Country for PR: United States
Contributor: PR Newswire New York
Friday, April 22 2022 - 06:41
AsiaNet
PSP Investments Launches Inaugural Climate Strategy with Targets to Guide Climate Action and Emissions Reduction
MONTREAL, April 22, 2022 /PRNewswire-AsiaNet/ --

-- Highlights:

    -- PSP Investments launches inaugural Climate Strategy with enhanced 
       ambition to guide emissions reduction across its investment portfolio 
       and to contribute toward global net-zero emissions.
    -- Commitments include using capital and influence to support the 
       transition to global net-zero emissions by 2050.
    -- PSP Investments anticipates reducing portfolio GHG emissions intensity 
       by 20-25% by 2026 (relative to a September 2021 baseline).
    -- PSP Investments also releases its bespoke Green Asset Taxonomy, a 
       classification system that assesses the firm's exposure to climate 
       relevant investments across its portfolio and helps measure and manage 
       its exposure to green assets, transition assets and carbon-intensive 
       assets over time.
    -- Short-term targets published today and to be met by 2026 include 
       commitments that aim to:
         -- Increase investments in Green Assets to C$70.0 billion
         -- Increase investments in Transition Assets to C$7.5 billion
         -- Reduce holdings of Carbon Intensive Assets that lack transition 
            plans by 50%
         -- Ensure that assets representing 50% of PSP's carbon footprint have 
            commitments to implement mature transition plans
         -- Steer at least 10% of PSP's long-term debt financing toward 
            sustainable bonds
         -- Undertake efforts to obtain GHG data for 80% of the in-scope 
            portfolio of PSP's carbon footprint

The Public Sector Pension Investment Board (PSP Investments) announced today 
the launch of its first Climate Strategy, setting out an enhanced ambition to 
guide emissions reduction across its investment portfolio. The objective of the 
Climate Strategy is to support the global transition to net-zero emissions by 
2050 by proactively managing climate risks, unlocking investment and carbon 
reduction opportunities associated with climate-aligned assets, strengthening 
carbon disclosure, and enhancing collaboration with a wide range of 
stakeholders.

Logo - 
https://mma.prnewswire.com/media/1802072/PSP_Investments_PSP_Investments_launches_inaugural_Climate_Strat.jpg


"At PSP Investments, we have considered ESG factors, including climate, in our 
decision-making for many years.  This puts us in a good position to launch our 
climate strategy today", said Neil Cunningham, President and CEO at PSP 
Investments. "PSP Investments is committed to using its capital and influence 
to support the transition to global net-zero emissions by 2050. We understand 
the important role that the financial sector can play in addressing climate 
change whether it be our investment choices, providing capital to support the 
transition to global net-zero or encouraging the reduction of GHG emissions 
among the companies in which we invest."

The focus areas, as laid out in the PSP Climate Strategy Roadmap, include 
increasing investments in assets that support climate mitigation and 
adaptation, and reducing our exposure to carbon-intensive investments that 
don't have transition plans. PSP Investments also commits to engage with 
portfolio companies to encourage carbon footprint reductions, the adoption of 
science-based transition plans and the uptake of disclosure practices aligned 
with the Task Force on Climate-Related Financial Disclosures (TCFD).

As part of its new Climate Strategy, PSP Investments has also released its 
bespoke Green Asset Taxonomy which it uses to quantify GHG emissions exposure 
across its investment portfolio to set a baseline and to monitor the progress 
of emissions reduction over time.  

PSP Investments will aim to:

    -- Increase investments in Green Assets to C$70 billion by 2026 from a 
       C$40.3 billion baseline in 2021.
    -- Increase investments in Transition Assets to C$7.5 billion by 2026 from 
       a  C$5.1 billion baseline in 2021 and ensure that assets representing 
       50% of PSP Investments' carbon footprint will have commitments to 
       implement mature, science-based transition plans by 2026.
    -- Reduce holdings in Carbon Intensive Assets that lack transition plans by 
       50% by 2026 from a $7.8 billion baseline in 2021.
    -- Promote the adoption of science-based transition plans. 
    -- Enhance GHG data coverage across the portfolio by aiming to obtain GHG 
       data for 80% of its in-scope portfolio by 2026.

PSP Investments will have an equally important role to play in growing the 
market for sustainable finance. Following its inaugural C$1.0 billion Green 
Bond Issuance in February 2022, PSP Investments will aim to steer at least 10% 
of its long-term debt financing toward sustainable bonds by 2026.

"The most recent research on climate change is clear and we must all step up to 
increase our ambition", continued Neil Cunningham, President and CEO at PSP 
Investments. "We embrace the need to take action on climate risk while also 
positioning our portfolio to deliver the investment results required by our 
mandate. Research shows that corporations that are actively managed and plan 
for climate change can secure a higher return on investment as compared with 
companies that do not. By executing its climate strategy, I believe that PSP 
Investments can support the transition to global net-zero emissions by 
investing for a better tomorrow."

For more information about the "PSP Climate Strategy Roadmap", click here ( 
https://c212.net/c/link/?t=0&l=en&o=3512120-1&h=2234366950&u=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.investpsp.com%2Fmedia%2Ffiler_public%2F02-we-are-psp%2F02-investing-responsibly%2Fclimate-strategy-2022%2FClimate-Strategy-Roadmap.pdf&a=here 
 or visit www.investpsp.com/en/psp/investing-responsibly/

About PSP Investments

The Public Sector Pension Investment Board (PSP Investments) is one of Canada's 
largest pension investment managers with C$204.5 billion of net assets under 
management as of March 31, 2021. It manages a diversified global portfolio 
composed of investments in public financial markets, private equity, real 
estate, infrastructure, natural resources and credit investments. Established 
in 1999, PSP Investments manages and invests amounts transferred to it by the 
Government of Canada for the pension plans of the federal Public Service, the 
Canadian Forces, the Royal Canadian Mounted Police and the Reserve Force. 
Headquartered in Ottawa, PSP Investments has its principal business office in 
Montréal and offices in New York, London and Hong Kong. For more information, 
visit investpsp.com or follow us on Twitter and LinkedIn.

Media Contact: Maria Constantinescu, PSP Investments, (514) 218-3795 | 1 844 
525 3795, media@investpsp.ca 

SOURCE  PSP Investments