Dutch Pension To Launch “Ambitious” Sustainable Investing Push

Dutch pension ABP, with an investment portfolio 20 percent larger than CalPERS’, is one of the largest pension funds in the world.

The fund announced this week that it is beginning a self-described “ambitious” push to divest from companies that don’t meet a certain “sustainability” criteria.

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ABP, one of the world’s largest funds, said on Wednesday it will review its entire investment portfolio of stock and bonds by 2020, and divest from companies that don’t at least try to meet “sustainability” criteria.

The Dutch pension fund, which had 356 billion euros ($406 billion) in assets under management at the end of the second quarter, described the change as a major shift in investing philosophy that would apply to more than 4,000 companies it owns stakes in.

Spokeswoman Franscé Verdeuzeldonk said that to remain investable for ABP, companies would have to cut their carbon dioxide emissions by 25 percent in 2020 from the level they have at year end 2016.

“It’s ambitious, yes,” she said.

In addition, “investments that contribute to the solution of societal problems will be doubled by 2020, to 58 billion euros,” the fund said in a statement.

Chairwoman Corien Wortmann-Kool said in a statement ABP believed the shift in philosophy would “create the most value in the long term” for fund participants.

ABP manages a $406 billion investment portfolio.