Responsible investing

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

1. Environmental, social and governance matters

3. BCI’s climate action plan

5. PRI reporting

2. The plan’s strategy to address climate risk

4. Principles for Responsible Investment

6. Collaboration

The path toward net zero

In 2020, the board approved a three-year strategic plan, prioritizing addressing climate risk to the investment portfolio. We committed to explore investing in a manner compatible with the Paris Agreement goal of keeping the global average temperature to well below 2 ºC above pre-industrial levels and to study the potential impacts of a sudden significant policy response.

Investment belief

Climate change is an investment opportunity and a long-term material systemic risk to the plan. Although the timing and extent of the effects of climate change are uncertain, actions to reduce greenhouse gas emissions through investor stewardship, the selection of assets, and advocating for appropriate public policies directly and indirectly benefit the plan.

Net-zero goal

Achieve a net-zero portfolio by 2050
Reduce the carbon intensity of our portfolio 55 per cent by 2030

Read Our path toward net zero by 2050 to learn how we’ll get there.

Climate actions

The board’s climate change actions also include:

Climate scenario analysis/modelling to understand climate change impacts on the portfolio
Measuring and quantifying carbon exposure
Supporting BCI in exploring sustainable investment opportunities (e.g., low carbon, green)
Advocating for carbon pricing
Educating trustees on climate change concepts and associated investment risks and opportunities

Disclosure
We were one of the first large pension plans in Canada to voluntarily report climate-related financial disclosures, starting in our 2019 Annual Report. We continue to report annually according to the recommendations of the Task Force on Climate-related Financial Disclosures (TCFD).

Disclosures are included in the plan’s Annual Report and explain:

The board’s oversight of climate-related risks and opportunities
Short-, medium- and long-term climate opportunities and risks
The process for identifying and assessing climate-related risks and the board’s process for managing these risks
The level of greenhouse gas emissions and the metrics used to assess the climate opportunities and risks

Task Force on Climate-related Financial Disclosures (TCFD)

In its work, the TCFD drew on member expertise, significant stakeholder engagement and existing climate-related disclosure regimes to develop a singular, accessible framework for climate-related financial disclosure. The recommendations are structured around four themes that represent core elements of how organizations operate: