Home > News > Risk > Canada Pension Plan Investment Board to Issue Green Bonds
Risk

Canada Pension Plan Investment Board to Issue Green Bonds

The ESG-related securities will contribute to the fund’s $2.3 billion renewable energy investment plans.

By Chris Butera

Canada’s largest pension fund is about to issue its first green bond, which will provide additional funding for its eco-friendly energy investments.

Based in Toronto, the $356 billion Canada Pension Plan Investment Board ((CPPIB) is planning to invest more than $2.3 billion in the renewable energy sector, in line with the low-carbon initiative many institutional investors are participating in. The fund says it is the first pension program to issue this type of bond.

Green bonds support environmental, social, and governance (ESG) projects, such as climate change-related investments. ESG bonds are tax exempt and can also provide tax credits. To qualify for “green” status, the bonds must be verified by a third party, such as the Climate Bond Standard Board. The Canada pension plan is working with the Center for International Climate Research for second opinions on green bond qualifications.

Green bonds have been around since 2007, and have risen in popularity with the increase in environmental awareness campaigns.

Never miss a story — sign up for CIO newsletters to stay up-to-date on the latest institutional investment industry news.

The Canadian pension board will invest green bond proceeds into renewable energy, sustainable water and wastewater management, and green buildings (designed and constructed around preserving our natural environment).

The board invests on behalf of the Canada Pension Plan, which covers some 20 million contributing workers and beneficiaries.

Poul Winslow, the fund’s senior managing director and global head of capital markets and factor investing, called the green bond issuance “a logical next step to [the] CPPIB’s investment-focused approach to climate change,” adding that the capital raised will help support the fund and its future success.

All Canadian green bonds will be issued on a private placement basis. The investment board did not specify when it will begin the issuance of the bonds.

Tags: , , ,

Home > News > Regulation > Recruitment Firm Staff Posed as Temps to Opt Workers Out of Pensions
Regulation

Recruitment Firm Staff Posed as Temps to Opt Workers Out of Pensions

TPR says the company tried to deny workers’ pensions to avoid benefits payments.

By Michael Katz

Senior staff at UK recruitment firm Workchain have pleaded guilty to impersonating temporary workers in order to opt them out of the company’s pension plan, according to The Pensions Regulator (TPR).

TPR said Workchain owners and directors Phil Tong and Adam Hinkley encouraged five senior employees to get the temporary workers out of the pension so the company could avoid having to make payments on their behalf. It also said financial controller Hannah Armson, human resources and compliance officer Lisa Neal, and branch managers Martin West, Robert Tomlinson, and Andrew Thorpe conspired to opt workers out of the National Employment Savings Trust (NEST) pension using its online system.

“Workchain’s directors saw denying their temporary workers pensions as a quick and easy way to save the company money,” Darren Ryder, TPR’s director of automatic enrollment, said in a release. “Both they and their senior staff thought nothing of misusing NEST’s online portal. Thanks to the vigilance of NEST, their attempt to cheat the automatic enrolment system failed.”

TPR, along with the Employment Agency Standards Inspectorate, Derbyshire Constabulary and Nottinghamshire Constabulary launched a joint investigation into Derby-based Workchain after NEST reported concerns about Workchain to TPR in May 2014. NEST is a defined contribution workplace pension that was established to facilitate automatic enrollment as part of the government’s workplace pension reforms under the Pensions Act 2008.

For more stories like this, sign up for the CIO Alert newsletter.

TPR prosecuted Workchain, the two directors, and five senior employees for unauthorized access to computer data, contrary to section 1(1) of the Computer Misuse Act 1990. TPR said it is the first time the regulator has launched prosecutions for the offense.

All of the defendants pleaded guilty to the offense when they appeared at Derby Magistrates’ Court. The judge committed the case to Derby Crown Court for a sentencing hearing on June 28.

A conviction for computer misuse carries a maximum sentence of six months’ imprisonment, and/or an unlimited fine in a magistrates’ court, and two years’ imprisonment, and/or an unlimited fine if the case is committed to the Crown Court.

“Automatic enrolment is not an option,” said Ryder. “It’s the law and the law is clear—no one can opt a worker out of a pension scheme, even if the worker agrees. Those who try to avoid their pension responsibilities in this way face prosecution.”

Tags: , , , , ,

«