Partnership principles
We engage in a number of partnerships and have also joined a number of declarations and principles that guide our work with sustainable investments. This applies to both external managers who support the work with investments and other organizations and investors with whom we work together to make investments more responsible.
External Managers
The management of listed equities, corporate bonds, and alternative investments is carried out both internally and through collaboration with external asset managers. The external managers that AP Pension collaborates with are familiar with our policy on responsibility and sustainability in the investment area, and we expect the managers to take this policy into account when investing on behalf of AP Pension. External managers are also evaluated annually based on their work with responsible investments. We typically have decisive influence in the externally managed funds where investments are made, and therefore the exclusion list can be implemented in these funds.
In some cases, investments are made in funds or investment associations where we do not have decisive influence, but where the investment is made in collaboration with other investors to reduce investment costs. This typically occurs in funds in AP Netlink, where the manager is informed about our strategies and continuously monitored in relation to various sustainability parameters.
Read more about exclusion lists
Memberships and associations
We engage in a number of binding partnerships that guide our responsible investments. Some forums are collaborative bodies where investors join forces to influence undesirable corporate behavior, while others are associations that we support and adhere to. It is our belief that responsible management of customers’ savings should be ensured by following international principles and participating in the international forums listed below.
UN Global Compact
The UN Global Compact is a framework stating 10 principles in the areas of human rights, labor, the environment, and anti-corruption. The principles are formulated on the basis of the UN Declaration of Human Rights, the International Labor Organization’s (ILO) Declaration on Rights at Work, the Rio Declaration on Sustainable Development, and the UN Convention against Corruption. These 10 principles also support the UN’s 17 Sustainable Development Goals. AP Pension’s responsible and sustainable investment policy is based on the UN Global Compact, and it is our overall policy to invest in companies that work to comply with the 10 internationally recognized principles.
Find out more about the Global Compact and the 10 principles
UN Guiding Principles on Business and Human Rights
The UN Guiding Principles, which we support, are a practical approach to how governments and businesses can avoid and deal with businesses’ adverse impact on human rights. The guiding principles also stipulate what is required of companies in relation to respecting human rights.
Read the UN Guiding Principles on Business and Human Rights
Paris Agreement
The Paris Agreement was signed at the COP21 summit in Paris in December 2015 with the aim of limiting global warming to below two degrees. This climate concern is incorporated into our investment process through screening of the investment portfolio’s climate risks, and it is also our ambition to increase our investment in green energy if the return is assessed as attractive.
Find out more about the Paris Agreement
UN PRI
AP Pension is a member of UN PRI, an independent organization of investors working on and for responsible investment. The UN PRI’s six principles provide guidance on how to achieve a more responsible investment policy, and we make sure to incorporate these principles across our entire investment universe.
Institutional Investor Group on Climate Change (IIGCC)
The IIGCC is a network of European investors whose aim is to get investors to cooperate on climate concerns by influencing policy makers, companies and other investors to consider the long-term risks associated with climate change. As a member, AP Pension contributes to tackling climate challenges. The IIGCC has over 370 members and manages a total of more than DKK 370 billion. AP Pension has also joined the Paris Aligned Investment Initiative (PAII), and is thus obliged to have a carbon neutral investment portfolio by 2050 at the latest in accordance with the Paris Agreement.
Climate Action 100+
As a member of the investor-led initiative Climate Action 100+, AP Pension actively works to influence the world's largest corporate greenhouse gas emitters. It is our goal, with the initiative, to get companies to develop and publish specific strategies and objectives in line with the Paris Agreement. We believe that investors have a real opportunity to push companies in a climate-friendly direction, and that dialog can have a positive impact on companies’ willingness to commit to a green transition. The initiative is due to expire in 2022, after which we at AP Pension will reassess our investments and divestment will be the ultimate consequence of a lack of ambition to take responsibility for the future and adapt in line with the Paris Agreement.
Find out more about Climate Action 100+
Investor Alliance for Human Rights
AP Pension is a member of the Investor Alliance for Human Rights to strengthen compliance with the UN’s guidelines on human rights and business. The Alliance focuses on boosting members’ capacity to tackle human rights risks associated with corporate activities. Membership is part of our work to identify, assess and address human rights risks in the companies we invest in to ensure accountability. The Alliance is a global network of over 160 institutional investors.
Find out more about the Investor Alliance for Human Rights
CDP (formerly Carbon Disclosure Project)
CDP is an international organization with regional offices and local partners in over 50 countries. CDP collects data from companies in order to measure and understand their environmental impact. This means that AP Pension and other investors can better assess companies’ influence and associated risks. AP Pension is actively involved in CDP’s annual Non-Disclosure Campaign and, as a consequence, in the work of reaching out to companies and asking them to publish climate data. We want to create additional transparency about how individual companies affect and work with climate change, deforestation and ensure responsible water consumption.
Labour Rights Investor Network
The Labour Rights Investor Network is a global investor network focused on exploring the risks and opportunities associated with workers’ rights to organize and bargain collectively in the companies we invest in. The network serves as an educational and exchange platform where issues related to freedom of association and collective bargaining are discussed. The network is composed of investors committed to integrating labor rights into their work with responsible investments.
Read more about the Labour Rights Investor Network
OECD Guidelines for Multinational Enterprises
The OECD Guidelines for Multinational Enterprises are recommendations on responsible business conduct. They have been developed by the OECD (Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development) and aim to promote sustainable development and continuous social progress. They address issues related to human rights, labor rights, international environmental standards, and corruption.
The OECD Guidelines focus on creating a positive impact through corporate actions. They encourage multinational enterprises to take responsibility for their impact on people, the planet, and society, including respecting human rights, promoting labor rights, adhering to environmental standards, and combating corruption.
Nature Action 100
AP Pension joined Nature Action 100 in September 2023.
Nature Action 100 is a global investor initiative focused on engaging with companies on biodiversity. The initiative aims to push for the halt of nature and biodiversity loss caused by corporate activities.
Investors participating in the initiative engage in dialogue with companies in key sectors considered systemically important for reversing nature and biodiversity loss by 2030. The initiative was conceived by a group of institutional investors known as the Launch Investor Group. The initiative’s secretariat and corporate engagement working group are co-led by Ceres and the Institutional Investors Group on Climate Change (IIGCC). The initiative’s technical advisory group is co-led by the Finance for Biodiversity Foundation and Planet Tracker.