UNISON, the UK’s largest public services union, is calling on trustees and local government pension scheme reps, to use their funds to green the planet. Investing pension funds responsibly and in an environmentally friendly way will, says the union, have the double-benefit of protecting pension values in the long term, as well as looking after the planet.
As a first step they should sign up to the UN Principles of Responsible Investment (UNPRI) and the Carbon Disclosure Project*. This will mean gardeners, teaching assistants, home care staff and other public sector workers paying into a pension**, could be confident their funds were going towards environmentally and socially responsible investments.
Colin Meech, head of UNISON’s capital stewardship programme, said:
“Pensions funds