A few decades ago, people were concerned about the depleting ozone layer. Then, in the late 1980s, the Montreal Protocol was ratified to phase out ozone depleting substances. Fast forward to today. The ozone hole is shrinking and is expected to completely close by 2060. “That says to me that if you get policy makers, […]
The International Centre for Pension Management has released a guide for integrating climate change considerations into investment processes. “The ICPM climate change guide is unique from others of its kind because it was written by asset owners for asset owners,” said Deborah Ng, director of strategy and risk at the Ontario Teachers’ Pension Plan and […]
Canadian institutional investors with stakes in fossil fuel companies can be held as much accountable for continued and escalating carbon emissions as the producer organizations, according to a report by the Centre for Policy Alternatives. While widely held Canadian fossil fuel companies aren’t controlled by a single institutional investor, they do own large chunks of equity, the report found. […]
The Canada Pension Plan Investment Board is emphasizing the issue of gender composition on investee companies’ boards in its latest sustainable investing report. With this fifth area of focus joining climate change, water, human rights and executive compensation, the CPPIB is aiming to address the issues of gender diversity in relation to long-term investment. In 2017, the pension fund voted on measures at 45 […]
Both institutional investors and the companies they take stakes in must innovate to take meaningful action on climate change, says Hugh O’Reilly, president and chief executive officer of the OPSEU Pension Trust. “We have to accept that as an investor community, we haven’t done nearly enough,” says O’Reilly. “In light of that, from a certain perspective, […]
One of Canada’s largest pension fund managers says trillions of dollars should be shifted into investments that will counter global warming, in part because it’s crucial to long-term profits. Michael Sabia, president and chief executive officer of the Caisse de dépôt et placement du Québec, spoke Tuesday at a roundtable discussion on sustainable finance on the eve […]
Just one Canadian pension fund ranked in the top 20 global funds based on their responses to the recommendations of the task force on climate-related financial disclosures, according to new research by the Asset Owners’ Disclosure Project. The Ontario Teachers’ Pension Plan, which was awarded a BBB rating, placed No. 16 out of the top 100 […]
The British Columbia Investment Management Corp. has published its investment plan for tackling climate change. Motivated by its clients’ interest in thoroughly understanding their exposure to climate change risk and opportunity, the plan outlines four core activities: managing risk, integration, seeking out opportunities and engaging and advocating. It will also comply with recommendations from the Financial Stability Board’s […]
Institutional investors that divested from fossil fuels in the past five years didn’t do so at the expense of returns, according to new data by Genus Capital Management Inc. The firm’s 2018 divestment report, which looked at the returns gained by its Fossil Free CanGlobe equity fund, showed it beat its own benchmark and the Canadian stock market […]
A group of financial institutions, including the OPSEU Pension Trust, is launching a climate-focused pilot project that will map potential future climate impacts on investment performance. The project aims to integrate quantified risks associated with climate change into standard, forward-looking financial scenarios that drive strategic investment decision-making, according to a press release. The investors involved will use […]