Investments

We aim to transition our proprietary investment portfolio to net-zero greenhouse gas emissions by 2050 at the latest.

In recent years, we have taken important steps to make our investment portfolio more sustainable. In line with the IIGCC Investment framework, we have developed asset-class-specific Paris Alignment strategies for sovereign bonds, corporate investments (equity and corporate fixed income) and real estate.

For the corporate investment portfolio (listed equities and corporate fixed income), we have set reference reduction targets to steer and monitor the effectiveness of our net-zero strategy. We aim to reduce greenhouse gas emissions from our corporate investment portfolio by 25% by 2025, and by 45% by 2030 (compared to 2019).

Investing in frontrunners of the transition

To implement our strategy, we have developed a methodology to categorise companies and other issuers (based on current and forward-looking criteria) based on their alignment or potential alignment with the Paris Agreement (net zero in 2050) commitments. For new investments, we take a best-in-class approach, because we prefer to allocate finances to issuers that are better positioned to meet the Paris climate targets. For existing assets, we focus on dialogue and engagement with companies to drive their transition to a sustainable business model. We do this because we believe it offers the best opportunity to make a real impact in the world. Of course, if sufficient progress is not made in time, we will divest these assets.

EUR 6 billion additional investments in climate solutions by 2030

Another interim target that we set is that we aim to increase our investments in climate solutions by an additional EUR 6 billion by 2030. This will be more than double our investments (per YE 2021), in green bonds, renewable energy projects such as solar or wind farms, and energy efficient real estate investments.

For more information, please refer to Sustainability and Responsible investment.