The Pension Protection Fund (PPF) has published its fifth annual Responsible Investment Report, which outlined its progress in 2023/24 on responsible investment.

Over the past year, the PPF engaged with 667 companies on specific environmental, social and governance (ESG) issues and objectives and achieved “significant” progress with 49 per cent of these.

The PPF also saw progress in its engagement with 33 per cent of Climate Watchlist companies, with 90 per cent of the Climate Watchlist companies reporting to the disclosure organisation Carbon Disclosure Project (CDP).

The PPF co-filed a shareholder resolution at Shell plc about its emissions reduction strategy and voted on over 44,000 resolutions at 4,080 shareholder meetings from April 2023 to March 2024.

In two thirds (66 per cent) of these meetings, the PPF voted at least once against management.

In addition to this, the report noted that the PPF now publishes full disclosure of its proxy voting behaviour on its website and it is updated quarterly to give greater transparency to its stakeholders.

The report outlined how it advanced its plans to improve reporting across its portfolio and enhance its monitoring of ESG factors to safeguard its members’ financial futures. 

It found that its Transition & Sustainable Assets questionnaire, which aimed to analyse the progress of its assets in the transition to a net zero global economy, received a 100 per cent response rate from its infrastructure managers.

The PPF also supported the eFront ESG Data Service project to collect private markets' ESG data throughout the year.  

As a result of the improvements the PPF has made this year, it received recognition from three awarding bodies and, for the third consecutive year, was accepted by the Financial Reporting Council as a 2023 signatory.

“The last 12 months has been a period of evolution and engagement, and this report outlines our continued commitment to align with the Stewardship Code, showcasing the steps we have taken and measures we have advanced to protect and drive value across our portfolio,” commented PPF chief investment officer, Barry Kenneth.

“We have made huge strides in disclosure, transparency of data and reporting, as well as improving efficiencies across the team.

“But more than anything, this has very much been a year of engagement for the PPF, particularly in relation to the current shape and future opportunities of the pension industry. 

“Our experience and unique position in the industry has meant we can not only drive change via enforcing shareholder rights, but via our service on the Department for Work and Pension’s Taskforce for Social Factors and other initiatives such as the UK Asset Owner Council, we have been able to drive pension funds forward in important areas for stewardship for years to come.”

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