A new initiative to help institutional investors in Europe engage with companies on their net-zero plans and expectations was launched Monday by the Institutional Investors Group on Climate Change.
Signatories of the Net Zero Engagement Initiative include 93 institutional asset owners and managers such as the Church of England Pensions Board, Sweden’s AP pension funds and Border to Coast Pension Partnership.
Initiative members have written to 107 companies seeking specifics on their net-zero transition plans. The idea behind the new effort is to expand the universe of companies already being engaged on climate change through the Climate Action 100+ focus list, and to make sure that assets aligned with financed emissions in material sectors are accounted for. “Many more companies need to be engaged to align portfolios with net zero,” IIGCC said in a news release about the new initiative.
More companies around the world are expected to be covered in the next two years, the news release said.
IIGCC has more than 350 members, mainly pension funds and asset managers, in 23 countries with a collective €51 trillion ($54.3 trillion) in assets. To support the new engagement initiative, it published Investor Expectations of Corporate Transition Plans: From A to Zero.
Stephanie Pfeifer, CEO of IIGCC, said in the release that investors who have made their own net-zero commitments will benefit from the advice about engaging with companies. “We are excited about the scalability of the initiative and look forward to growing it in the coming years, both in terms of the investors involved and the number of companies covered,” Ms. Pfeifer said.
