IPE: Dutch investors falling short on sustainability policies

17 December 2012

Dutch pension funds have made progress on sustainable investing in general, but failed to implement overall sustainable policies, according to the Association of Investors for Sustainable Development (VBDO).

A study by the VBDO found that most pension funds merely deploy some of the available instruments, and argued that schemes should act much more systematically. It recommended, for example, that pension funds pay more attention actively to selecting companies at the forefront of sustainable investing. Improvements could also be made on transparency, the VBDO said.

The lobbying organisation recommended involving pension funds' participants more closely in the decision-making process for sustainable investments. It said it found that the trend towards sustainable investment at pension funds had continued for property and government bonds in particular, but it also noted that there was hardly any progress on alternative investments.

Its research also found that larger pension funds tend to score better than smaller ones, whereas industry-wide schemes generally fare better than company pensions funds.

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