Initiatives and membership of organisations

The Principles for Responsible Investment were developed by international institutional investors as part of a process coordinated by the UN Environment Programme Finance Initiative (UNEP FI) and the UN Global Compact. These six Principles provide guidance for investors so that they understand the influence of responsible investments and adhere to it in their decision making. Supporters of the initiative commit to complying with the six Principles. The Principles are seen as a ‘corset’ that ensures the supporters apply the ten principles of the UN Global Compact in their individual investment strategies. Union Investment signed up to these Principles in 2010.

The Sustainability Code supports the development of a sustainability strategy and provides an introduction to sustainability reporting. Regular reporting makes the company's development over time visible. To comply with the GSC, users create a statement in the database on twenty GSC criteria and the supplementary non-financial performance indicators.

The Sustainability Code supports the development of a sustainability strategy and provides an introduction to sustainability reporting. Regular reporting makes the company's development over time visible. To comply with the GSC, users create a statement in the database on twenty GSC criteria and the supplementary non-financial performance indicators.

A committee of 14 prominent figures from business and public life, including Jens Wilhelm, a member of the Board of Managing Directors of Union Investment, prepared the German Corporate Governance Code and continues to review and adjust it as necessary.

The Sustainable Investment Forum (FNG) has been the association for sustainable investment in Germany, Austria, Liechtenstein and Switzerland since 2001. Its objective is to provide the general public and decision-makers from the worlds of politics, business and academia with up-to-date and comprehensive information, thereby raising the profile of sustainable investment in the financial sector and among the public. This should also create stronger ties between the relevant players and highlight the positive influence that sustainable investment can exert on society and the environment. In addition, FNG aims to help shape political, legal and economic conditions.

Union Investment has been an active member of the Sustainable Investment Forum since 2010.

The European Sustainable Investment Forum (EUROSIF) is the umbrella organisation of the eight local European sustainable investment associations. In this role, EUROSIF has developed a transparency code that defines what constitutes a socially responsible investment. Only companies that meet the code’s requirements and are listed as a transparent company can go on to apply for other sustainability seals of approval at local level.

By signing the Montreal Carbon Pledge, investors undertake to measure and publish the carbon footprint of their investment portfolio each year.
The pledge was launched on 25 September 2014 in Montreal and is supported by the Principles for Responsible Investment (PRI) organisation and the United Nations Environment Programme Finance Initiative (UNEP FI).

Union Investment analyses the CO₂ intensity of different equity funds in SIRIS, the company’s proprietary ESG analysis platform, which accesses data from the Trucost data platform and other sources. Scope 1 and 2 CO₂ intensity is measured in tonnes of CO₂ equivalents per one million US dollars of revenue on a weighted basis. The carbon footprint of the entire share portfolio held by Union Investment on 31 December 2018 was 205.4 t CO₂ / US$ million of revenue. The reporting date for the funds presented below is 8 February 2019. Union Investment will continue to call on companies with high emissions to reduce their greenhouse gases as part of its engagement activities.

Funds	CO2 Intensity (CO2 in t / million USD Revenue)
UniInstitutional European Equities Concentrated	267,9
UniInstitutional European MinRisk Equities	159,9
UniInstitutional Global High Dividend Equities	424,9
UniInstitutional Global High Dividend Equities Protect	302,3
UniDeutschland	223,5
UniDeutschland XS	43,7
UniEuroSTOXX 50	180,0
UniFavorit: Aktien	208,6
UniGlobal	186,6
UniNachhaltig Aktien Global	144,2
UniInstitutional SDG Equities	155,9
UniInstitutional Dividend Sustainable	134,2
UniInstitutional Green Bonds	148,3

 

CDP is an independent and international non-profit organisation that was founded in London in 2000. It maintains the world’s largest database of company-related climate information in partnership with the United Nations Environment Programme (UNEP) and 767 institutional investors. Capital market players use this information to evaluate companies’ CO₂ emissions, climate risks and CO₂ reduction targets. The World Wide Fund For Nature (WWF) has been the CDP’s strategic partner in Germany for many years. The CDP’s overarching goal is to make CO₂ emissions transparent and tangible, so that they can be reduced on a long-term and sustainable basis.

The not-for-profit Climate Bonds Initiative (CBI) is the only organisation in the world working to expand the market for sustainable bonds. It aims to develop a large and liquid market for green bonds and climate bonds that will help drive down the cost of capital for climate projects in developed and emerging markets. The Climate Bonds Initiative promotes investment assets that are necessary for a transition to a low-emission, resource-efficient and climate-resilient economy.

As well as carrying out research and reporting on developments, the organisation develops climate bond policy proposals for government, finance and industry. Its Climate Bonds Certification serves as a representative indicator for sustainable investments and recognises individual funds or investment companies for their contribution to climate protection. Union Investment has been a partner of this initiative since the beginning of 2016.

The Transition Pathway Initiative (TPI) is a collaborative project of the Church of England and the Environment Agency Pension Fund (EAPF).  It was launched in January 2017. The TPI has set itself the task of analysing the transition to a low-carbon economy, as envisaged in the Paris Agreement, and to examine its impact on companies in carbon-intensive industries. As a supporter of this initiative, Union Investment will address these analyses and their findings in its engagement dialogues with companies.

The Task Force on Climate-Related Financial Disclosures (TCFD) was founded by the Financial Stability Board (FSB) to develop a voluntary and consistent system for reporting climate-related financial risks. Standardised reporting enables companies to provide information to investors, lenders, insurers and other stakeholders that is relevant to their decision making. By providing access to comparable and reliable data, the TCFD aims to improve the evaluation, pricing and management of climate-related financial risks.

Founded in July 2006, LuxFLAG is an independent, not-for-profit labelling agency that works on an international basis to support the raising of capital for sustainable development projects. In order to promote interest in sustainable investment, LuxFLAG awards a recognisable label to suitable funds. This seal of quality gives investors assurance that the labelled fund does actually invest in sustainable assets.

Pensions for Purpose is a joint initiative of impact managers, pension funds, social enterprises and other companies involved or interested in impact investments. The aim of this platform is to promote understanding of impact investing by publishing and sharing news, blogs, case studies, academic research and thought leadership papers. In addition, Pensions for Purpose acts as a first point of contact for journalists seeking information on sustainable investments.

More traditional approaches to active shareholder engagement (engagement and proxy voting) have focused primarily on companies' procedures and processes for appropriately managing ESG risks. In what ways will engagement activities evolve in the context of active shareholderism as a result of the integration of the SDGs? Since the SDGs are not only about avoiding and mitigating ESG risks, but also about achieving positive outcomes for society, engagement activities from an SDG perspective could shift their focus to opportunities from new, sustainable business models. This will inevitably involve the use of other tools and measures of success.

The goal of the working group is to promote the growth of the social bond market by further developing a guiding framework and to develop a common framework for uses.

The DVFA Commission Governance & Stewardship, which is mainly composed of investor representatives and academics, advocates responsible interaction between companies and investors on the German capital market - with the aim of promoting best practice in corporate governance as well as in the implementation of fiduciary investor duties (stewardship). The Commission's activities include addressing current aspects of corporate governance and stewardship, helping to develop standards and shaping relevant regulatory processes.

In November 2018, the newly constituted Sustainable Investing Commission, chaired by Dr. Henrik Pontzen, and Gunnar Friede, CIIA, CEFA, DWS, met for the first time. The Commission will address the development of sustainability standards, and sees itself as DVFA's mouthpiece in terms of regulation and education and training.

The BVI Bundesverband Investment und Asset Management e. V. (BVI for short) is an association of investment companies founded in 1970. Its more than 100 members manage more than 3 trillion euros in mutual funds, special funds and asset management mandates. The BVI represents the interests of the German fund industry at national and international level. The German fund association BVI is the point of contact for policymakers and regulators on all issues relating to the German Investment Code.

By signing the 2011 Global Investor Statement on Climate Change, Union Investment (along with 378 other investors worldwide) is supporting the call for standardised, long-term guidelines regarding climate change and clean energy (‘investment-grade policies’). These guidelines are needed to make the private sector more energy-efficient. Individual governments must set the necessary parameters, implement guidelines and monitor compliance with them. The signatories undertake to work with policy-makers, identify and evaluate investment opportunities for reducing CO2, develop the capacity to identify climate change risks resulting from their own investments and integrate these in their investment decisions, work with the companies in which they invest to prevent climate change, and document and publish the changes made in relation to renewable energies, energy efficiency and climate change. In this context, Union Investment has set itself the objective of regularly questioning companies about CO2 reductions.

The need for global sustainable development gives rise to a huge responsibility for the financial industry as a whole. Frankfurt as a financial industry hub and Union Investment as a player in this industry accept this responsibility and commit to a common agenda – the Frankfurt Declaration.

Investors engage with companies in the US, Canada and Australia whose climate impact is not compatible with the shareholders’ interest in maximising the long-term value of the company. This includes cases where a company publicly supports a more environmentally friendly policy but is being opposed by trade associations of which it is a member.

389 institutional investors with combined assets under management in excess of US$ 22 trillion called on the Heads of State or Government of the G20 nations to meet their obligations under the Paris Agreement at the G20 summit in Hamburg on 7–8 July 2017.

Emphasizing the urgency of the measures and restating a message that had previously been directed at the G7 group, investors demanded that the G20 Heads of State or Government:

The Investor Alliance for Human Rights is a collective action platform for responsible investment that is grounded in respect for people's fundamental rights. The Investor Alliance for Human Rights is a membership-based, non-profit initiative focusing on the investor responsibility to respect human rights, corporate engagements that drive responsible business conduct, and standard-setting activities that push for robust business and human rights policies.

WBA Allies represent organisations working at global, regional, and local levels to shape the private sector’s contributions to achieving the SDGs. Echoing the true spirit of SDG17 – Partnerships for the Goals, our Allies are committed to WBA’s mission, vision, and values, and believe in the power of benchmarks and cross-sector partnerships to drive systemic progress on the SDGs.

The Net Zero Asset Managers initiative is an international group of asset managers committed to decarbonising their investment portfolios by 2050 or sooner and to supporting the goal of a carbon-neutral economy. This initiative is in line with worldwide efforts to limit global warming to 1.5°C.

The PRI committee and its signatories have started a global cooperation project on cyber-security. The initiative is focused on the consumer, health and financial sectors and aims to promote the disclosure of more information on companies in the cyber industry for the benefit of investors and also to improve the understanding of relevant risks in this area.

In cooperation with the UN-PRI investor group that comprises 52 investors with total assets under management of US$ 3.9 trillion, Union Investment engages in improving workers’ rights in the supply chain of food producers. Their efforts are primarily focused on key issues such as child labour, forced labour, and the health and wages of workers.

Climate Action 100+ is a five-year initiative led by investors that aims to engage systemically important carbon emitters and other companies across the global economy that have significant opportunities to drive the clean energy transition and help achieve the goals of the Paris Agreement. The participating investors are calling on companies to curb emissions, raise the status of climate change as a governance issue, and improve reporting on climate-related financial risks.

The Corporate Human Rights Benchmark (CHRB) comprises 98 of the biggest global companies in high-risk industries including the agricultural sector, the clothing industry and raw material extraction. The companies listed in the benchmark are assessed and ranked based on a set of human rights indicators. Union Investment has been supporting this benchmark since it was launched in 2017.

Established by the Jeremy Coller Foundation, the FAIRR Initiative is a collaborative investor network that raises awareness of the environmental, social and governance (ESG) risks and opportunities brought about by intensive animal agriculture. FAIRR helps investors to identify and prioritise these factors through cutting-edge research, which investors can then integrate into their active stewardship and decision-making processes.

The Workforce Disclosure Initiative (WDI) aims to improve corporate transparency and accountability on workforce issues, provide companies and investors with comprehensive and comparable data and help increase the provision of good jobs worldwide.