PLSA features LPFA as case study in publication to help pension schemes meet climate goals

The Pensions and Lifetime Savings Association (PLSA) has published a series of real-world case studies demonstrating how workplace pension providers are putting their climate policies into action. The LPFA has been featured in an article on Tackling Climate Change in a Pooled Environment.

Tackling Climate Change: How Leading Pension Funds are Taking Action sets out practical examples on how to meet a broad range of regulatory challenges and investment ambitions.

Presented as a series of essays authored by experts from pension providers of different sizes and types, the publication is aimed at helping pension funds learn from others’ experiences.

From setting climate goals, to gathering data, from reporting against standards set by the Taskforce for Climate-Related Financial Disclosures (TCFD), to implementing an investment strategy that aligns with the Paris Agreement; the essays should offer meaningful insight to pension trustees, no matter what stage of the climate journey they are on.

Tackling Climate Change is the latest in a significant body of work the PLSA has produced to help pension schemes set and meet their climate and responsible investment goals.

In June, the PLSA proposed a new Responsible Investment Quality Mark intended to bring a number of regulatory and stewardship initiatives together and recognise pension schemes that meet the highest standards for incorporating environmental, social and governance (ESG) factors across their operations. We also held our first dedicated ESG Conference, to bring members of the industry together to learn from experts and share experience between pension providers and other stakeholders. 

In October last year, the PLSA published A Changing Climate: How Pension Funds Can Invest for the Future, which identified barriers that prevent pension funds from fully embracing climate-aware investment and made 15 recommendations to address them. Many of these recommendations have in the last 12 months already come to fruition.

The PLSA also produces annually its Stewardship & Voting Guidelines; practical guidance for schemes in acting as good stewards of their assets, including how to exercise votes on key issues of concern during AGM season. The Association has also published ESG and Stewardship: A practical Guide to Trustee Duties.

The PLSA has also partnered with the Investment Association in forming a stewardship steering group to explore how stewardship can be better imbedded into the investment process of pensions schemes and asset managers.

Visit the Responsible Investment hub on the PLSA website for a full list of guidance and publications.

Nigel Peaple, Director of Policy and Advocacy, PLSA said: “The pension sector is united in its desire to tackle climate change and, in advance of new TCFD requirements, large pension schemes are already assessing the impact of their investments in order to adopt strategies which will help to reduce climate change and achieve the goals of the Paris agreement.  This is a complex area and we hope that pensions trustees and schemes find our new guide, which sets out case studies on how pension schemes and providers are handling this issue in practical terms, useful whatever the stage they are up to in dealing with climate change. The legal requirements in the UK are world-leading, with the Government being the first to apply the internationally mandated TCFD requirements to pension schemes. The pensions sector wants the Government to accelerate its climate roadmap to ensure companies, asset managers and service providers catch-up with the expectations on pension schemes. Doing so will ensure that schemes have more accurate and meaningful data on which to base their strategies and commitments.”

The PLSA's mission is to mission is to help everyone achieve a better income in retirement. The organisation works to get more people and money into retirement savings, to get more value out of those savings and to build the confidence and understanding of savers. The PLSA represents the defined benefit (DB), defined contribution (DC), Master Trust and local authority pension schemes that together provide a retirement income to more than 30 million savers in the UK and invest over £1.3 trillion in the UK and abroad. Their members also include asset managers, consultants, law firms, fintechs and others who play an influential role in the governance, investment, administration and management of people’s financial futures.