Brunel launches new and improved climate change policy

Brunel Pension Partnership has launched its new Climate Change Policy 2023-30, raising its ambitions to manage climate change risk across its portfolios and in the industry at large.

The pool spent the past year undertaking a climate stocktake process, supported by specialist sustainability consultant, Chronos Sustainability, which led to a review of the existing climate change policy, launched in early 2020.

“Brunel wanted an independent assessment of whether their climate change policy was delivering on its purpose, and how it could be improved,” said Rory Sullivan, CEO of Chronos Sustainability.

“Our central conclusion was that Brunel has met or exceeded the objectives that it set itself in the policy, and that Brunel has made an important contribution to the wider investment market’s approach to climate change.”

The new policy is an evolution of the 2020 policy. Brunel remains committed to targeting 1.5ºC across its portfolios and the broader industry. It also retains the commitments to the same five thematic priority areas.

There are also significant changes from the 2020 version, in both priorities and approaches. The full integration of the Net Zero Investment Framework, embedding the recommended objectives and targets, for example portfolio alignment, stewardship, manager and general partner engagement as well a commitment to continue its decarbonisation journey consistent with the Paris agreement.

Improvements in responsible investment data across less mainstream asset classes will change how key themes are targeted, which includes holding asset managers to greater reporting requirements.

“For our partnership to retain its ambition, leadership and innovation on climate change, we need to adapt to an area that is changing rapidly,” said Laura Chappell, CEO at Brunel.

“This policy moves us forward to the next stage. Crucially, it also embeds the ‘climate stocktake’ approach for the long term.”

The new policy commits Brunel to conducting a further climate stocktake in 2025, to fully review the effectiveness of the new policy.