PGGM continues to innovate in responsible investment

Today PGGM presented its Annual Responsible Investment Report 2010. During the past year PGGM made further strides in responsible investment by innovating within existing activities and embarking on new directions through innovative research.

PGGM conducted a survey of all existing investment departments in 2010 to determine which ESG (Environmental, Social and Governance) factors have a financial impact on investments. An example of this is to actively communicate with the local population about infrastructure projects, which makes it possible to avoid lawsuits, delays and hence losses of income.

In addition to the impact of ESG factors on the specific portfolios under management, PGGM investigated the effects of climate change and climate policy on the overall portfolio. Various scenarios were drawn up to assess the economic effects of climate change on investments in various regions, sectors and investment categories.

PGGM also worked with Erasmus University Rotterdam in 2010 to develop a methodology providing insight into the expected social effects of targeted ESG investments. The aim of these investments is to generate not only a financial return but also social added value, in areas such as local economic development, biodiversity and health. These mandates grew in size from €2.6 billion in 2009 to €3.7 billion in the past year.

Jac Kragt, CIO: ”Responsible investment is immensely important to PGGM. It fits in with our identity as an asset manager for long-term investors and helps build a valuable society. We achieved success with our responsible investment for our clients in 2010 and are proud to have received recognition in the form of an international industry award for responsible investment.”

Marcel Jeucken, Head of Responsible Investment: “The annual report shows that we implemented responsible investment for our clients once again in an ambitious way in 2010. We can never say that we have perfected responsible investment; we continue to innovate in order to deepen and improve our existing activities. It is not a precise science but a dynamic process in which innovation plays an important role. We made major strides in this regard in 2010.”

About PGGM

PGGM is a leading pension fund administrator with origins in the care and welfare sector. PGGM provides pension management, integrated asset management, management support and policy advice for pension funds. PGGM currently manages around €105 billion of pension assets of over 2.3 million participants. As a co-operative organisation, PGGM provides services for its 560,000 members that help them to secure a valuable future.