17 November 2021 - Pensions for Purpose Pension Fund Awards 2021

Pensions for Purpose is delighted to announce the winners of its inaugural pension fund awards in the areas of impact investing, social impact and Paris alignment.

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Four categories of award were presented to pension funds:

  • Impact Investing Adopter Award – judged by Earth Capital and the Impact Investing Institute
  • Social Impact Award – judged by Big Society Capital and Pensions for Purpose
  • Paris Alignment Award – Best Climate Change Member Communication – judged by Make My Money Matter and Pensions for Purpose
  • Paris Alignment Award – Best Climate Governance and Strategy Statement – judged by Make My Money Matter and Pensions for Purpose

The winners were:

Impact Investing Adopter Award
South Yorkshire Pensions Authority

Judges’ feedback - “This was the best submission in my view. The adoption of a clear net-zero target is ambitious but impressive. There is a clear focus on particular SDGs. The engagement strategy is work in progress as is their impact measurement approach, but the timelines look good.” 

Social Impact Award
Cushon

Judges' feedback - "The winner of this award has demonstrated the most complete integration of social impact with:

  • a stated social impact objective included within their broader sustainable investment strategy.
  • clear structure to their asset allocation, which includes private markets where we believe the most social impact can be achieved.
  • a private market allocation that seeks to invest across a range of products including private debt, microfinance and social housing to achieve social impact at multiple levels.
  • an investment case study that demonstrated it was the overwhelming social need that created the lens for investment. This followed through into objective setting and the portfolio implementation strategy."

Paris Alignment Award – Best Climate Change Member Communication
TfL Pension Fund

Judges' feedback - "The judges were impressed by the engaging case studies on where the fund invested. There was excellent context on fiduciary duty and work to date, given regulatory changes. There was a substantial section on engagement in relation to climate and a good summary of the net-zero commitment."

Paris Alignment Award – Best Climate Governance and Strategy Statement
Brunel Pension Partnership

Judges’ feedback - “Good articulation of the reason to act, what Brunel are doing and the objectives for each activity.  Framed as a high-level policy allowing implementation to adapt as data and metrics evolve and accompanied by a robust annual reporting framework.”

To see who was nominated for the awards please click on the button below. To see the full pre-event brochure, please click here.

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