Brunel and Railpen double up at IPE Transition Awards

Brunel Pension Partnership and Railpen each scooped two awards at IPE’s second Transition conference in Brussels this week.

France’s ERAFP picked up the Outstanding Contribution in Transition Management award while its compatriot AG2R La Mondiale was the winner in the Public Markets Investment category.

Railpen came top in the Leadership in Energy Transition & Net Zero competition and the Private Markets Investments category.

Over the past several years, Railpen has sought to advance its position as a leading direct institutional investor in the private infrastructure market, underpinned by an income strategy and a growth strategy. It has set up new structures, such as a partnership that established Constantine Energy Storage, now one of the UK’s largest battery energy storage system platforms.

Judges were also impressed by the pension investor’s active involvement in industry initiatives, viewing the £34bn (€40bn) investor as “pushing above its weight”.

Brunel took home trophies in the Transparency & Communication on Transition Strategies category as well as in the Stewardship Campaign & Strategy competition.

In addition to meeting regulatory obligations, Brunel sees reporting as a tool for broader industry change, using a range of platforms and levers to influence as many stakeholders as possible.

Judges also highlighted the pension investor’s role in bringing about the Asset Owner Statement on Climate Stewardship, which spells out how the signatories expect asset management firms to behave with respect to climate risk.

ERAFP, a €47bn fully funded mandatory pension fund for civil servants in France, has calculated that by the end of 2024, about 44% of its assets supported the transition to a decarbonised economy. This year, it will allocate to a wider “ecological transition” bucket – and judges said the pension fund has adopted “a progressive stance on biodiversity as an intrinsic part of the energy transition”.

AG2R’s listed equity investment universe comprises some 840 issuers, and its annual budget for ESG research/analysis is close to €800,000. Concrete stewardship actions in 2024 included participating in a collaborative engagement with Intesa Sanpaolo about its fossil fuel lending. The Italian bank has since announced stricter rules for financing the oil and gas sector.

Winners were presented with trophies made out of recycled acrylic, made from the supplier’s waste and processed in its own factory in Amsterdam.

The awards followed a day-long conference exploring key issues and challenges involved in transitioning to a more sustainable economic system.

The latest digital edition of IPE’s magazine is now available