Brenda Kramer, responsible investment adviser at €218bn Dutch pension investor PGGM, has been named as one of the 35 members of the European Commission’s sustainable finance technical expert group.

The group will develop a classification system, or “taxonomy”, that will be used to determine if and to what extent an economic activity is environmentally sustainable.

It will also help develop a category of low-carbon indices and support the Commission in the creation of an EU standard for green bonds and in improving disclosure of climate-related information.

Commission vice-president Valdis Dombrovskis said: “[The] launch of the technical expert group is another step in our ambitious timetable to lay the foundations for a more sustainable financial system.

“I am committed to a swift follow-up on their expert advice, in line with our action plan on sustainable finance and following our legislative proposals last month.”

Kramer is the only member identified by the Commission as coming from the “pensions” stakeholder group.

Other asset managers in the group are: Steffen Hörter, global head of ESG at Allianz Global Investors; Helena Viñes Fiestas, head of sustainability research at BNP Paribas Asset Management; and Manuel Coeslier, an equity portfolio manager at Mirova. 

Nathan Fabian, director of policy and research at the UN Principles for Responsible Investment, has also been appointed to the group, from the Commission’s perspective as a representative of civil society.

Like some of the other members, Fabian was a member of the High Level Expert Group whose advice the Commission leant on to develop its sustainable finance action plan.

Banks, data providers, insurers, and stock exchanges are among the other organisations represented in the group.

The Commission said it received 185 eligible applications. Appointees were selected on the basis of their personal expertise, contribution to work relevant to sustainable finance, and “the prominence of their affiliation in this area”.

It also ensured a geographical and gender balance in the group’s membership, it said.

The technical expert group will start its work next month and is due to finish by 30 June next year, with a possible extension until the end of 2019.

The full list of members can be found here. 

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