La Caisse announces greener investment strategy

Canadian Investment group La Caisse de dépôt et placement du Québec has revealed plans for a new investment strategy aimed at addressing climate change.

The new strategy will cover the company’s entire portfolio, with the aim of becoming a constructive contributor in the transition towards a low carbon global economy.

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“In the wake of the Paris Agreement and changing consumer choices and technology, we are already seeing markets undergoing rapid change,” said Michael Sabia, President and Chief Executive Officer. “This new reality has prompted us to review the risk-return profile of several industries and companies. It will also create new attractive investment opportunities for our clients.”

The new strategy will include three key points: factoring in climate change into every investment decision, an $8bn increase in low carbon investments over the next three years, and a 25% reduction in the company’s carbon footprint per dollar invested by 2025.

In line with this, la Caisse will disclose information on its portfolio’s greenhouse gas emissions as part of its annual report, beginning 2017.

“…we set a short-term target to increase our investments in low carbon assets by over $8 billion, and a medium-term target to reduce our carbon footprint by 25% per dollar invested,” Sabia continued. “These objectives are ambitious, achievable, and measurable, and we’ll report on our progress toward them every year.”