By Susan G. Seller
Source: Benefits Canada
The images of floods, forest fires and heat waves over the past few years is putting climate change front of mind for many, including pension plan sponsors and administrators.
It’s become increasingly clear that environmental, social and governance factors are emerging as an important area of concern for pension plan administrators and, by extension, the boards and pension committees that exercise oversight over the investment of the assets of employer-sponsored pension plans.
Ontario is currently the only Canadian jurisdiction with a statutorily-mandated ESG disclosure requirement — it requires the statement of investment policies and procedures for the pension plan to disclose whether ESG factors are incorporated into the plan’s investment strategy and, if so, how it’s done.