Investment - Articles - ACA supports drive to enhance trustees stewardship duties

 Stewart Hastie, who leads the ACA’s Climate Risk Group, commented: “We support the introduction of a new mandatory Portfolio Alignment metric as an informative and important tool for pension trustees in managing forward-looking climate risks compared to the backwards looking emissions based metrics. However, the guidance should emphasise the importance of the actions being taken within the underlying assets to de-carbonise rather than just whether a long-term net zero target has been announced.

 “We also recommend that the calculation and disclosure of the other additional metrics could now fall under the ‘should’ criteria rather than ‘must’.”

 Vanessa Hodge, who leads the ACA’s Investment Committee, commented: “The intention for the Implementation Statement (“IS”) to provide clearer information to members of pension schemes, rather than be seen primarily as a compliance report, is to be welcomed. We certainly see the value, to members in particular, in the IS being more focussed and less detailed.

 “Linked to this, the Government needs to rethink the guidance around the level of disclosure required in the IS when reporting on significant votes.”
  

 ACA Full Response