On the go: Scottish Widows will invest up to £25bn by 2025 in businesses that it views as leading on decarbonisation and climate-aware solutions, according to the company’s new climate action plan.
The year has begun with a flurry of announcements from corporates setting out their climate targets. Last month, Aviva and BMO Global Asset Management both warned the companies in which they invest of their expectations on environmental, social and governance standards this year.
Scottish Widows will specifically invest £1bn in climate solutions including renewable energy, low-carbon infrastructure, and energy-efficient technology.
It will also exclude high-carbon investments that it believes are at high risk of becoming “stranded assets”.
The pensions provider will concentrate its stewardship activity on companies that it views are not addressing climate change risks. In recent years, Scottish Widows has divested almost £1.4bn from companies that have not met its ESG standards.
It also announced that it had invested £3bn in BlackRock’s Climate Transition Equity Fund, taking its total investment in the fund up to £5bn.
Scottish Widows’ climate action plan drew on the Paris Aligned Investment Initiative’s Net Zero Investment Framework, as it bids to achieve net zero by 2050.
“We believe the move to net zero will offer longer-term sustainable growth for our customers’ pension savings, by leveraging low-carbon transition opportunities among some of the world’s most forward-looking companies,” said Maria Nazarova-Doyle, head of pension investments and responsible investments at Scottish Widows.
