GLOBAL – Eight European pension funds – including the Norwegian Pension Fund Global, Dutch health industry scheme PFZW and Ireland's National Pensions Reserve Fund (NPRF) – have been praised for their transparent reporting of responsible investment (RI) matters.
The schemes – shortlisted for an inaugural RI Reporting Award – were praised for recognising the importance of environmental, social and governance-related issues.
PFZW and Norway's NOK4.1trn (€558bn) oil fund were shortlisted for best RI report by a large pension fund alongside Sweden's buffer fund AP4 and Folksam, as well as the £41bn (€48.5bn) BT Pension Scheme, Australia's Future Fund and US giant CalPERS.
Two UK schemes – the fund for the Church of England and the Environment Agency's open pension scheme – were shortlisted in the small or medium-sized fund category, alongside the NPRF and the Government Pension Fund Norway, responsible for funding national insurance expenditures in the Scandinavian country.
Hugh Wheelan, chair of the RI Reporting Awards, claimed pension funds were in a situation to set standards that could be followed by other investors.
"Institutional investors are living through a post-financial-crisis era where there is mounting pressure for them to be more responsible and transparent about environmental, social and corporate governance efforts as part of their fiduciary duty to protect beneficiary assets over the long term," he said.
The full shortlist for the awards ceremony, taking place in London 11 June, can be found here.
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