LGPS Sustainable Investment Conference
Local Government Pension Scheme (LGPS) funds often face unique, significant, and complex challenges. They perhaps also come under greater scrutiny from more stakeholders than other pension schemes. So it’s vital, when it comes to responsible investment, you make the right choices at the right time.
Key Topics
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TCFDWith Task Force on Climate-related Financial Disclosures (TCFD) reporting just around the corner, what should you be doing now to prepare for the climate reporting requirements? Our panel discussed the key learnings from the early adopters who have already reported in line with the TCFD framework and the experiences of LGPS Funds who have already begun their TCFD journey. Download our TCFD Checklist
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Levelling UpThe Levelling Up agenda offers the LGPS a number of strategic opportunities at both a Fund and Pool level. Our panel speakers provided their perspective on how this could play out both in the short and long term.
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BiodiversityFrom climate change reporting to a new biodiversity framework. No sooner do we have regulations based on TCFD, than the TNFD (Taskforce on Nature-related Financial Disclosures) framework appears. Our speakers explored what nature based investing is, how biodiversity is linked to net zero and how you can incorporate biodiversity into your investment approach.
Responsible Investment Total Evaluation (RITE)
We developed RITE as an easy to follow approach for helping you work towards best practice in Environment, Social and Governance (ESG) with your investment decision making.
RITE gives you an evaluation across each area of Mercer’s Sustainable Investing Pathway (Beliefs, Policy, Process and Portfolio) to show you how you are doing on an A++ to C scale, and how that compares to your peers. It also provides you with a way of monitoring your improvement over time.
Using RITE we analysed 20 LGPS Funds and found that, on average, they received a B+ rating. With the average rating for non-LGPS defined benefit pension schemes standing at C+, it’s clear that these LGPS Funds are ahead of the curve when it comes to integrating ESG factors into their investment decision making.
During the Conference, Brian Henderson, Head of Sustainable Investment UK and Europe, explained what steps these LGPS Funds had taken to achieve this impressive rating, and what plans they are currently implementing to improve that rating further.
