UK - The £3.8bn (€4.6bn) London Pensions Fund Authority is to roll out is environmental, social and governance (ESG) program, introducing a more systematic approach to responsible investment.
Already one of the most progressive UK pension funds on responsible investment issues, the local authority's annual report reveals further plans to expand its role as an ESG investor.
At a meeting scheduled for next month, the LPFA will examine its shareholder voting policy; disclosure procedures; and developing a more coherent approach to responsible investment across all managers and asset classes.
Vanessa James, investment director at LPFA, stated in the annual report that good progress had been made in increasing the pension scheme's responsible investment activity, but there was more work to be done over the rest of 2010 and into 2011.
"There is still much to do and in 2010 we are reviewing the arrangements for exercising our voting rights, ESG engagement and class actions and are also looking at further ways to improve our overall ESG disclosure," James said.
During 2009/10 the LPFA voted 3,216 resolutions at 269 company meetings. Of these, LPFA supported management 92% of the time, voted against management on 7% of occasions and abstained or withheld support for the remaining 1%.
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