OPTrust today issued its Climate Change Action Plan for taking climate change into consideration in its analysis of investment opportunities. The plan lays out eight steps designed to make OPTrust more resilient and agile in the face of climate change, including:
Driving better disclosure of information needed to price carbon risk.
Collaborating with peers, regulators and companies to achieve meaningful change.
Building awareness to better understand climate change and its impact among investment professionals and investee companies.
Developing a baseline current state assessment of climate-related risks to the total fund,
Introducing a portfolio construction approach that considers climate risk impact on the total fund.
Achieving greater disclosure within OPTrust’s portfolio companies and incorporating climate change-related metrics in the evaluation of new investments on an asset class or by asset basis.
Leveraging OPTrust’s influence across market participants for improved performance on environmental, social and governance (ESG) issues.
Publicly reporting on progress using the Task Force on Climate-Related Financial Disclosures and requesting the same disclosure from companies OPTrust invests in.
“The transition to a carbon-neutral economy will be increasingly disruptive,” said OPTrust president and CEO, Hugh O’Reilly. “As investors and as responsible stewards of our members’ capital, we have to be prepared to face these challenges. This is still near the beginning, but it is a critical step forward.”