Clean Investor, January 25: LAPFF issues climate change guide for trustees

The UK’s influential Local Authority Pension Fund Forum has published a guide for trustees on climate change. It recommends that funds address the fiduciary duty aspect by ensuring that Statements of Investment Principles (SIPs) acknowledge that “climate change does pose a potential risk which needs be monitored like any other risk”.

Finland’s Pension Fennia was among a group of investors who bought €13.7m of shares in an issue by rechargeable battery firm European Batteries. “An innovative future-oriented company is exactly what a responsible investor wants in its investment portfolio,” said Eeva Grannenfelt, Investment Director at Pension Fennia. Link

The Low-Carbon Workplace Trust, the partnership between real estate asset manager Threadneedle, The Carbon Trust and developer Stanhope, has bought its first four buildings for a total of £42.5m (€49.8m). Launched in 2010, the trust offers exposure to a UK low-carbon commercial real estate portfolio. Release

The Rainforest Action Network (RAN) has taken banks to task over their role in financing carbon-intensive projects. RAN says there is no evidence that the Carbon Principles signed up to by leading banks “have stopped, or even slowed, financing to carbon-intensive projects”. The report The Principle Matter: Banks, Climate & The Carbon Principles is available here

Deutsche Bank has called for further “professionalism and proper resourcing” of the Clean Development Mechanism Executive – saying it should include practitioners with experience in carbon and energy markets. The remarks come in a special research paper by Deutsche’s Vice Chairman Caio Koch-Weser called Beyond Cancun- market opportunities trump multilateral discourse.Initial response to the new Plastic Disclosure Project has been “very good” says founder Doug Woodring. He told Responsible-Investor.com: “We believe this will be a pretty interesting project for the environment, because it is something that really has not been on people’s radar in a big way.” The PDP, an annual survey of companies for investors, was launched at the Clinton Global Initiative meeting last year. Link
Guinness Asset Management has launched the Guinness Renewable Energy EIS Fund, with the aim of investing in UK renewable energy firms that qualify for Feed-in Tariffs. It will invest in solar photovoltaic, wind and hydro electricity generating projects and will be managed by Shane Gallwey, Tom Hill-Norton and Edward Guinness. Announcement

Citigroup, Macquarie Bank, Mizuho Securities and Prudential Bache Commodities are among six firms that have been admitted as clearing members of the new Green Exchange. The news brings to 14 the number of clearing firms on the environmental commodities exchange.

PricewaterhouseCoopers has boosted its Sustainability and Climate Change team with the appointment of David Langlands as a specialist advisor on agriculture and food supply. He will deal with sustainability, biodiversity and ecosystem loss, land use and climate change, PWC said.

The World Bank’s IFC is to put $300m into renewable energy projects in India, according to a report in the Economic Times. Officials said the investment would be a mix of equity and debt over three years. Link

New software to help asset managers and end-investors assess their exposure to all carbon-related securities traded in the secondary market has been launched by Risk101. Ozone is a streamlined version of the firm’s flagship product. Link