Investor Workshop on Carbon Foot Printing

Over two days, SSF travelled from Zurich to Geneva with the Institutional Investors Group on Climate Change (IIGCC) and a panel of Carbon Foot Printing experts, as well as asset owners currently implementing sustainable investment strategies, to discuss the topic of portfolio carbon intensity with 150 professionals.

In Geneva, Christina Olivecrona (AP2) was joined by 3 new faces, Olivier Bonnet (ERAFP),Caroline Schum (Nest Collective Foundation) and François Vuille (EPFL).

Olivier Bonnet described the process ERAFP currently has in place to exclude the most carbon intensive companies without sacrificing diversification. He also expressed the need for more active management solutions as opposed to the passive solutions that are already on the market (i.e. low carbon indices).



Caroline Schum explained that Nest does not use a best-in-class approach, but rather a “best-in-service” approach. This strategy tends to lead to a natural divestment in fossil fuel intensive companies as they are seen as less prepared to face the challenges of the future.
The Geneva panel ended with some controversial statements from François Vuille, who asked the question: Are we doing enough?
In his view, a more in-depth Life Cycle Assessment is needed to truly make informed investment decisions.

While all experts agreed that measuring the carbon footprint of a portfolio is a good and necessary first step, there still seems to be a long way to go to make sure portfolios comply with a 2 degree warming scenario. With COP21 on the horizon, we will see in which direction the international community is heading.

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