The Church of England Pensions Board (CEPB) has set out new responsible investment priorities to guide its work over the next decade, with peacebuilding and human rights emerging as central themes.
In response to rising global conflict and instability, the board will establish a Global Centre for Peacebuilding and Business to help investors and companies play a constructive role in reconciliation and sustainable development.
The initiative reflects the Anglican Church’s presence in conflict-affected regions and its commitment to promoting peaceful and just societies, the CEPB said.
Chair Clive Mather said the new priorities position the fund for the future, drawing on years of experience in driving real-world impact.
Adam Matthews, chief responsible investment officer at the CEPB, said that understanding today’s global challenges is vital to protecting members’ long-term interests.
With nearly 90% of pension fund members backing its ethical approach, the board’s 2024 Stewardship Report underlines its ambition to invest responsibly and build a more peaceful, sustainable world.
Alongside peacebuilding, the board’s five priorities include strengthening ethical markets, tackling systemic risks such as those in the energy and food sectors, enhancing the UK’s leadership in responsible investment, and ensuring investments deliver tangible real-world benefits.
The CEPB has previously highlighted the links between violence and the mining sector, and the role of responsible investors in addressing them. Earlier this year it held an investor briefing following news that the Rwanda-backed M23 militia had captured the Democratic Republic of Congo city of Goma.
Matthews, who was last year appointed to the UN Secretary General’s Advisory Panel on Critical Energy Transition Minerals as the representative of the Principles for Responsible Investment, also chairs the Global Investor Commission on Mining 2030. The commission has urged investors to adopt a more strategic approach to their relationship with the mining industry and other stakeholders.
“Increasing trends of isolationism and protectionism, combined with a weakening of global institutions and international agreements, has meant that the global rules-based system is under significant pressure. How we as a pension fund position our investments as well as determine our responsible investment priorities will be more challenging, with greater risks as well as opportunities to navigate,” said Matthews.
“As a pension fund – which is an asset owner – we are uniquely placed to take a step back and consider longer time horizons and the systemic nature of the risks we face, and in turn the responses that we can shape to address them,” he added.
Team changes
To deliver the new responsible investment priorities, changes have been made to CEPB’s responsible investment team.
Matthews has been appointed to the honorary role of the Special Envoy for Peacebuilding for the Archbishop of Cape Town in addition to his role as chief responsible investment officer. In delivering on the priority to address the intersection between companies and investors and conflict, he will also serve as co-chair of the board of the Global Centre for Peacebuilding and Business under the presidency of the Archbishop of Cape Town, Thabo Makgoba.
Laura Hillis has been appointed to a new senior leadership role as managing director for responsible investment and will be shaping the response of the board to deliver on the new priorities.
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