Second AP Fund publishes 2014/2015 Sustainability & Corporate Governance Report

Integrating sustainability into asset management is about factoring sustainability issues into analytical and decision processes. This also enables the Fund to reduce risk and increase its potential for increased return. The Fund believes that companies focused on long-term sustainability will also generate a solid return in the long term.

Today, the Second AP Fund publishes its Sustainability & Corporate Governance Report for the period 2014/2015. Features include the Fund’s report on the implementation of the PRI, a report on the Farmland Principles, a selection of the Fund’s sustainability goals and a description of the Fund’s progress in implementing sustainability into the investment process.

“The Funds broad focus is on making sustainability integral to the asset management process. Our vision is that sustainability shall become integral to all of the Fund’s analytical and decision processes. Areas we shall especially focus on are: climate, corporate governance, diversity and transparency/reporting. The Fund possesses extensive expertise and experience in these, having been engaged in these issues for a considerable period of time,” states Eva Halvarsson, CEO of the Second AP Fund.

The Second AP Fund invests about SEK 11 billion in assets/funds that pursue a business strategy based mainly on sustainability.

Climate issues – and climate change in particular – present enormous risks, as well as opportunities, for long-term investors like the Second AP Fund. Climate change is expected to have a major impact on long-term investment. The Second AP Fund is engaged in an ongoing project of fossil energy and financially-related climate risks and, during the year, among other things, this has resulted in a decision to no longer invest in 20 energy companies. During spring, the Fund was ranked eleventh in the world among investors according how well they manage climate risk in the portfolio.

“In-house efforts continue concerning the analysis, from a financial perspective, of the carbon-emission risks associated with our portfolio. This year’s agenda features an analysis of power-generating companies. During 2015, the Fund has actively lobbied investors to standardize the way the carbon footprint is measured,” says Eva Halvarsson.

See the Second AP Fund Sustainability & Corporate Governance Report, www.ap2.se.

For further details, please contact Eva Halvarsson, CEO of the Second Swedish National Pension Fund, on +46 31-704 29 00, or Ulrika Danielson, Head of Corporate Communications, on +46 31 704 29 29.