More UK trustees and pension fund managers have pledged support for a ‘climate change charter’ to increase scrutiny of asset managers.
In total, 76 individuals representing pension funds with a combined £367bn (€414.2bn) of assets have signed the Climate Charter, set up by pensions industry forum Mallowstreet.
Signatories have committed to scrutinise all investments made to assess the impact on the environment and climate change.
The forum launched the charter in June, and it was initially supported by three senior individuals working for UK pension funds: Paul Trickett, a trustee at three major schemes including RPMI Railpen; Mark Tennant, chairman of the £8bn Centrica Common Investment Fund; and Rosie Lacey, group pensions manager of the £970m De La Rue Pension Scheme.
According to a statement issued by Mallowstreet today, new signatories included representatives of the pension funds for Lloyds Banking Group, insurance company Aviva and energy distributor National Grid.
Dawid Konotey-Ahulu, co-founder and director of Mallowstreet, said: “The investment community has the power to make a meaningful difference in the fight against climate change, and it needs to use this power now.
“What the Climate Charter will achieve is that at every trustee meeting of pension funds someone will ask, ‘if we make this investment, what is the impact on the climate?’, putting the climate emergency at the top of the agenda. We want everyone to ask their pension fund provider what they are doing to combat climate change.”
Those who have signed up to the charter have done so in a personal capacity, meaning it is not binding on the pension funds they represent.
Mallowstreet has also called on pension fund members to write to their schemes to demand that they sign up to the charter.
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