How to ensure your employee pension aligns with your values.

AECB member Green Building Store is teaming up with ShareAction and Client Earth to tackle the investments made by its employee pension fund as a way of helping the transition towards a low carbon economy. As pensions are invested in the companies that make up the major indexes such as the FTSE 100, much of it will be invested in carbon intensive industries. As well as objecting to this on ethical grounds, it’s also becoming increasingly clear that this also creates a huge financial risk, and puts our pension savings at risk. Since the Paris Agreement in 2015 signalled the global intention to keep temperature rises well below 2 degrees, research has come in thick and fast on the financial impact this will have on investments. In particular, long-term investments such as those held by pension funds, which some figures suggest could reduce by as much as 45% in value if steps aren’t taken to manage the financial risks associated with climate change.

So Green Building Store has decided to look into this further and find out more about its pension. As well as finding out where the money goes, they will be writing to their provider – the People’s Pension – highlighting the financial risks associated with climate change, and trying to influence the way the pension fund invests.

Green Building Store would love to collaborate with other AECB members to build a movement of employers within our sector who want to make sure their employee pensions aligns with their values. Green Building Store has teamed up with Jessica Clark at ShareAction, so please contact her at Jessica.clark@shareaction.org to find out where your pension money is invested and to use your #PensionPower to take action on climate change.