The most material and least quantifiable risks for mining companies lie in the social component of environmental, social and governance issues — and that’s where institutional investors looking at the sector should be focusing their attention and advocacy. Speaking at a panel discussion in Toronto on March 3, Amy Freedman, chief executive officer of shareholder […]
The League Against Cruel Sports is now acknowledging it dismissed an ethical vegan employee after he raised concerns over the organization’s pension plan. The employee, Jordi Casamitjana, told Benefits Canada in 2018 he was upset when he discovered the defined contribution pension provided by his employer meant his contributions were being invested in companies that were misaligned with his ethical […]
Pension funds view geopolitical risk as the top risk to the financial system, followed by economic risk and climate risk, according to the Global Risk Institute in Financial Services’ annual risk outlook survey for 2019-2020. While the survey wasn’t technically broken down by pension plans versus other institutional investors, Sonia Baxendale, chief executive officer of […]
While the OPSEU Pension Trust has been focused on responsible investing for some time, it’s bringing its sustainability activities to the next level with the introduction of a sustainable investing and innovation team. Launched in late 2019, the team’s responsibilities will include continuing to strengthen the organization’s traditional responsible investing activities. It will also have […]
There is nothing like a deadline to focus the mind. Asset owners and managers who are signatories of the United Nations-supported Principles for Responsible Investments have just five weeks left to complete their annual report on their environmental, social and governance metrics, with the filing deadline being March 31. The challenge in the 2020 report […]
While the OPSEU Pension Trust has been focused on responsible investing for some time, it’s bringing its sustainability activities to the next level with the introduction of a sustainable investing and innovation team. Launched in late 2019, the team’s responsibilities will include continuing to strengthen the organization’s traditional responsible investing activities. It will also have […]
Research and ratings firm Sustainalytics is launching a set of environmental, social and governance indicators aimed at helping investors with security selection, portfolio construction, risk and scenario analysis, as well as meeting disclosure requirements. The data covers more than 220 ESG indicators across several themes, subdivided into three categories. The ESG management indicators are meant […]
With environmental, social and governance issues top of mind for many pension plan investors, modern slavery is one concern to keep on the radar. Historically, slaves were kept through force, but modern slavery is about forcing people to work through coercion and lies, says Sudhir Roc-Sennett, head of ESG and thought leadership at Vontobel Asset […]
With the task force on climate-related financial disclosures becoming increasingly common in institutional investor circles, how can Canadian pension plans start to use its guidance effectively? During a webinar hosted by the Association of Canadian Pension Management on Tuesday, Maria Montero, climate change program head at the Canada Pension Plan Investment Board, said her organization […]
The University of Toronto Asset Management Corp. is teaming up with more than 120 institutional investors to call on the aviation sector to confront the issue of climate change-related risks and opportunities. The UTAM signed a statement from the United Nations’ Principles for Responsible Investment, which lays out investors’ expectations on climate change for the sector. […]