his marks another milestoneinthepressure to be ‘green’ when investing. Scheme members are already expecting to see a responsible investment approach from their managers, adding to the pressure for trustees to produce a coherent and measured sustainability strategy. These disclosures will further fuel a movement towards responsible pension investing. In July 2021, pensions minister Guy Opperman described climate change in no uncertain terms, as a “major systemic financial risk and threat to the long-term sustainability of UK private pensions.” While the challenge is very real and very clear, finding the right green pension solution is unfortunately not always as straightforward. Everyone wants their investments to help in the transition to net zero, but there’s significant debate around how best to make a difference and whether taking ESG into account will affect financial performance. Empowering investors At Coutts, we believe that only by understanding which actions taken by investment managers truly make a difference to the sustainability and profitability of companies can we have the fullest impact on the transition to net-zero. Increased knowledge and communication about effective ESG investing is the key to meaningful change. The default response for many people is to simply shift their allocations to so-called ‘green’ investments, or those that already derivemost of their revenue from sustainable activities. Yet the reality is that simply shifting investments from fossil fuel businesses to solar farms won’t be enough to make a difference for the planet. Such a switch ignores those companies that need support to transition to a net-zero Bank i ng & F i nanc i a l Se r v i ce s 48 Finance Monthly.
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