climate change risks – Benefits Canada.com

Pension funds improving modestly on climate but more work to be done: report

lbailey — Wed, 28 Feb 2024 20:00:49 +0000

Canada’s largest public pension funds are showing modest improvements on climate action but are moving too slowly overall, according to a new report by a climate advocacy group. The progress report from Shift Action for Pension Wealth and Planet Health found four of the 11 pension plans it examined still don’t have emissions reduction targets […]

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91% of Canadian institutional investors say climate change is top ESG concern: survey

bmcgovern — Tue, 13 Feb 2024 20:00:46 +0000

A majority (91 per cent) of Canadian institutional investors say climate change is a leading concern within the environmental, social and governance space, according to a new survey by Millani. The survey, which polled more than 30 institutional investors with a total of $4.5 trillion in assets under management, found 47 per cent of respondents also […]

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Climate change, pension super-priority law among CIA’s priorities for 2024

bwolfe — Thu, 25 Jan 2024 14:00:16 +0000

The impacts of climate change and federal super-priority legislation on Canadian pension plans are among the issues that the Canadian Institute of Actuaries is monitoring in 2024, says Simon Nelson, a principal at Eckler Ltd. and chair of the CIA’s pension practice committee. While climate change is a consideration across all of the CIA’s practice […]

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68% of global employers view talent attraction, economic growth uncertainty as business threats: survey

lbailey — Fri, 19 Jan 2024 14:00:13 +0000

More than two-thirds of global employers view the lack of key talent and uncertain economic growth (68 per cent for both) as the top threats to their businesses, according to a survey by Russell Reynolds Associates. The survey, which polled more than 2,500 global board directors, C-suite leaders and next-generation leaders, found 62 per cent of […]

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OPTrust aiming to cut 30% of carbon footprint from portfolio by 2030

bmcgovern — Tue, 19 Dec 2023 16:00:12 +0000

The OPSEU Pension Trust is targeting a 30 per cent reduction in its carbon footprint by 2030, according to its new climate change report. It found that since 2018, when the investment organization first launched its climate action plan, it has increased its exposure to federal and provincial green bonds to $550 million. OPTrust also expects […]

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2023 Risk Management Conference: How UPP is focusing on active investing in its climate action plan

lbailey — Wed, 18 Oct 2023 11:52:16 +0000

During the launch of the University Pension Plan, Barbara Zvan, its president and chief executive officer, knew getting to know the plan’s members was vital to its goal of providing a strong, resilient fund that secured benefits for generations to come. To find out what was important to plan members, the UPP engaged them to find out […]

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2023 Risk Management Conference: Risk environment leading to confusing progression of ESG metrics

bmcgovern — Wed, 18 Oct 2023 11:49:23 +0000

The rising opposition to environmental, social and governance metrics could lead to a confusing landscape for institutional investors evaluating the impact of their assets, said Hugh O’Reilly, executive director of Innovate Cities, during a session at the Canadian Investment Review’s 2023 Risk Management Conference. “There has been a war declared on this south of the border, but […]

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Wildfires crystallizing threats of catastrophic climate change for pension plan administrators

Jennifer Paterson — Tue, 08 Aug 2023 15:00:00 +0000

British Columbia’s wildfires have crystallized the threats pension plan administrators across that province face from catastrophic climate change events, says Damara Kiceniuk, senior risk analyst of pensions at the B.C. Financial Services Authority. However, these fires are just one catastrophic risk pension funds have to manage. These risks have prompted the organization to release a discussion […]

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Top 5 HR, benefits, pension and investment stories of the week

Jennifer Paterson — Fri, 28 Jul 2023 13:00:06 +0000

An article on the federal government’s plan to scrap Canada mortgage bonds and the potential impact on pension funds was the most-read story on BenefitsCanada.com over the last week. Here are the five most popular news stories of the week: 1. Feds’ plan to discontinue Canada mortgage bonds may limit pension funds’ abilities to mitigate risk: PIAC […]

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ESG investing can help investors identify, address systemic risks in portfolios

lbailey — Thu, 15 Jun 2023 13:00:59 +0000

Environmental, social and governance investing is a powerful tool that can reveal systemic issues impacting all parts of institutional investors’ portfolios, said Aaron Bennett, chief investment officer of the University Pension Plan, during the 2023 Responsible Investment Association conference last week. Some of these issues can accrue over time — and, when they finally manifest, they can […]

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