MJ Hudson, along with the other members of the Investment Consultants Sustainability Working Group (ICSWG), has launched a guide to provide support to trustees looking to assess the climate competency of investment consultants. Formed in 2020, The ICSWG aims to support and accelerate sustainable investment initiatives in the UK.
ShareAction, The Pensions Regulator and the PRI all collaborated with ICSWG on the guide. The guide is a practical response to the 2020 Pensions Climate Risk Industry Group (PCRIG) consultation, which recommended that pension scheme trustees require their investment consultants and asset managers to demonstrate climate competence.
The guide sets out five climate competency criteria, each with best practice indicators, to measure investment consultants against. These are:
- Firmwide climate expertise and commitment
- Individual consultant climate expertise
- Tools and software (to support climate-related risk assessment and monitoring)
- Thought leadership and policy advocacy
- Assessment of investment managers and engagement with them
Joanne Job, Managing Director and Head of Research of MJ Hudson’s Investment Advisory division, said:
“All of us - asset managers, asset owners and investment consultants - have a key role to play in tackling the climate change issue in a timely manner. We expect that climate resilience will be given greater importance going forward in asset allocation and manager selection exercises in order to achieve real progress and the framework developed by the Investment Consultants Sustainability Working Group is a great step in that direction.”
The guide is available to view and download, here.