Skip to main content
MENU
Subscribe
  • Subscribe
  • Account
  • LOGIN
  • Topics
    • Alternatives
    • Consultants
    • Coronavirus
    • Courts
    • Defined Contribution
    • ESG
    • ETFs
    • Hedge Funds
    • Industry Voices
    • Investing
    • Money Management
    • Opinion
    • Partner Content
    • Pension Funds
    • Private Equity
    • Real Estate
    • Russia-Ukraine War
    • SECURE Act 2.0
    • Special Reports
    • White Papers
  • Rankings & Awards
    • 1,000 Largest Retirement Plans
    • Top-Performing Managers
    • Largest Money Managers
    • DC Money Managers
    • DC Record Keepers
    • Largest Hedge Fund Managers
    • World's Largest Retirement Funds
    • Best Places to Work in Money Management
    • Excellence & Innovation Awards
    • WPS Innovation Awards
    • Eddy Awards
  • ETFs
    • Latest ETF News
    • Fund Screener
    • Education Center
    • Equities
    • Fixed Income
    • Commodities
    • Actively Managed
    • Alternatives
    • ESG Rated
  • ESG
    • Latest ESG News
    • The Institutional Investor’s Guide to ESG Investing
    • ESG Sustainability - Gaining Momentum
    • Climate Change: The Inescapable Opportunity
    • Impact Investing
    • 2022 ESG Investing Conference
    • ESG Rated ETFs
  • Defined Contribution
    • Latest DC News
    • DC Money Manager Rankings
    • DC Record Keeper Rankings
    • Innovations in DC
    • Trends in DC: Focus on Retirement Income
    • 2022 Defined Contribution East Conference
    • 2022 DC Investment Lineup Conference
  • Searches & Hires
    • Latest Searches & Hires News
    • Searches & Hires Database
    • RFPs
  • Performance Data
    • P&I Research Center
    • Earnings Tracker
    • Endowment Returns Tracker
    • Corporate Pension Contribution Tracker
    • Pension Fund Returns Tracker
    • Pension Risk Transfer Database
    • Future of Investments Research Series
    • Charts & Infographics
    • Polls
  • Careers
  • Events
    • View All Conferences
    • View All Webinars
    • 2022 Retirement Income Conference
    • 2022 Managing Pension Risk & Liabilities
    • 2022 WorldPensionSummit
Breadcrumb
  1. Home
  2. ESG
June 05, 2020 09:51 AM

Brunel meets carbon intensity target – report

Sophie Baker
  • Tweet
  • Share
  • Share
  • Email
  • More
    Reprints Print
    Cattle feed on straw at a livestock farm in Howsham, England.
    Bloomberg

    Cattle at a livestock farm in Howsham, England. Brunel Pension Partnership carried out 867 engagements with companies last year, on issues such as plastics pollution, cybersecurity and animal welfare.

    Brunel Pension Partnership, Bristol, England, achieved its target of reducing the carbon intensity in its active portfolios by 7% in 2019.

    The pension pool, which brings together local government pension scheme funds representing about £30 billion ($37 billion) in assets, aims to lower carbon intensity relative to its active benchmarks by 7% every year until 2022, its first Responsible Investment and Stewardship Outcomes report said.

    The report, published Friday, said the pool had measured the carbon footprint of its portfolios for the calendar year 2019, against scope 1, 2 and 3 emissions, which cover different types of direct and indirect greenhouse gas emissions.

    Brunel's aggregate portfolio, a customized portfolio representing the pool's investments, had a 9.4% exposure to fossil-fuel revenues vs. 12.4% for its benchmark. The benchmark was not named.

    Further, the aggregate portfolio has a lower exposure to coal within its energy mix at 25% vs. 30% in the benchmark portfolio, and has a high allocation to renewables: at 9% vs. 2% for the custom benchmark, the report said.

    The pool's Brunel active U.K. equity portfolio, which had £6.2 billion in assets according to a spokesman, reduced its weighted average carbon intensity by 28.5% between March 2018 and December, to 259 tCO2e/mGBP — a measure of emissions per million pounds sterling invested.

    On the topic of gender diversity, 35% of board members at companies included in the U.K. active equity portfolio are female.

    The responsible investment report said 35% of Brunel's cycle 1 private market investments were in renewable energy. Cycle 1 private markets renewables investments include off-shore wind, some onshore wind, solar and storage, with a geographical focus on Europe, the spokesman said.

    A January update for the 2019 calendar year said the fund had invested around £1.3 billion in assets.

    The pool's executives carried out 867 engagements with companies last year, focusing on issues including plastics pollution, cybersecurity and animal welfare.

    Brunel also outlined next steps for its investment portfolios and practices focusing on a number of topics.

    Climate change-related focuses for the future include developing the climate and carbon metrics reporting "to demonstrate progress and real-world outcomes." Executives will also "reflect on the lessons learned from the ongoing COVID-19 crisis in addressing our work on climate change," the report said.

    Regarding cost transparency, pool executives will work to consider the impacts of the coronavirus pandemic on its engagement related to tax and transparency with the companies in which it invests.

    On diversity and inclusion, executives will work to improve the percentage of female representation on boards for each of its active investment portfolios. It also aims to improve the amount of data available on diversity and inclusion through work with its data and engagement providers.

    For its focus on cybersecurity, Brunel executives will prioritize engagement with telecom and internet companies on governance, privacy and "objectionable content" where a company's overall performance and progress is behind that of its peers.

    Related Articles
    Brunel Pension Partnership CIO resigns
    Brunel to ax managers for failing to address climate issues
    Brunel pensions pool appoints CACEIS for cost analysis
    Recommended for You
    California flag blackboard CalSTRS_i.jpg
    CalSTRS backs climate, human rights proposals this proxy season
    Toby Messier
    Morningstar Sustainalytics buys Aquantix
    christopher_ailman_calstrs_2018-main_i.jpg
    CalSTRS asks SEC to include Scope 3 emission disclosures in proposed rules
    A Good Time for Trend Following
    Sponsored Content: A Good Time for Trend Following

    Reader Poll

    June 6, 2022
    SEE MORE POLLS >
    Sponsored
    White Papers
    Nearing the finish line: Ideas on end-state investing for corporate DB plans
    The Meaning of "Portfolio Intelligence"
    Credit Indices: Closing the Fixed Income Evolutionary Gap
    Forever in Style: Benchmarking with the Morningstar® Broad Style Indexes℠
    Crossroads: Politics, Inflation, & Bonds
    Is there a mid-cap gap in your DC plan?
    View More
    Sponsored Content
    Partner Content
    The Industrialization of ESG Investment
    For institutional investors, ETFs can make meeting liquidity needs easier
    Gold: the most effective commodity investment
    2021 Investment Outlook | Investing Beyond the Pandemic: A Reset for Portfolios
    Ten ways retirement plan professionals add value to plan sponsors
    Gold: an efficient hedge
    View More
    E-MAIL NEWSLETTERS

    Sign up and get the best of News delivered straight to your email inbox, free of charge. Choose your news – we will deliver.

    Subscribe Today
    June 20, 2022 page one

    Get access to the news, research and analysis of events affecting the retirement and institutional money management businesses from a worldwide network of reporters and editors.

    Subscribe
    Connect With Us
    • RSS
    • Twitter
    • Facebook
    • LinkedIn

    Our Mission

    To consistently deliver news, research and analysis to the executives who manage the flow of funds in the institutional investment market.

    About Us

    Main Office
    685 Third Avenue
    Tenth Floor
    New York, NY 10017-4036

    Chicago Office
    130 E. Randolph St.
    Suite 3200
    Chicago, IL 60601

    Contact Us

    Careers at Crain

    About Pensions & Investments

     

    Advertising
    • Media Kit
    • P&I Content Solutions
    • P&I Careers | Post a Job
    • Reprints & Permissions
    Resources
    • Subscribe
    • Newsletters
    • FAQ
    • P&I Research Center
    • Site map
    • Staff Directory
    Legal
    • Privacy Policy
    • Terms and Conditions
    • Privacy Request
    Pensions & Investments
    Copyright © 1996-2022. Crain Communications, Inc. All Rights Reserved.
    • Topics
      • Alternatives
      • Consultants
      • Coronavirus
      • Courts
      • Defined Contribution
      • ESG
      • ETFs
      • Hedge Funds
      • Industry Voices
      • Investing
      • Money Management
      • Opinion
      • Partner Content
      • Pension Funds
      • Private Equity
      • Real Estate
      • Russia-Ukraine War
      • SECURE Act 2.0
      • Special Reports
      • White Papers
    • Rankings & Awards
      • 1,000 Largest Retirement Plans
      • Top-Performing Managers
      • Largest Money Managers
      • DC Money Managers
      • DC Record Keepers
      • Largest Hedge Fund Managers
      • World's Largest Retirement Funds
      • Best Places to Work in Money Management
      • Excellence & Innovation Awards
      • WPS Innovation Awards
      • Eddy Awards
    • ETFs
      • Latest ETF News
      • Fund Screener
      • Education Center
      • Equities
      • Fixed Income
      • Commodities
      • Actively Managed
      • Alternatives
      • ESG Rated
    • ESG
      • Latest ESG News
      • The Institutional Investor’s Guide to ESG Investing
      • ESG Sustainability - Gaining Momentum
      • Climate Change: The Inescapable Opportunity
      • Impact Investing
      • 2022 ESG Investing Conference
      • ESG Rated ETFs
    • Defined Contribution
      • Latest DC News
      • DC Money Manager Rankings
      • DC Record Keeper Rankings
      • Innovations in DC
      • Trends in DC: Focus on Retirement Income
      • 2022 Defined Contribution East Conference
      • 2022 DC Investment Lineup Conference
    • Searches & Hires
      • Latest Searches & Hires News
      • Searches & Hires Database
      • RFPs
    • Performance Data
      • P&I Research Center
      • Earnings Tracker
      • Endowment Returns Tracker
      • Corporate Pension Contribution Tracker
      • Pension Fund Returns Tracker
      • Pension Risk Transfer Database
      • Future of Investments Research Series
      • Charts & Infographics
      • Polls
    • Careers
    • Events
      • View All Conferences
      • View All Webinars
      • 2022 Retirement Income Conference
      • 2022 Managing Pension Risk & Liabilities
      • 2022 WorldPensionSummit