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As the UK’s largest long-term savings and retirement business we are responsible for managing around £292 billion of assets on behalf of our c.12 million customers. Our customers and shareholders trust us to reflect their priorities in how we invest.
That means keeping their money safe and providing them with strong long-term financial returns, while using our scale to play our part in aiming to deliver a better, more secure future. That is why we integrate environmental, social and governance issues into our investment decision making process.
We are committed to decarbonising our investment portfolio and achieving net zero by 2050. We do this by ensuring the effective stewardship of our assets and investing in climate solutions to optimise value for our customers and reduce their exposure to climate risk.
We will reduce the carbon intensity of our listed equity and credit assets by 25% where we can exercise control and influence
We will cut the carbon intensity of all assets where we can exercise control and influence by at least 50%
We are committed to achieving net zero in our investment portfolio
We continue to build, refine and share our net zero plans, considering the evolving landscape and the latest guidance. While the journey ahead is by no means a straightforward one, we are taking action now and helping to create a more sustainable future.
Our approach to integrating ESG considerations is aligned to our position as an asset owner with fiduciary duty; with most investment management activities delegated to a variety of asset management partners. Our approach applies to Phoenix Group's investment portfolios across our product ranges, which operate under Phoenix Life, Standard Life, Reassure and SunLife brands, and wherever we have the ability to set the investment strategy or investment solutions.
Our approach for assets where we do not have the ability to set or influence the investment strategy and investment guidelines, for instance where our customers invest in externally managed collectives, can be accessed here.
Our approach to sustainable investment is in line with our current sustainability vision. It will be reviewed and refreshed regularly as our sustainability philosophy and overall strategic direction evolves.
We are a signatory to the UN Principles for Responsible Investment (‘PRI’) and are continuing to embed its six principles in our approach to ESG integration.
While our preference will always be to engage in constructive dialogue with our investee companies to help improve their performance on ESG factors, we accept that this might not always be possible or appropriate. This could be due to the nature of their business or because they fail to meet our expectations. At present, we have implemented investment exclusions in five key areas across all assets where we have direct control or influence of the investment mandate or solution:
The excluded sectors and thresholds applied are periodically reviewed.
1Our threshold for exclusion is 20% of revenues from this source, and a waiver is adopted where companies have between 20-30% of revenues from this source and have Paris-aligned science-based targets approved by the SBTi.
Our definition of stewardship embraces the UK Financial Reporting Council (‘FRC’)’s definition and includes:
While we ordinarily conduct dialogue with investee companies through our asset management partners, we also undertake direct engagements with corporate representatives conducted by members of our Stewardship team and join collaborative engagements with other investors.
Phoenix Group has been a signatory to the UK Stewardship Code since August 2023.
The new UK Government’s Clean Power 2030 Action Plan requires a massive build-out of electrical grid infrastructure, from generation assets to the transmission network and distribution networks to households and businesses across the country. This requires close coordination with National Grid plc, which owns and operates the UK’s national electricity distribution and transmission grid, and for the company to have a requisite strategy and investment plan in place to help deliver those targets and its own decarbonisation milestones.
The company has been engaged by the CA100+ and a key area for discussion is an improvement on its Transition Plan reporting. For instance, there was a need for clarity over the company’s capital allocation plan and to better understand how the company’s investments will lead to future decarbonisation of the nation’s electricity grid.
National Grid released its latest Climate Transition Plan in 2024. The new plan is well aligned with the Transition Plan Taskforce guidance for the utilities sector. As a result, it presents an improved articulation of the investment story behind National Grid’s net zero strategy, and how the company plans to invest and generate returns between its UK and sizeable US business.
Outcomes:
Next steps:
In March 2024, through Advance, we met Enel SpA to discuss the company’s operations in Colombia. We met representatives of Investor Relations and company’s human rights team. During the call the company covered the topic of Indigenous Peoples and community engagement in two projects in Colombia, Windpeshi in La Guajira and El Quimbo in La Hulia.
Enel went through both projects to demonstrate how they carry out community consultations and particular circumstances of this process for Colombia. For Windpeshi, Enel states that they carried out consultations with Indigenous Peoples in the area in accordance with the company’s human rights policy and the Colombian government’s requirements. However, the project has now been suspended due to lack of conditions to guarantee the construction pace of the project. Enel is re-engaging with affected stakeholders to ensure a responsible exit from the project and the area.
For El Quimbo, Enel has been engaging with the communities that have been relocated due to the project. The system for engagement for this project differs to that of Windpeshi, as this project started prior to the UNGPs being enacted. So, due diligence for this project happened at the same time as grievances were identified. Enel is aiming to improve relocation activities and continuity of livelihoods prior the project, mostly in agriculture and livestock.
OUTCOMES and NEXT STEPS:
We will continue the engagement with Enel in 2025 to follow up on the different actions referenced by the company around responsible exit and remediation activities, including:
