The Pension Insurance Corporation (PIC) has shared its second Task Force on Climate-related Financial Disclosures (TCFD) report, emphasising the need for increased data transparency despite the "strong progress" made over the past year.

The report showed that PIC has made progress in relation to a number of its climate targets, revealing that 70 per cent of PIC’s public corporate credit portfolio, where data is available, is aligned to a trajectory of 2 degrees C, or below, up from 60 per cent in 2021.

In addition to this, PIC revealed that the weighted average carbon intensity of its investment portfolio has fallen by 14 per cent since 2021, totalling 175 tons CO2e, which covers 78 per cent of its investment portfolio by value.

The insurer also reiterated its commitment to decreasing investment carbon intensity by 50 per cent by 2030, based on a 2019 baseline.

However, the report also highlighted some challenges surrounding climate reporting, particularly around data.

The report noted that whilst the evolving landscape has brought with it increased access to transparent public information and data, the industry still faces "significant data limitations" when sourcing information from privately sourced debt markets.

PIC also emphasised that its own reporting is reliant on investee companies accurately sharing their emission calculations, arguing that high quality data is essential to ensuring emissions are accurately calculated.

Given this, it backed calls for increased data transparency and encouraged others to do the same, revealing, for instance, that it has continued to request that Housing Associations disclose all data in accordance with the voluntary Good Economy Sustainability Reporting Standards for Social Housing.

Commenting on the report more broadly, PIC chief strategy officer, Simon Abel, stated: “Climate change is an issue that is of real importance to us all. Reporting against TCFD, is in line with our purpose as we seek to manage climate risk ever more closely.

"PIC invests for the long-term in assets that also deliver social value and particularly in projects the UK desperately needs.

“For the second year running our TCFD report reinforces our ongoing transparency to our strategy, governance, risk management processes and key metrics for managing the impact of climate change on the business and our investment portfolio.

“We welcome the chance to present our second TCFD report and look forward to continuing to play a key role helping shape the debate about the transition to a low carbon economy as we all seek to manage this risk.”

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