€84bn Swedish AP funds tender ESG analysis

The four Swedish government buffer funds (AP1, AP2, AP3 and AP4) have tendered for a supplier of environmental, social and governance analysis and advice.
Första AP-fonden, Andra AP-fonden, Tredje AP-fonden and Fjärde AP-fonden – worth a combined €84bn – are partially coordinating the procurement via the Ethical Council, the body through which the four funds coordinate their work on environmental and ethical issues. They intend to sign framework agreements for three years for options for a one-year extension.
“To ensure the access to competence in every individual case, the funds intend to sign with more than one supplier,” the Ethical Council said. The incumbent supplier is Stockholm-based GES Investment Services.
The funds are seeking help with the systematicscreening of potential corporate violations of international conventions or the UN Global Compact. And they want company related analysis regarding environmental, social and ethical issues. This will focus on quality of policy, management systems, implementation, reporting and verification.
Also in the brief are advice and support for dialogue with companies related to environmental, social and ethical issues.
The deadline for registering interest is August 9. There will be a Q&A on the procurement on the Ethical Council’s website on on July 30.
Each fund is also a signatory to the UN lead Principles for Responsible Investment and invests in global portfolios that contain between 3000 and 4000 securities.
A request for information (RFI) can be downloaded here.