Chronos wins ESG Initiative of the Year with Brunel Pension Partnership
PRESS RELEASE
CHRONOS SUSTAINABILITY AND BRUNEL PENSION PARTNERSHIP WIN ESG INITIATIVE OF THE YEAR
London, 30 June 2020: Chronos Sustainability (“Chronos”) and Brunel Pension Partnership (“Brunel”) have been revealed as winners of ESG Initiative of the Year at Environmental Finance Sustainable Investment Awards 2020, announced today.
Chronos and Brunel were jointly recognised by an independent panel of judges for their efforts over the past calendar year in “Reconfiguring the investment system for the transition to a zero-carbon future”. This initiative resulted in the creation of a new climate change framework to enable Brunel, one of eight national Local Government Pension Scheme (LGPS) Pools, which manages c.£30 billion investments on behalf of its clients, to deliver investment returns in a world where temperature rise was kept to well below 2°C above pre-industrial levels. The project saw the companies engage with 130 asset managers and review 530 investment strategies from a climate perspective to develop a ground-breaking policy: A Five Point Plan to build a zero carbon future.
The practical implications of the policy state that between now and 2022, Brunel will:
demand that material holdings take steps to align their emissions with Paris benchmarks and improve their climate management quality
make it known that those that fail to do so will face the threat of votes against the re-appointment of Board members, or being removed from Brunel’s portfolios
challenge its investment managers to demonstrate reduced exposure to climate risk and effective corporate engagement that puts companies and portfolios on a trajectory to align with a 2°C economy. Managers that fail to do so face the threat of having their mandates removed
Dr Rory Sullivan, CEO, Chronos Sustainability, said: “This project is the product of a shared determination to put meaningful steps in place to enable the reinvention and redefinition of investor responsibility for climate change. The resulting Brunel Climate Change Policy defines those steps and shows the importance of analysing climate change as a systems issue - where individual investors see themselves as actors in a wider investment system and commit themselves to focusing their efforts on the areas where they have the greatest influence and impact.”
Faith Ward, Chief Responsible Investment Officer, Brunel Pension Partnership, said: “With the realisation that the financial system of which we are part is not fit for purpose, came the urgent motivation to contribute to systematically change the investment industry in order to keep temperature rise to well below 2°C.
What makes me proud is that we consulted together with our clients to arrive at a point of consensus – which was not a given across ten LGPS Funds who have different investment policies, strategies and previous knowledge of the subject. Working together with Chronos, this award brings home the importance of partnerships, of dialogue and of a mutual commitment to building a financial system which is fit for a low carbon future.”
The Environmental Finance Sustainable Investment Awards 2020 also named Brunel Pension Pension Partnership “Pension Fund of the Year” and the Transition Pathway Initiative - to which Chronos’ CEO Dr Rory Sullivan is Chief Technical Adviser, received the award for ESG Assessment Tool of the Year”.
The Sustainable Investment Awards, which last year named Dr Rory Sullivan as ESG Personality of the Year, seek to recognise and highlight the work of asset managers and key industry players in developing leading initiatives and incorporating ESG across all asset classes.
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For further information
Amanda Williams, Director of Communications, Chronos Sustainability
amanda@chronossustainabilty.com
+44 7534 702797
About Chronos Sustainability
Chronos Sustainability is an international team of professionals with a track record of delivering transformative, systemic change in the social and environmental performance of key industry sectors. Chronos works in partnership with institutional investors, industry networks, companies, governments, regulators and civil society organisations on issues as diverse as climate change, responsible investment, oceans management, animal welfare and human rights.
About Brunel Pension Partnership
Brunel Pension Partnership Limited (Brunel) is one of eight national Local Government Pension Scheme (LGPS) Pools, bringing together circa £30 billion investments of 10 likeminded funds. Brunel manages the investments for the pension funds of Avon, Buckinghamshire, Cornwall, Devon, Dorset, Environment Agency, Gloucestershire, Oxfordshire, Somerset, and Wiltshire.Brunel is authorised and regulated by the Financial Conduct authority as a full service MiFID firm.
This document is for use by journalists and media professionals only. This document is a not a financial promotion and is not investment advice. Unless otherwise attributed the views and opinions expressed are those of Chronos Sustainability at the time of publication and are subject to change.
© 2020 Chronos Sustainability. All rights reserved.