Responsible investing

Environmental, social and governance issues are key to the board’s investment approach.

Environmental, social and governance matters

Companies with strong environmental, social and governance (ESG) practices are better positioned to generate long-term value for investors than similar companies with less favourable practices. For this reason, BCI, as the board’s investment agent, integrates ESG considerations into its investment analysis, decisions, and processes. This helps ensure the plan fulfills its legal obligation to act in the best financial interest of all plan beneficiaries.

What are some of the key ESG factors?

• Environmental factors include systemic risks such as climate change, as well as how individual companies affect air and water pollution, carbon emissions, deforestation and energy efficiency
• Social factors include equity, human rights, labour standards, and workplace health and safety
• Governance factors can mean board compensation and structure, diversity, and transparency and disclosure

Influencing positive change

The board believes engagement can positively influence corporate behaviour. The board supports BCI’s ongoing engagement as a way for the plan to address risks of climate change and achieve a net-zero aligned portfolio. The goal is to apply influence with ESG factors in mind and show what the plan expects from the companies it is invested in.

Learn more about BCI’s approach to engagement in "Driving to net zero through our influence”. This article outlines why BCI believes engagement, and not divestment, is the best way to achieve net zero. You can read a summary of the key points below or access the full article using the link in the related documents sidebar.

Key highlights from "Driving to net zero through our influence":

• BCI believes engagement is the most effective tool to address climate change risks and drive tangible progress towards global net zero by 2050.
• Divestment occurs when investors sell off all ownership of a particular company or sector for ethical or other reasons. For example, divesting from global energy companies in response to climate change.
• BCI believes divestment simply transfers ownership to another investor.
• In the context of achieving global net zero, divestment may reduce emissions within a portfolio but may do little to reduce global emissions.
• As long as BCI is invested in these companies, it can engage and advocate for business decisions that will reduce emissions to help improve long-term performance of the investment.
• Climate change is one of BCI’s top engagement priorities. By investing in and engaging with high-emitting companies, BCI is making tangible contributions toward the global goal of achieving net zero by 2050.