Let’s retire into a world worth living in

Your employees may not naturally connect the idea that their pension savings could make a difference to the world – but when they’re invested with us they can.

We’re responsible for managing £153 billion* of our customers’ money. This money can play a part in helping society transition to a sustainable world while aiming to provide positive investment returns.

Climate change is the challenge that will define our generation. We think the action we take on climate change over the next decade can help shape the health of the planet for generations. So now is not the time to be passive. We must act now to help your employees retire into a future worth living in.

*£153 billion assets under management as at 30 June 2021

We can all make a difference

We’ve taken steps to reduce the carbon intensity of our investments while still offering you the same strong governance and risk management your employees currently enjoy as a Royal London customer.

We’ve made some changes to our workplace pension default fund which means your employees’ pension is now invested less in companies that have the highest carbon emissions and invested more in those that have the lowest carbon emissions.

We’ve made these changes on their behalf, with no extra cost to you or your employees. 

Video transcript

We know that climate change will have a long-term impact on customers and society, our investments, business and of course, our planet.         

That’s why we have five key climate change commitments in place.

'We require our asset managers to put a climate risk policy in place.  We believe this helps to ensure the companies we invest in are playing their part to support the transition to a low carbon economy’.

We’ll promote moving to a low carbon economy to influential policymakers and stakeholders.

We’ll consider climate change risk within our own risk management and business planning.

We’re also examining the fine details of our own operations, like how we can limit our carbon footprint, work more efficiently, and launch initiatives that will help us play our part in tackling climate change.

We’ll report on our progress in our annual report and on our website at least once a year, so you can stay up to date with what we’re doing.

We might not be able to predict the future, but we can prepare for it by having these commitments in place. We believe doing this can help to safeguard the long-term interests of our customers.

And help to protect our most valuable asset of all – the environment.

Our commitments to your employees

Rising to the challenges

We believe that companies that provide solutions to the challenges humanity faces do better than companies that cause problems.

We’re building on our responsible investment approach to develop more solutions so your employees can invest in the low carbon transition.

Engaging for positive change

We work actively with the companies that we invest in to influence their plans to reduce their carbon emissions and transition to a sustainable world in a way that considers the impact on society. And from 2025 we’ll begin divesting from companies who are unwilling and unable to transition. 

Learn about a just transition for Scottish and Southern Energy

Committed to net zero

We’ve committed to achieving a minimum 50% reduction in CO2 emissions by 2030 and net zero by 2050 across our investments. We believe these changes will result in a significant reduction in the carbon intensity of our investments without significantly impacting risk or returns.

It’s important to remember that investment returns are never guaranteed. So while there’s a chance your employees’ savings could grow, their value can also go down. This means they could get back less than they put in.

Our net zero targets

We're committed to achieving a minimum 50% reduction in C02 emissions by 2030, and net zero by 2050 across our investments.

Our research shows that customers care about climate change and we believe that the best outcome for our customers is that, collectively, we achieve the goals of the Paris Agreement and this informs our strategic goals. This is why we've committed to aligning our investments to net zero** by 2050.

We are signatories of:

**Net zero is the balance between the carbon emitted into the atmosphere and the carbon removed from it.

How you can learn more

Download our policy paper

Download now