to grow
'The clock is running down on critical issues such as climate change, and now is the time to be bolder and braver in terms of what we expect of our fund managers and the companies we invest in.'
Leanne Clements, Head of Responsible Investment, People's Parntnership
Nature
A functioning world economy relies on healthy air, clean water and a thriving natural environment.
Companies we invest in depend on nature. For example, construction companies need timber, food companies need plants, and tech companies need minerals to make batteries. Companies we invest in impact nature in their operations, too – by deforesting land to graze cattle or polluting rivers with waste, for example.
All of this has financial implications, as human activity continues to damage the natural resources we rely on. In fact, with the current rates of nature loss we’re experiencing, more than half of the global economy is at risk (PwC, 2023). Plus, we can’t tackle climate change without tackling nature loss. While healthy forests and oceans can remove emissions from the atmosphere, damaged natural resources can warm the planet even faster. This is why we expect the companies we invest in to address their dependencies and impacts on nature.
We’re working with companies on their nature risks
Our investment managers are pushing for change on our behalf – from voting for transparency on water-use and deforestation, to encouraging companies to restore and protect nature. See your pension in action for more details.
Human rights
We want the companies we invest in to respect human rights – for their workers, for the workers in their supply chains, and any other people they impact. This includes rights like freedom from slavery, protection against discrimination, and fair working conditions.
We’re working with companies to improve their human rights practices
On our behalf, our investment managers are sharing best practice on customer safety, calling for fair pay for workers, and helping companies better protect the local communities they impact. See your pension in action for more details.
What sustainability issues are important to you?
Your pension savings are your money. We want to keep you in the loop about how we’re investing them responsibly. Even better, we’d love to hear from you about the environmental and social issues you care about.
