Sweden’s third state pension buffer fund, AP3, has announced new sustainability targets in its interim report. 

The fund pledged to double its investments in sustainability and green bonds by 2025, and also to halve its carbon footprint within the same timeframe.

Kerstin Hessius, AP3 chief executive, said: “In February, the board of directors adopted new sustainability goals for 2019-25, which raise the fund’s ambitions in sustainable investment and governance.”

A spokesman from the fund confirmed that this was the first time the sustainability and green bond targets had been announced publicly, having been set by the board in February.

The new goals fell into three main categories: pledges to continue to contribute to a reduced risk of global warming; doubling sustainable investments by 2025; and promising that AP3’s directly-owned companies would be leaders in sustainability. 

The fund said investments in green bonds would reach SEK30bn (€2.8bn) and other sustainable investments would increase to SEK25bn.

AP3 said it would continue to measure and report on its carbon footprint, perform scenario-based portfolio analysis of climate risks and opportunities, and once more halve its carbon footprint, mainly by encouraging investees to reduce their climate impact.

The fund reported a return on investments of 10.8% in the first half of 2018, compared with 3.3% in the same period last year. Its equities and inflation risk categories had performed strongest, it said. 

Assets under management rose to SEK374bn (€35bn) by the end of June, from SEK341bn at the beginning of this year. The fund reported a net result of SEK36.5bn in the first six months of 2019.

This article was updated on 27 August to amend the performance time period in the penultimate paragraph.

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