Advisors have been appointed by a pension fund to look at investments relating to climate change and human rights.
Cllr Pat Cleary, who chairs Wirral Council’s pensions committee, said this was to create a “clear process” and “robust responsible framework” when dealing with the local government Merseyside Pension Fund’s investments.
Discussions around investments for the pension fund began in 2021 after a question was raised by a councillor relating to companies allegedly trading in occupied Palestinian territories and the pension fund’s relationship with them.
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In February, a number of options for action were proposed on the issue but this was delayed as no consensus was reached at the time. This led to the pension fund working to establish a policy for looking at investments and human rights issues with a wider scope.
The pension fund has appointed Redington, a consultancy firm to carry out work in developing a policy and also signed up to a UN initiative.
Peter Wallach, from Merseyside Pension Fund, said: “One of their first pieces of work will be to refresh our investment beliefs and objectives which will give us all a better insight into the challenges we face as we develop a policy.”
He added: “When considering controversial responsible investments issues it’s important we recognise that this can cause tensions.”
Cllr Jo Bird raised concerns about arms companies. She said: “There’s nothing environmentally friendly about dropping bombs on people. There’s no such thing as a solar-powered plane that drops flowers.”
Mr Wallach said: “It’s right to say perhaps arms companies have a special place in terms of considering them.
"More recently it's been recognised they have a certain social value in maintaining social stability. Ukraine would be in a difficult situation without some of the support it has received.
"It's a very challenging and controversial area to consider and I think it deserves due consideration. Perhaps that's something too we can draw on Redington's experience in considering"
Cllr Cleary said that the plans would “potentially give us a road map to dealing with this issue more comprehensively.”
He said it had been difficult to find agreement in the past and a policy would allow the pension fund to deal with issues in a systematic way.
He added: “I want to see us develop a clear framework so when members of the public come to us with legitimate concerns, we’re able to point them to a pathway we can deal with and address those concerns based on evidence.”
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