CalPERS, AIMCo Among Backers for ESG Infrastructure Benchmark

Some of the world's largest asset owners representing $1.5 trillion in total assets have backed a new standard for assessing sustainability within the asset class.

Major asset owners including the California Public Employees’ Retirement System (CalPERS) and the Ontario Teachers’ Pension Plan (OTPP) have backed a benchmark to measure sustainability of infrastructure investments.

“GRESB has an established and global track record in assessing and evaluating social and environmental factors, which will shed
more light on sustainability considerations for investors.”
The Global Real Estate Sustainability Benchmark (GRESB) Infrastructure will aim to help investors “collect and assess key environmental, social, and governance [ESG] factors, and related performance metrics.”

The coalition backing the benchmark includes CalPERS, Canada’s Albert Investment Management Corporation and OTPP, the Netherlands’ two largest pension managers APG and PGGM, ATP from Denmark, and asset managers Aviva Investors and Mirova. Together the group represents a total of $1.5 trillion.

“GRESB has an established and global track record in assessing and evaluating social and environmental factors, which will shed more light on sustainability considerations for investors,” Ted Eliopoulos, CalPERS’ CIO, said.

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GRESB already runs a sustainability benchmark for real estate. It was established in 2009 by Dutch investors—including APG and PGGM—and has the backing of a number of asset managers and owners, notably Norway’s $800 billion sovereign wealth fund.

CalPERS—currently invested in energy, power, water, and transportation sectors within its infrastructure portfolio—said it began exploring sustainability benchmarking with other investors in 2014. It has been involved in GRESB’s work in real estate since 2009.

“Infrastructure is a growing part of our portfolio,” Paul Mouchakkaa, CalPERS’ managing investment director of real assets, added. “This benchmark will give us a tool to integrate sustainable investment considerations into our real assets investment processes in line with our investment beliefs pertaining to the three forms of capital: finance, physical, and human.”

According to the pension plan, ESG factors are especially important considerations for infrastructure investments due to their long-term horizon, fixed location of physical assets, and societal impact.

APG’s Patrick Kanters, managing director of global real estate and infrastructure, added that the GRESB Infrastructure benchmark “provides insight, allows us to measure progress, and gives us the means to engage with our investee funds and companies.”

The initiative is expected to complete in early 2016.

Related:The Capitalists’ Guide to ESG & The ESG Takeover

Next Generation, Consulting Innovation Award Finalists Announced

Select members of CIO’s Forty Under Forty and Knowledge Brokers lists have been named finalists for the 2015 Industry Innovation Awards.

With the sixth annual Chief Investment Officer Industry Innovation Awards less than three months away, the most innovative asset owner and consultant finalists have been revealed.

The shortlist for this year’s Next Generation Award and the Consulting Award draws from the US, Europe, and Australia, representing the very best of those already recognized on the 2015 Forty Under Forty and Knowledge Brokers lists.

The Next Generation Award spotlights the asset owners of tomorrow, the emerging leaders in institutional investing. Last year—the first time we celebrated the younger generation at the Industry Innovation Awards—Conrad N. Hilton Foundation’s Randy Kim took home the crown.

This year’s finalists include Adele Gorrilla of Denison University, Leslie Lenzo of Advocate Health Care, and Ryan Bailey of Children’s Health System of Texas.

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The Consulting Award honors the most innovative and powerful gatekeepers of the industry. Eugene Podkaminer of Callan Associates won the award last year and this year’s nominees include his colleague Jim Callahan, Robert Gardner of Redington, and Fiona Trafford-Walker of Australia’s Frontier Advisors.

The winners of these categories will be announced at the sixth annual Industry Innovation Awards on December 3 at the New York Public Library.

Nominees are as follows:

The Next Generation Award

– Ryan Bailey (Children’s Health System of Texas)
– Evalinde Eelens (Mars)
– Brad Gilbert (Teacher Retirement System of Texas)
– Adele Gorrilla (Denison University)
– Ed Hetherington (University of North Carolina Management Company)
– Monica Lai (Pfizer)
– Leslie Lenzo (Advocate Health Care)
– Sarah Samuels (Massachusetts Pension Reserves Investment Management Board)
  

The Consulting Award

– Jim Callahan (Callan Associates)
– Greg Dowling (Fund Evaluation Group)
– Robert Gardner (Redington)
– Tim McCusker (NEPC)
– Rich Nuzum (Mercer)
– Robin Pellish (Rocaton Investment Advisors)
– Fiona Trafford-Walker (Frontier Advisors)
– Martijn Vos (Ortec Finance)

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