But Tim Currell, head of sustainable investment and corporate governance at Hewitt, claimed green investment is now less about trying to change the world, and more about seeing how the encompassing green agenda will affect investments.
“Climate change is the biggest issue of the moment, and only a fool would think about investing without thinking about the impact,” he said.
The findings coincided with emerging reports that Prince Charles had spearheaded a collaboration of some of the largest pension schemes in the world – dubbed P8 –aimed at tackling climate change through investment.
Ann Ellis, head of sales and marketing at Cowen Asset Management, which runs its own climate change fund, claimed the group sent a “strong message to the market” that climate change issues are on many schemes’ agendas.
“We are finding there is a lot of interest in the UK and it is running side by side with the US,” she said. “The Stern report gave a huge boost to the climate change movement and the Bali roadmap in December has really driven the investment theme forwards.”
P8, which is actually a group of 10 schemes, includes the UK’s Universities Superannua-tion Schemes, as well as CalPERS and CalSTRS from the US.
The survey also showed a shift in pension funds’ approach to investing. Where traditionally SRI fund managers would disinvest in companies, now the onus is on engagement.
