Ontario Pension to Invest Nearly $17 Billion in Green Investments by 2030

The Healthcare of Ontario Pension Plan announced it intends to make C$23 billion ($16.8 billion) in green investments by the end of the decade as part of its strategy to get its portfolio to net-zero of greenhouse gas emissions by 2050.

In its recently released climate plan, the C$103 billion Canadian pension fund said its strategy is to decrease the size of its portfolio’s carbon footprint through real-world emissions reductions.

“The plan recognizes that climate change poses both risks and opportunities, and that managing these as part of the investment process is essential to our fiduciary responsibility,” a HOOPP release stated.

As part of its short-term climate targets, the pension fund is aiming to have 80% of its assets provide reported emissions by 2025 to offer a more accurate measurement of progress. It also said it expects to exclude new direct investments in private thermal coal and oil exploration and production companies, and to initiate Scope three portfolio emissions measurement, in less than three years.

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In addition to allocating C$23 billion in capital to green investments by 2030, the plan calls for reducing the portfolio’s carbon footprint by 32% compared with a 2021 baseline. It also said it expects that by 2030, at least half of its infrastructure and private equity portfolios will be covered by credible transition plans, and that it will have reduced its real estate portfolio’s emissions by 50% on an absolute basis through direct decarbonization efforts at its owned properties under its operational control.

“We will continually monitor, review and adjust our plan for changes in external factors, which can include regulatory changes,” HOOP declared in its report. “As we approach 2030, we will assess our progress against our 2030 targets as part of our preparation for the next five- and 10-year periods.” It added that its performance against the interim targets will determine how it is tracking toward its goal of reaching net zero by 2050.

As a founding member of Climate Engagement Canada, HOOPP said it is expected to disclose in line with the recommendations of the Task Force on Climate-related Financial Disclosures.

“Climate change is a global issue that requires collective action, including enhanced and standardized reporting of information by companies,” HOOPP CIO Michael Wissell said in a release.

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Tags: 2050, Canada, carbon footprint, Climate Change, climate plan, green investments, Healthcare of Ontario Pension Plan, HOOPP, Michael Wissell, Net Zero, Pension, Scope three emissions

A group of pension funds and institutional investor shareholders in Facebook parent company Meta Platforms Inc. have filed a shareholder derivative suit against the company’s directors and officers concerning the use of Meta’s platforms in sex trafficking and child exploitation.

The Employees’ Retirement System of Rhode Island sued in the Delaware Court of Chancery on March 8 and released a redacted version of the filing this week. The pension fund is joined in the suit by the Cleveland Bakers and Teamsters Pension Fund, the Kiwi Investment Management Wholesale Core Global Fund and the Kiwi Investment Management Global Quantitative Fund.

The suit names Mark Zuckerberg, Facebook’s executive chairman, CEO and controlling shareholder; Sheryl Sandberg, its former chief operating officer who still sits on the company’s board; 20 other board members and executives; and Meta Platforms Inc. as defendants.

Rhode Island General Treasurer James A. Diossa said in a Tuesday statement that the pension fund alleges that Meta and its senior executives and board members “breached their fiduciary duties with respect to the rampant and systemic sex trafficking, human trafficking, and child sexual exploitation flourishing on Meta’s social media platforms, including Facebook and Instagram.”

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“Meta’s executives and board members can no longer consciously fail to address the rampant sex trafficking, human trafficking, and child sexual exploitation that the complaint alleges frequently occurred on its platforms,” said Diossa in the statement. “We are filing this lawsuit to hold them accountable for their alleged breaches of fiduciary duty, the resulting damages to the company, and to ensure that Meta implements meaningful change to address the illegal conduct occurring on its platforms.”

The complaint states that in the “shareholder derivative action, Plaintiffs, on behalf of Meta, seek to recover for the harm sustained by the Company as a result of the breaches of
fiduciary duty by the Company’s directors and officers. “

Meta did not respond to a request for comment.

Tags: Cleveland Bakers and Teamsters Pension Fund, Employees’ Retirement System of Rhode Island, Facebook, Instagram, James A. Diossa, Kiwi Investment Management Global Quantitative Fund, Kiwi Investment Management Wholesale Core Global Fund, Mark Zuckerberg, Meta