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Focus Themes

Responsible Investing

Overview
Responsible Investing

Active Ownership
Responsible Investing

Policies, Statements & Reports

In line with our clients’ investment policies, we focus on a number of key themes.

 


Climate and the energy transition  


Climate change poses a serious financial risk to the pensions of our clients’ participants. To manage this, we expect investees to report on climate risks and opportunities in alignment with International Sustainability Standards Board (ISSB) standards. We then consolidate this information to measure and reduce our carbon footprint at the total portfolio level.


We are committed to decarbonizing our investment portfolio in line with the Paris Agreement and are signatories of the Dutch Finance Sector Climate Commitment and the Net Zero Asset Managers (NZAM) initiative. Our Climate Transition Plan provides more insight into our climate approach and how we fulfill this commitment.


APG also contributes to the financing of the energy transition in several ways. For example, we invest on behalf of our pension fund clients in renewable energy, energy infrastructure and in making the built environment more sustainable. Specifically, for ABP, we invest in companies and projects that offer innovative solutions for the Dutch energy transition through the ABP Netherlands Energy Transition & Biodiversity fund (ANEB). 


We have actively contributed to the development of the Net Zero Investment Framework (NZIF), , which provides actionable guidance to translate climate ambitions into concrete investor actions across targets, asset‑level approaches, and engagement. We sit on the Board of the Institutional Investors Group on Climate Change (IIGCC).

 

We implement our client ABP’s climate target of 50% carbon emission reduction and €30 billion in climate transition investments by 2030

 

ABP has the ambition to achieve net‑zero greenhouse gas emissions across their total investment portfolio by 2050 and to reduce absolute financed emissions by 50% by 2030 compared to 2019, covering Scopes 1, 2 and 3 across all asset classes. To support the energy transition, ABP aims to invest €30 billion by 2030. As their fiduciary manager, APG is responsible for the implementation of these targets which includes investment allocation, climate dialogue with investees and progress reporting. More information can be found on ABP’s website.

 

Nature & Biodiversity

 

Biodiversity loss is accelerating worldwide, presenting a major threat to nature and our future prosperity. Conserving biodiversity is an important goal for ABP and our other pension fund clients. As a signatory to the Finance for Biodiversity Pledge, APG is working towards implementing the commitments made and sharing knowledge on nature and biodiversity. Targeting key nature loss drivers such as land use change, resource depletion, climate change and pollution, we strive to better understand and manage nature-related dependencies, impacts, risks and opportunities. We are actively involved in nature engagements with investees, also via Nature Action 100 and the UN PRI Spring Initiative. For example, we collaborate with other major investors through the Dutch Engagement Coalition, Climate Action 100+ and Nature Action 100+ to engage with companies to reduce their CO2 emissions and promote the transition to low-carbon and nature positive business models

We implement our client ABP’s target of €10 billion in nature & biodiversity investments by 2030


In support of the Kunming-Montreal Global Biodiversity Agreement and Glasgow Declaration on Forests, ABP has committed to investing €10 billion by 2030 in solutions that reverse biodiversity loss, eliminate deforestation and lead to nature positive outcomes. In support of our client, we engage companies to identify nature risks and dependencies and set biodiversity and deforestation targets in their operations and supply chains. More information on ABP’s nature and biodiversity policy can be found on its website. 

 

Good Corporate Governance

 

Good corporate governance is a pre-requisite for companies to operate responsibly. We use our influence to improve corporate governance at the companies we invest in. Our website contains an overview of how we voted, the companies we engaged with and the topics we discussed. 

 

Human rights and labor conditions  

 

In line with our clients’ policies, APG wants the companies it invests in to respect the rights of their employees, contractors, local communities, and other stakeholders. Like our pension fund clients, we view respect for human rights as a prerequisite to ensure that the major transitions the world is facing take place in an equitable manner. Our fund clients have signed the Dutch Pension Funds Agreement on Responsible Investment (IMVB), which is based on the Organization for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD) Guidelines for Multinational Enterprises and the United Nations Guiding Principles on Business and Human Rights.

 

 

For more insights, explore our articles here.