Smart Pension eyes net zero portfolio ahead of 2050

The announcements came as Smart Pension became the latest pension provider to sign up to the Make My Money Matter campaign

Smart Pension has committed to halving emissions across its investment portfolio within the next decade before reaching net zero ahead of 2050, targets the UK retirement fund claimed put it ahead of the deadlines contained in the Paris Agreement.

In order to reach its goals, the workplace pension provider said it planned to step up engagement with its portfolio companies while developing technology and initiatives enabling its members to choose more climate-friendly options.

In addition, the firm - one of the UK's largest providers of workplace pensions - plans to establish a new Social Impact Fund over the next few months, a move intended to capture investment opportunities that offer solutions to both environmental and broader social challenges around climate change, healthcare, water, sanitation and gender equality.

The announcements came as Smart Pension became the latest pension provider to sign up to the Make My Money Matter campaign, which unites pension funds working towards achieving net zero emissions by 2050 and halving their total by 2030. Growing numbers of pension providers have begun pledging net zero targets over the past year, including Nest, Aviva and Aegon.

Climate change is one of the most important issues facing each and every one of us, said Paul Bucksey, managing director of the Smart Pension Master Trust. But achieving great risk-adjusted returns for members while investing for long term environmental and societal benefits aren't mutually exclusive objectives, and it is important that trustees and scheme sponsors grasp the opportunity that this offers.

Having repositioned the Smart Pension default investment strategy to focus on companies with high environmental, social and governance (ESG) scores, and with an upcoming additional allocation to social impact, we're delighted to further underline our commitment to sustainable investing by partnering with Make My Money Matter, he added.