Canadian pension plans with about C$1.66 trillion ($1.26 trillion) in assets are calling on companies and investors to step up when it comes to the environmental, social and governance information they disclose and use in investment decision-making.
The CEOs of Alberta Investment Management Corp.; British Columbia Investment Management Corp.; Caisse de Depot et Placement du Quebec, Montreal; Canada Pension Plan Investment Board, Toronto; Healthcare of Ontario Pension Plan, Toronto; Ontario Municipal Employees Retirement System, Toronto; Ontario Teachers Pension Plan, Toronto; and Public Sector Pension Investment Board, Montreal issued a joint statement Wednesday.
The eight plans want companies and investors to provide consistent and complete ESG information, in order to strengthen decision-making, better assess and manage their ESG risk exposures.
The signatories have also committed to strengthening ESG disclosure within their own firms and to invest in exposures focused on long-term sustainable value creation.
“How companies identify and address issues such as diversity and inclusion, human capital, and climate change can significantly contribute to value creation or erosion,” the joint statement said. “Companies have an obligation to disclose their key business risks and opportunities to financial markets and should provide financially relevant, comparable and decision-useful information."
The signatories want companies to report relevant ESG data in a standardized way in part by adopting the Sustainability Accounting Standards Board standards and the Task Force on Climate-Related Financial Disclosures framework.
The CEOs also cited how the ongoing impact of the coronavirus pandemic has highlighted social inequity, systemic racism, environmental threats and board effectiveness. Companies and investors should take the opportunity now to make changes.
AIMCo had C$118.8 billion, HOOPP had C$94.1 billion and OMERS had C$109 billion in assets as of Dec. 31. BCI had C$171.3 billion and PSP Investments had C$169.8 billion in assets as of March 31. CDPQ had C$333 billion and OTPP had C$204.7 billion in assets as of June 30; and CPP Investments had C$456.7 billion in assets as of Sept. 30.
