The Pension Protection Fund (PPF) has published its third annual Responsible Investment Report, which outlines the pensions lifeboat’s activities and progress in 2021/2022 regarding responsible investment.

Over the past year, the PPF has engaged with 196 companies on material ESG issues and has voted at almost 5,000 meetings.

In total, 54,053 votes were cast on behalf of the PPF at company’s annual general meetings.

The report revealed that the PPF has opposed at least one resolution at 67 per cent of meetings.

Almost half (45 per cent) of the PPF’s engagement objectives progressed by at least one milestone during the year.

The PPF’s report noted that it had introduced new voting guidelines for listed equity holdings on climate change, modern slavery, and diversity and inclusion, and consolidated its voting records across segregated and pooled mandates.

It also carried out a net-zero alignment project across the complete portfolio and transitioned to a new equity benchmark, with the aim of driving a significant reduction in the carbon exposure of the portfolio.

Furthermore, the report highlighted that the PPF had started requiring regular ESG metrics from alternatives managers and helped to develop a cross-body industry standard TCFD template for managers to report carbon emissions.

“The PPF is incredibly proud of the work and efforts highlighted in our latest Responsible Investing Report, although we are still learning on our exciting ESG journey as we adapt to a changing world,” commented PPF head of ESG, Claire Curtin.

“We hope that this report not only highlights the progress we’ve made but provides an opportunity to share our insights and knowledge with the wider industry so that we can continue learning from each other.”

Looking forwards, the PPF stated that it is seeking to advance its focus on net-zero stewardship by using the findings from its portfolio alignment project to develop a stewardship strategy for the highest-priority engagement targets identified.

Additionally, it is seeking to further engage with managers to explore ways to improve the level and quality of ESG data disclosure for credit and private markets, identify ESG investment opportunities and develop a holistic organisational sustainability strategy as part of its three-year Strategic Plan.

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