Dutch pension funds are currently investing less than 0.5 per cent directly in sustainable energy, despite more than half of the Dutch population wanting to (partly) invest their pension in sustainable energy, a study on behalf of Dutch charity Nature & Environment found.

Conducted by research companies Profundo and Motivaction, the study found that while the Dutch pension funds on aggregate invest €750bn globally, none of the big funds are particularly environmentally friendly. The study quoted the lack of a coherent climate-friendly investment strategy as the most important reason for this.

Nature & Environment said some pension funds are at the forefront of some climate issues, but lag behind on others. For instance, agricultural pension fund BPL is leading in investing in relatively clean companies, but lagging behind in investments in producers of tar sands oil and coal, and direct investments in sustainable energy.

The Netherlands’ biggest pension fund, civil service fund ABP, is inconsistent in their investment strategy, the charity said, as it invests a total of €1.1bn in producers of tar sand oil and coal and €750m in direct investments in sustainable energy.

Despite being on the forefront of direct investments in sustainable energy, PGB, the fund for graphic companies, only invests 1.45 per cent of their portfolio in the asset class. Metal fund PMT and transport fund Pensioenfonds Vervoer are ahead of the game when it comes to refraining from (equity) investments in tar sand oil.

Meanwhile, four in five Dutch people believe pension funds should invest as safely as possible and need to focus more on the long term, the study found, while respondents find responsible investing more important than maximum performance (70 per cent versus 43 per cent).

Half of respondents would like to (partly) invest their pension in sustainable energy, electrical cars or sustainably produced food, 57 per cent does not want investments at the cost of climate, environment and nature. Three quarters said they do not want investments that result to the destruction of rain forests.

Other results of the study include that 62 per cent would like a bigger say in how their pension is invested; 86 per cent believes pension funds should focus more on the long term; and 69 per cent would like to be able to choose which pension fund they join.

Nine of the twenty biggest pension funds in the Netherlands contributed to Profundo’s research. On aggregate these nine funds represent two-thirds of Dutch pension funds’ AUM. Motivaction questioned 518 Dutch people between 18 and 65 about their opinions on responsible investing and their pension.

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