Council pension fund continues to invest in tobacco and fossil fuelsCall for North Yorkshire Council to ‘step up’ fossil fuel divestments

Campaigners have called on North Yorkshire Council to “step up” its divestment from fossil fuel companies.

Fossil Free North Yorkshire, which was set up in 2020, has called on the authority to reinvest its pension fund into sustainable projects.

The fund receives contributions from staff at 160 firms, plus past and present public sector workers.

Campaigners said they had met the council’s pension fund committee on a number of occasions and welcomed a reduction in investments to about 1.8% of the total fund, but argued it still represented nearly £76m.

Read more:

Dr Margaret Jackson, from Fossil Free North Yorkshire, said the recent COP 28 meeting in Dubai had signalled a transition away from oil, gas and coal.

Local campaigners wrote to all North Yorkshire councillors calling on them to support the case for divestment by the council pension fund committee from fossil fuels and their reinvestment into sustainable projects.

Dr Jackson said:

“Although the outcome of the recent COP in UAE was felt to be disappointing by many, it did signal, with the ‘transition away from fossil fuels’, the beginning of the end of coal, oil and gas. 

“Pension funds and other investors should take note and move away from these investments before they become stranded.”

In response, Gary Fielding, treasurer of the North Yorkshire pension fund, said the fund had already committed investment in renewable projects.

He said:

“The North Yorkshire Pension Fund has its own responsible investment policy which sets out an approach to managing assets that take environmental, social and governance factors into account in investment decision-making and the role an investor plays as an active asset owner. 

“We are also working with our principal investment manager, Border to Coast Pensions Partnership, on developing targets and policies. As a shareholder of Border to Coast, we are aligned with their net zero target of 2050 or sooner. 

“Our pension fund has also committed further investment to the Borders to Coast Infrastructure Fund, which holds an ever-increasing range of renewable energy investments in the UK and abroad, which includes wind farm and solar power farms, geothermal energy plants and energy from waste facilities.”

Value of North Yorkshire pension fund secure following crisis, says council

North Yorkshire County County has said the value of its £4.9bn pension fund is secure.

It follows this week’s unprecedented move by the Bank of England to step in and calm markets after fears that some pension funds were at risk of collapse.

The bank ended up pledging to buy £65bn of government bonds, which many pension funds invest in, after their value plunged following last week’s government mini-budget.

To pay for retirement pensions, staff from Harrogate Borough Council and 30 other district, city and town councils in the county pay into the North Yorkshire Pension Fund through their salary.  The fund is administered by North Yorkshire County Council.

According to the pension fund’s latest annual report, the fund has £141m in government bonds, also called gilts.

However, the investment is worth just 3.1% of the total portfolio. The majority of the fund has been invested in shares and other financial products.

North Yorkshire Pension Fund treasurer Gary Fielding said:

“We are monitoring the current situation closely. Although the UK financial market and the value of sterling have been under pressure, this has had a very limited impact on the fund. 

“The investments are spread across the globe and in a range of assets classes, providing the fund with a high degree of resilience.”

Read more:

 

Campaigner demands council pension fund ‘immediately offloads’ fossil fuel investments

An environmentalist has told councillors the North Yorkshire Pension Fund should “immediately offload” its investments in fossil fuel firms.

The fund receives contributions from staff at 160 firms, plus past and present public sector workers, and is worth £4.9bn.

The Stray Ferret revealed in January that the fund holds over £70m in climate-damaging companies, such as Shell and BP.

Richard Tassell, of Fossil Free North Yorkshire, told a meeting of the fund’s committee at County Hall in Northallerton that the world has “just 30 months” to begin radical changes.

Mr Tassell, a former staff member of both York and North Yorkshire authorities, said although the fund was working to invest more in renewable energy firms, this was “an entirely inadequate response to the scale of the crisis we are facing”.

He told the committee:

“We are asking that the council actively and urgently consider divesting from fossil fuel investments currently held by our pension fund and seek reinvestments in renewable projects.

“The Ukrainian invasion by Russia has highlighted the precarious nature of western countries’ energy supplies and when set against the developments in renewables over the past five years to a point where this technology is cheaper than coal, gas and oil. We must move away from those fuels at pace.”

He called for the committee to set time-specific targets to end fossil fuel investments and consult with all the pension fund’s members.

Read more: 

A spokesman for the committee did not respond to either of the calls, but said getting rid of investments in fossil fuel firms immediately may exacerbate climate change.

The spokesman told the meeting the fund had been reducing its fossil fuel-related holdings in recent years and they now stood at less than 1%, which was “very low compared with just about every other local authority fund”.

He added:

“We have taken a view that we favour engagement over divestment from oil and gas companies. The reason for this is that we believe through engagement we can influence the direction of travel of these companies towards a low carbon economy.

“We also believe that if we were to sell the shares they would be more likely to be acquired by investors that would not have those responsible investment beliefs at their heart.”

He said the committee had been “quite ambitious” in terms of putting more money into low carbon investments and renewable investments.

Councillor John Weighell, the committee’s chairman, told Mr Tassell:

“I think the main difference between us may be not of the end result, but timing. We will get to the position that you want us to, but not as quickly as you would want us to.”

North Yorkshire pension scheme investments in Russia total £5m

Almost 97,000 people who have contributed to the North York and York local government pension scheme could see up to £5 million of the fund wiped out unless those managing it are able to recover investments they have made in Russia.

However, council bosses have emphasised that whether or not the investments in Russian companies can be retrieved when trading eventually resumes on Moscow’s stock exchange the £5 billion pension fund is in a particularly strong position.

The North Yorkshire and York Pension fund represents a tiny fraction of the £5 billion in shares British investors have trapped in Moscow’s stock market, which has remained closed since sweeping sanctions were launched against Russia in response to its invasion of Ukraine.

Officers overseeing the pension scheme said while it had no direct investments in Russia, some of the external fund managers the fund used had discretion to invest where they could generate the greatest returns for the former and current local authority employees and numerous other public, education and voluntary sector staff in the scheme.

They confirmed while the pension scheme had no holdings in states such as North Korea or Iran, some 0.1% of the investments were in Russia and due to China’s economic strength it was almost impossible to avoid having a significant amount of holdings on the Shanghai exchange if the pension fund was to grow.

The last decade has seen a turnaround in the fortunes of the North Yorkshire Pension Fund which has been described by council officers as “miraculous”, going from a funding level of just 35% to 129%, with a £1 billion surplus.

Read more: 

Officers said even with the loss of the Russian holdings the funding level would remain well above 128% funding level.

Despite this, opposition councillors have questioned why those managing the pension fund did not withdraw the Russian investments as the prospect of war mounted over several weeks.

Cllr Stuart Parsons, leader of the opposition on the county council, said it had been clear Russia was an unsuitable place to invest in since its invasion of Crimea in 2014, and those concerns had been heightened by Russia’s actions such as the Salisbury novichok posoinings.

He said many of the 97,000 people invested in the fund would recoil in horror at the thought of their contributions bolstering the Russian economy and regime.

While the pension fund’s managers already invest within parameters, it is understood some bosses overseeing the fund will examine whether it is possible to further restrict where and how the pension fund can be used in future.

Cllr John Weighell, who led the county council for 14 years and now chairs the Pension Fund Committee, said fund managers were instructed to go over and above ethical criteria, with a commitment to “responsible investments”.

He added the pension fund had a responsibility to generate returns for its contributors so councillors would never direct experts it employed about individual investments.

Asked why the Russian investments had not been withdrawn before the invasion, Cllr Weighell said the Russian action had not been foreseeable as there had not been such a conflict in Europe for many decades.

A spokesman for the North Yorkshire Pension Fund said it was working with fund managers and its investment advisers to determine the most appropriate action in the longer term.

He said: 

“We are saddened by and strongly condemn the invasion of Ukraine by Russia.  

“Given the current circumstances we have immediately suspended making any further investments in Russia, and continue to review our existing investments including our approach to exiting in due course as and when markets permit.”

£4.9bn North Yorkshire pension fund struggles to offload holdings in Russia

Managers of a pension fund run for North Yorkshire and York’s biggest employers as well as for a large number of staff working for a spectrum of private firms are struggling to offload indirect holdings in Russia, it has emerged.

A meeting of the North Yorkshire Pension Fund Committee heard it had some £4.9 billion of assets at the end of the year and liabilities of only £3.8 billion, leaving a surplus of over £1 billion.

Members were told that although the pension fund was “very healthy”, with a 129% funding level, about 0.1% of the fund related to Russian “indirect holdings through our managers”.

Council officers told the meeting:

“We are working with those pension fund managers and our advisors on the most appropriate course of action to take, but options are quite limited at the moment.

“One issue at the moment is that the Russian stock exchange is actually closed at the moment.”

The meeting also saw the pension fund, whose members range from teachers to security guards, heralded for efforts to ensure its investments help to tackle climate change.

Read more: 

Council officers said while investing in commodities such as oil, energy and metals, during the current period of high inflation was profitable, over the long-term such investments would not be pursued.

They said while the North Yorkshire Pension Fund has its own responsible investment policy that was reviewed annually, the authority had been working with one of its fund managers Border to Coast, one of the UK’s largest pension pools, on the development of its climate change policies.

Climate change

York councillor Christian Vassie welcomed the policy change, saying the pension fund clearly recognised the role that such pension funds had in the transition to a low carbon economy in the future.

He said while it was vital the fund continued to make money for its members, he was hopeful North Yorkshire Pension Fund would press home the importance of climate change in investment decisions.

Cllr Vassie said balancing responsibilities to ensure that people have a secure pension when they retire while ensuring that we all have somewhere to retire to.

He added: 

“This pension fund has a clear leadership role to move Border to Coast forward. There are a number of instances where they are showing less commitment than some would like.”

Exclusive: Council invests £20m in cancer-causing tobacco companies

A North Yorkshire County Council-controlled pension fund invests over £20m in two of the world’s largest tobacco companies, despite the council being in charge of public health and running its own quit smoking service.

The revelations come as part of a series of investigations by the Stray Ferret into controversial investments made by the North Yorkshire Pension Fund, which is controlled by the council.

You can click on the links to read our previous reports on how NYCC’s pension fund invests in fossil fuel companies and arms companies.

The Stray Ferret obtained a full list of the companies the pension fund invests in through a freedom of information request.

The NHS estimates smoking kills more than 1,000 people every year in North Yorkshire but the council’s pension fund holds £12.4m worth of shares in British American Tobacco and £8.9m in Phillip Morris.

Matt Walker, an NHS manager from Knaresborough who is also a Liberal Democrat campaigner, told the Stray Ferret he has seen first-hand the damage smoking has had on people’s health, including his own grandparents.

He said:

“If I was lucky enough to have a private pension then I certainly wouldn’t want it invested in tobacco companies. I don’t smoke for a good reason; I saw the painful premature death of my grandparents who both died within days of each other from smoking-related diseases.

“As someone who has worked in health locally for nearly two decades, I know that in North Yorkshire smoking continues to be the biggest preventable cause of ill health and early death.”

‘Live its values’

NYCC has a document called the North Yorkshire Tobacco Control Strategy for 2015-2025.

It says the council has a “proven record of success” in the provision of stop smoking services, with rates falling, in part thanks to its quit smoking service called Living Well Smokefree. The service is available to anyone aged from 12 and offers one-to-one help to quit.

Cllr Caroline Dickinson and LivingWell Smokefree team members.

The report says the county still has work to do, particularly with young people and those with mental health issues. It says:

“The impact of tobacco is felt most by the poorest in the county, not just on the smokers but also on their children and their communities. We must protect the health of future generations by ensuring smoking prevalence continues to fall.”

NHS manager Matt Walker called on the council to “live its values” and divest from its holdings in tobacco companies.

He added:

“The council also has smoking policies to protect the health and wellbeing of its staff. It’s important that any organisation lives its values. North Yorkshire County Council fails at the final hurdle as its pension fund holds over £20million in tobacco companies.”

‘Not an issue’

Harrogate Borough Council Conservative councillor Jim Clark has sat on the Pension Fund’s committee of councillors since 2001.

He told the Stray Ferret that he “doesn’t think there is an issue” with the council pension fund profiting from tobacco companies whilst at the same time being in charge of public health.

Cllr Clark pointed to the way tobacco giants such as British American Tobacco have diversified in recent years.

The companies now sell, what they market as, healthier alternatives to cigarettes, such as vapes and oral nicotine products.

Philip Morris’ chief executive Jacek Olczak said he hopes half of the company’s revenue will come from these smoke-free products by 2025.

Cllr Clark said:

“We know there’s a health issue with tobacco but some of these companies have other activities. It’s very difficult to get a company that deals in one activity now.

“We must remember, if we have shares in these companies, we can help to inform the debate.”

Responsible investment policy

As we have reported this week, the pension fund investments are managed by a private company called Border To Coast.

Government guidelines say fund managers can take ethical, social or environmental concerns into account when it invests, providing the fund’s finances do not suffer.

However, North Yorkshire’s responsible investment policy, last updated in July 2021, states that it will not implement an “exclusionary policy” against companies for ethical or social reasons.

It says:

“Whilst the Fund recognises that there is the potential for investment in certain sectors to cause harm, it will not implement an exclusionary policy against investment in any particular sector or company purely based on social, ethical or environmental reasons”.

Divesting from tobacco

The Greater Manchester Pension Fund, currently the largest local authority fund in the UK, divested from tobacco stocks in 2014.

Deborah Arnott, chief executive of the health charity ASH (Action on Smoking and Health) told the Stray Ferret that North Yorkshire should follow suit.

Ms Arnott said:

“Local authority pension funds have a legal duty to get the best deal for their pensioners, but that doesn’t mean they have to invest in tobacco companies.

“Greater Manchester, the largest fund in the Local Government Pension Scheme disinvested from tobacco stocks years ago, on the basis that the tobacco sector is relatively small as a proportion of world equity markets and the Fund’s investment managers’ views were that such exclusion was unlikely to have a material adverse impact on returns.

“What’s true for Greater Manchester’s pension fund is equally true for North Yorkshire.”

Gary Fielding, treasurer of North Yorkshire Pension Fund for North Yorkshire County Council, said: 

“The pension fund needs to get the balance right on responsible investment and ensuring funds are available to pay pensions without further call on local taxpayers

“Rather than divesting from companies, the fund believes active engagement gives it, in collaboration with other pension funds, greater influence in effecting change within companies.”

Do you pay into the North Yorkshire Pension Fund and have an opinion on our investigation? Contact thomas@thestrayferret.co.uk 

Exclusive: Council invests £15m in arms firms linked to deadly Yemen War

A North Yorkshire County Council pension fund invests £15m in arms companies that have built weapons for the deadly Saudi Arabia-led bombing campaign in Yemen.

The revelations come as part of a series of investigations by the Stray Ferret into controversial investments made by the North Yorkshire Pension Fund, which is controlled by the council.

The Stray Ferret obtained a full list of the companies the pension fund invests in through a freedom of information request.

The council’s pension fund is now facing renewed calls to divest from arms firms. However, its own responsible investment policy, last updated in July 2021, clearly states that it will not implement an “exclusionary policy” against companies that are deemed by some to be questionable.

It says:

“Whilst the Fund recognises that there is the potential for investment in certain sectors to cause harm, it will not implement an exclusionary policy against investment in any particular sector or company purely based on social, ethical or environmental reasons”.

Ethical questions for council

The fund has an investment worth £11m in the UK’s largest arms manufacturer BAE Systems.

Company reports analysed by the Campaign Against Arms Trade (CAAT) found BAE Systems, via the UK government, has sold at least £15bn worth of arms and services to the Saudi military since the Yemen conflict began in 2015.

According to UNICEF, over 10,000 children in Yemen have been killed in the conflict, which is between a Saudi-backed Sunni group and Shia Muslims.

Professor Anna Stavrianakis is an expert on the global arms trade and is a Professor of International Relations at the University of Sussex. She told the Stray Ferret the pension fund’s investment in BAE Systems raises ethical questions for NYCC.

She said:

“The basic ethical premise of investment is that you invest now to secure a better future for yourself. If you do that by investing funds in a company that in an extremely direct way has contributed to the deaths of other people, it is not that much of a stretch to say there’s an ethical issue there.

“If I was a council employee I would be asking where is my money being invested, and at whose expense is my future being secured? They can be painful questions to answer.”

‘Death and destruction’

North Yorkshire Pension Fund also holds £3.7m in Raytheon Technologies, an American defence company that manufacturers the controversial Paveway bomb.

Fragments of the bomb were found following a 2019 Saudi-led air strike in Yemen that killed six civilians, including three children.

A Paveway bomb being dropped. Credit – Raytheon

In 2019, the European Center for Constitutional and Human Rights (ECCHR) submitted a 300-page document accusing European arms executives at firms, including BAE and Raytheon, of “aiding and abetting” alleged war crimes in Yemen by the Saudi-led coalition.

Kirsten Bayes from the Campaign Against Arms Trade, called on North Yorkshire County Council to reconsider its pension fund’s investments into arms companies.

As well as BAE Systems and Raytheon, the pension fund also invests £7.3m in Safran and £6.9m in Rolls Royce, which are both major manufacturers of military equipment.

Ms Bayes said:

“Arms companies make their money from death and destruction. Council tax payers and pensioners in North Yorkshire will be shocked to learn that their funds are invested so heavily in such a violent industry.

“We would call on the trustees of the pension fund to reconsider their investments in weapons makers. Their money could instead be helping to create new, green jobs in the high growth industries of the future. That would be a better deal for everyone.”

Councillor defends the investment

Harrogate Borough Council Conservative councillor Jim Clark has sat on the Pension Fund’s committee of councillors since 2001 after a career in finance. He represents all the district councils in North Yorkshire.

He defended the investment in BAE Systems when asked by the Stray Ferret. He said the £11m holding represents a “very, very small” part of the fund’s total investments and that the fund’s main responsibility is to maximise its value, although he said “various people have different views on that”.

Cllr Jim Clark

Cllr Clark believes by remaining as an investor in companies that are deemed by some to be controversial, it can use its power to influence decision-making.

He said:

“Theres no point saying ‘just sell the shares’. If you have no shares you have no way of influencing decisions made, people tend to forget that when they make comments that haven’t been properly thought through.

“Successful companies will always listen to their shareholders. It’s very important that they do.”

Cllr Clark was unable to provide evidence of how the North Yorkshire Pension Fund has influenced decision-making at BAE Systems.

BAE Systems and council respond

The Stray Ferret approached both BAE Systems and Raytheon for comment.

A BAE Systems spokesperson said:

“We provide defence equipment, training and support under government to government agreements between the UK and the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia.‎ We comply with all relevant export control laws and regulations in the countries in which we operate and our activities are subject to UK government approval and oversight.”

Gary Fielding, treasurer of North Yorkshire Pension Fund for North Yorkshire County Council, said: 

“The pension fund needs to get the balance right on responsible investment and ensuring funds are available to pay pensions without further call on local taxpayers.

“Rather than divesting from companies, the fund believes active engagement gives it, in collaboration with other pension funds, greater influence in effecting change within companies”.

In the final part of our investigation into the council’s pension fund, we reveal it holds over £20m in cancer-causing tobacco companies despite the council being in charge of public health.

Exclusive: Council invests £70m into climate-damaging fossil fuel companies

A North Yorkshire County Council-controlled pension fund invests millions into fossil fuel companies whilst the council promotes carbon reduction policies, the Stray Ferret can exclusively report.

Over the last two years, the council launched its “Beyond Carbon” plan that sets a target date of 2030 to reach net-zero neutrality.

It has also been instrumental in developing sustainable travel schemes in Harrogate such as the Otley Road Cycle Path, the Station Gateway and the Beech Grove Low Traffic Neighbourhood.

But away from the public gaze, the council is investing millions in fossil fuel companies with a pension funding policy that is directly at odds with its public messaging and sustainable transport plans.

What is a pension fund?

Staff from Harrogate Borough Council and 30 other district, city and town councils in the county pay into the North Yorkshire Pension Fund through their salary. The fund is administered by NYCC.

The council is legally obliged to invest cash from its pension fund after contributions have been collected and pensions have been paid.

It chooses to invest this into the stock market and its entire portfolio is worth over £2.7bn.

The Stray Ferret obtained a full list of the companies the pension fund invests in through a freedom of information request.

The fund has sizeable holdings in 11 fossil fuel companies

The fund has a sizeable £7m holding in oil firm Shell and £5.5m in BP, which Greenpeace has called “climate criminals” due to its contribution to climate change.

Investments also include £5m with Occidental Petroleum, which operates oil drilling rigs in the United States, Canada and Chile.

The investments mean thousands of council staff will have their retirements part-funded by the companies.

“Hypocritical”

Conservative county councillor Don Mackenzie is in charge of highways at the council and has been the public face of the various active travel schemes.

He has been quoted calling climate change a “global priority” and has repeatedly emphasised the need to move away from transport that is powered by fossil fuels.

But NYCC is now facing accusations of hypocrisy due to its massive investments into the very companies that it is trying to guide residents away from.

NYCC is behind the Beech Grove Low Traffic Neighbourhood

Andy Rickard, chair of Harrogate and District Green Party told the Stray Ferret he was “angry and frustrated” by the council’s “hypocritical” investments. He called on NYCC to divest from fossil fuel companies immediately.

He said:

“It’s hypocritical of them to produce carbon reduction strategies at the same same time as investing in companies that cause damage to the environment.”

York Liberal Democrat councillor Christian Vassie is one of 11 councillors that sit on the North Yorkshire pension fund committee. He told the Stray Ferret that “we have to sort this out”.

He said:

“People are horrified of idea their long term future is being safeguarded by [some of these companies].”

How the fund works

The pension fund is not managed directly by North Yorkshire County Council.

Instead, a private company called Border To Coast acts as the manager of the fund.

Government guidelines say council pension fund managers can take ethical, social or environmental concerns into account when it invests, providing the fund’s finances do not suffer.

However, the North Yorkshire Pension Fund’s responsible investment policy, last updated in July 2021, clearly states that it will not implement an “exclusionary policy” against companies that damage the environment.

It says:

“Whilst the Fund recognises that there is the potential for investment in certain sectors to cause harm, it will not implement an exclusionary policy against investment in any particular sector or company purely based on social, ethical or environmental reasons”.

‘Council must show courage’

Cllr Vassie joined the pension fund committee in July 2020. He also chairs York’s climate change policy and scrutiny committee.

He said he has tried to steer the fund towards greener companies, but because the primary focus of the fund is to make money, he said the fund has to be presented with alternatives that will offer at least the same financial return.

York Liberal Democrat councillor Christian Vassie

A study published ahead of the COP26 climate summit in November suggested half of the world’s fossil fuel investments could become worthless by the mid-2030s due to the transition towards net-zero.

Cllr Vassie said the pension fund needs to have “the courage of its convictions” to leave fossil fuel investments behind in favour of greener alternatives.

He warned if they don’t, the council could be left lumbered with “stranded assets”.

Addressing climate change

North Yorkshire is not alone in investing its pension fund into fossil fuels. Friends of the Earth says £10bn is invested in total by UK local authorities.

However, several councils, including Luton Borough Council and Southwark Council, have recently passed motions to set a firm date for its pension fund to divest from fossil fuels.

David Houlgate, Harrogate branch secretary at UNISON, the union that represents staff at Harrogate Borough Council and North Yorkshire County Council, told the Stray Ferret the union has asked the Pension Fund to divest from its investments in fossil fuels.

He said it must then secure suitable alternative investments that address climate change whilst protecting the value of the fund.

Mr Houlgate added:

“UNISON is only able to try and influence the Pension Fund’s approach – we do not have the final say on these matters.”

Divest from fossil fuels

Cllr Vassie said he hopes North Yorkshire will divest from fossil fuels within the next five years, but the pension fund’s own climate change policy stops well short of making any firm commitment to divest.

It says:

“Once the Fund divests, its ability to influence both the short term and long-term direction of individual companies is severely curtailed.

“If the Fund divested from the oil and gas or other sectors with heavy carbon footprints, then it would not reduce emissions (or climate change) but rather simply shift the emissions onto another investor who may be less engaged and therefore reduce the pressure on such companies to change.

“[The Fund] considers active engagement with companies a more productive approach to effecting change.”

A BP oil drilling rig in the Gulf of Mexico. Credit – BP

For campaigners like Andrew Rickard from the Harrogate and District Green Party, progress is not coming quick enough.

He said there is “little evidence” to support the fund’s claim that its “active engagement” has had any effect whatsoever on the way fossil fuel companies operate.

He added:

“Divesting from fossil fuels is the moral and right thing to do, it’s also the sensible thing to do.”

Council’s response

Gary Fielding, Treasurer of North Yorkshire Pension Fund for North Yorkshire County Council, said: 

“The Pension Fund Committee recognises climate change as a significant financial risk and this is detailed in its Responsible Investment Policy.

“The policy sets out an approach to managing assets that takes environmental, social and governance factors into account in investment decision-making and in the role an investor plays as an asset owner. 

“The pension fund’s holdings in oil and gas companies have reduced significantly in recent years.

“At the same time, the fund has committed further funds to the Borders to Coast Infrastructure Fund, which holds an ever-increasing range of renewable energy investments in the UK and abroad, including wind farms and solar power farms, geothermal energy plants and energy from waste facilities.

“The pension fund also needs to get the balance right on responsible investment and ensuring funds are available to pay pensions without further call on local taxpayers

“Rather than divesting from companies, the fund believes active engagement gives it, in collaboration with other pension funds, greater influence in effecting change within companies, such as those in the oil and gas sectors or others with heavy carbon footprints.”

Tomorrow, we reveal how the Pension Fund invests £15m in arms companies that have built weapons for the controversial Saudi Arabia-led bombing campaign in Yemen, killing thousands of civilians.