Europe’s Largest Pension Fund Vows to Be Climate Neutral by 2050

Dutch pension fund Stichting Pensioenfonds ABP, Europe’s largest pension fund with €466 billion ($514.6 billion) in assets, has unveiled a plan to cut its equity portfolio’s 2015 CO2 emissions levels by 40% by 2025, and become entirely “climate neutral” by 2050.

To help achieve its goals ABP will phase out investments in coal mines and tar sands, and said that within 10 years it will no longer be invested in coal for electricity producers in Organization for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD) countries.

“We are sticking our neck out by setting goals for 2050 and 2030. With our previous sustainability plan, we did not dare to look further than five years,” Corien Wortmann-Kool, CEO of ABP, said in an interview with Dutch newspaper de Volkskrant. “So, this is not a five-year plan, but a 30-year plan. I think that makes us a real forerunner.”

Wortmann-Kool said the fund will provide an update on the progress of its plan in 2022 to “see if any tightening is required.”

Want the latest institutional investment industry news and insights? Sign up for CIO newsletters. 

The fund sees three major transitions in the coming years that are crucial for companies to be able to create long-term value:

The need to transition to new energy generation and renewable energy sources.

Preservation of natural resources in connection with increasing scarcity of resources and food, and the need to deal with natural resources differently.

The digitization of society, in which technology is playing an increasingly important role.

ABP said that by 2050 the global economy must be climate neutral, and that energy must be affordable for everyone. To help achieve this goal, the fund said that it is reducing its investments in coal mines with sales of more than 30% and tar sands with sales of more than 20%. It is also establishing additional inclusion criteria to better assess companies’ climate change responses. It will invest €15 billion in sustainable and affordable energy, for example, through investments in green bonds.

ABP said that by 2025 it plans to invest more in companies with circular business models and other innovative solutions for food and raw material shortages. It will double its real estate investments that have a “green building certificate,” and establish criteria to assess companies for demonstrably more efficient, sustainable, and socially responsible use of natural resources.

Besides climate change, ABP will focus more on human rights.

“In 2050 all companies must demonstrably respect human rights,” said ABP. “We will be addressing companies more and more often about this. This means that companies must identify, prevent and address human rights risks.”

ABP does not invest in producers of weapons that are prohibited under international treaties signed by the Netherlands. This applies specifically to companies involved in making cluster bombs, land mines, and chemical and biological weapons. From 2019, ABP no longer invests in tobacco companies, and companies involved in the production of nuclear weapons. It also does not invest in government bonds of countries subject to a binding arms embargo from the European Union or UN Security Council.

ABP Comes Closer to Reaching Sustainability Goals

Dutch Pension Fund ABP Loses 2.3% in 2018 After Rough Q4

Tags: ABP, climate, Climate Change, climate neutral, Corien Wortmann-Kool, Dutch, Pension Funds, Stichting Pensioenfonds ABP, Sustainability

A class action lawsuit accuses Norway-based internet browser company Opera Limited of offering documents for its IPO that contained “materially false and misleading statements” about the company’s business and operational and compliance policies.

Opera completed its IPO in August 2018, issuing 9.6 million American Depository Shares (ADS) priced at $12 per share, raising approximately $115.2 million in gross proceeds. The complaint alleges, however, the IPO documents were “negligently prepared” and as a result contained “untrue statements of material fact.”

The company provides mobile and personal computer web browser applications, and in recent years has increased investments in fintech businesses. It also provides mobile loan and financing applications, which are offered on Google’s Play Store, as downloadable applications.

Specifically, the complaint accuses Opera of significantly overstating the sustainable growth and market opportunity for its browser applications. It also said the company failed to disclose that it controlled loan services applications and/or businesses that “relied on predatory lending practices.” The lawsuit says that this information, once revealed, was likely to have a material negative impact on Opera’s financial prospects.

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

The lawsuit, which was filed in the Southern District of New York, cited a Jan. 16 report from Hindenburg Research that said Opera’s browser business was in decline and that its cash flow is deteriorating. It also said that Opera’s short-term loan business appears to be in “open, flagrant violation” of the Google Play Store’s policies on short-term and misleading lending apps.

“Given that the vast majority of Opera’s loans are disbursed through Android apps, we think this entire line of business is at risk of disappearing or being severely curtailed when Google notices and ultimately takes corrective action,” said the report. It also said that “Opera has exhibited a troubling pattern of raising large amounts of cash … and then directing portions of it to entities owned or influenced by its chairman/CEO through a slew of questionable related-party transactions.”

Hindenburg gave Opera a 12-month price target of $2.60, which represented a “70% downside.” After the report was issued Opera’s stock price fell $1.69 per share, or 18.74%, to close at $7.33 per share on Jan. 16.

The following day Opera issued a statement that said it “believes that the report contains numerous errors, unsubstantiated statements, and misleading conclusions and interpretations regarding the business of and events relating to the company.”

Opera said it had recently launched and scaled multiple new businesses and has “continued to post strong financial results and intends to continue leveraging its well-known brand and large user base of more than 350 million users for additional growth.” It added that it “remains committed to maintaining high standards of corporate governance and constantly evolving our products, practices and governance.”

You’re out of free articles!!

Don’t leave before subscribing!