Danish labour-market pension fund Industriens Pension has made a formal commitment to limiting the greenhouse gas emissions of its investment portfolio to net zero by 2050 – by becoming the latest institutional investor to join the Net-Zero Asset Owner Alliance (NZAOA).
Peter Lindegaard, chief investment officer of the labour-market pension fund for Denmark’s industrial sector workers, said: “We have already had a strong focus on investments in the green transition for many years, and on limiting the portfolio’s CO2 emissions.
“So it is a natural step for us to further formalise the work and set concrete goals in the short, medium and long term,” he said.
As an investor with DKK220bn (€29.6bn) under management, the CIO said the Copenhagen-based pension fund could make a difference via its investments.
As a member of the UN-convened NZAOA, Industriens Pension said it would now have to set five-year milestones for its investments’ CO2 reductions, with progress having to be reported on an ongoing basis.
At the same time, the total investment portfolio had to become CO2-neutral by 2050 at the latest and preferably earlier, the pension fund said in a statement.
Industriens Pension said it was in the process of preparing interim targets for limiting CO2 emissions from various asset classes, and would establish the first target for emissions reductions by 2025 in the spring of 2023 at the latest.
Finnfund issues €75m sustainability bond
Finnfund, a Finnish development financier and impact investor, announced it has issued a €75m sustainability bond, which it said was allocated to around 10 Finnish and international investors, including dedicated sustainability-bond investors.
The three-year bond, which carries a coupon of six-month Euribor plus 125 basis points, is the fund’s first issuance under the sustainability-bond framework it launched early this month.
In accordance with that scheme, proceeds from the newly-issued bond will be used to finance or refinance eligible green lending, equity investments, and mezzanine financing mainly aimed at climate-change mitigation and adaptation – or improved living and health conditions for unserved groups, Finnfund said.
The Helsinki-based fund said the bond issue also contributed to its goal of fostering sustainable development by providing investment opportunities for private investors.
Jaakko Kangasniemi, Finnfund’s chief executive officer, said the bond issue had been a strong sign of confidence in the institution’s impact-investing activity.
“Sustainable development and climate action require funding, and these challenging times highlight the importance of investors like us. The global political and economic turmoil may also create new opportunities for investors,” he said.
Danske Bank was sole lead manager in the offer and issue of the bond, said Finnfund, whose full name is Finnish Fund for Industrial Cooperation.
AXA IM discloses own global carbon footprint
AXA Investment Managers has published its entire global carbon footprint as a business, including its Scope 3 emissions, to take credible action towards reducing its operational footprint and minimise its impact on the planet.
This is part of AXA IM’s commitment to become a net zero asset manager for its operations by 2050, with an interim target of reducing emissions by 26% by 2025, it announced.
As part of its 2022 Climate Action Report, AXA IM reported its Scope 3 emissions for the first time which details the impact of its supply chain including the indirect greenhouse gas emissions (GHG) from the purchase of all goods and services, accounting for 96% of its total emissions.
It reported that in 2021, its total emissions across Scopes 1, 2 and 3 amounted to 31,280 tCO2e.
Marco Morelli, executive chair at AXA IM, said: “It is not enough to be an active player in responsible investment, we must also walk the talk and be fully transparent. At AXA IM, we hold ourselves to the same high standards that we ask of others and have taken this extra step so that we can start to take action on our total carbon footprint and because we expect it of the companies we invest in.”
He noted that with increasing regulation and expectation surrounding the reporting and disclosure of carbon footprints across the industry, “it is the responsibility of companies like ours to lead by example in measuring and reporting carbon emissions with the greatest accuracy”.
In parallel, AXA IM also announced an ambitious plan to reduce its carbon emissions globally as a business, including reductions and changes to business travel, power, digital, car fleet and supply chains, among others.
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