Important: With investments, your capital is at risk. Pensions can go down in value as well as up, so you could get back less than you invest.
The Climate Plan is designed to reduce your pension’s investment in polluters and heavy carbon emitting companies over time. It does this by continually reducing the total intensity of the greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions produced by companies in the plan by at least 10% each year. So, even if the global economy uses more carbon over time, the Climate Plan will move in the opposite direction, always using less.
The plan’s objective is to align with the goals of the Paris Agreement to keep the rise in global surface temperature well below 2°C above pre-industrial levels and it aims to do this sooner than other investments. In fact, the plan will be one of the first to take advantage of the financial opportunities associated with the low-carbon transition.
Watch Ben Leale-Green, Portfolio Strategist from State Street Global Advisors, explain what the Climate Plan is.
The Climate Plan excludes the usual suspects such as fossil fuel producing companies but goes further. It also excludes those with direct fossil fuel reserves and those heavily reliant on fossil fuel operations, such as utility companies with fossil fuel based power generation.
The plan follows a Paris-Aligned Benchmark (PAB), a strict decarbonisation pathway compatible with the 2015 Paris Agreement. A decarbonisation pathway is a plan that identifies the actions, investments, and technologies needed to reduce greenhouse gas emissions to achieve a set long-term goal. An EU Paris-Aligned Benchmark targets a minimum reduction in total carbon emissions of 7% each year. However, the Climate Plan exceeds this. Instead, it aims for total carbon emissions produced by the companies in the Climate Plan to be reduced by at least 10% each year.
Companies in the plan are actively reducing their carbon footprint over time. It’s a great way to use your pension knowing it’ll be investing for a less carbon-intensive future.
Companies prepared for the transition to a low-carbon economy may offer several financial opportunities including alignment with government carbon pricing regulations, taking advantage of green incentives and adopting sustainable practices, which could reduce operational costs and boost profitability over time, among others.
Includes a decarbonisation pathway which means even if the global economy increases its carbon output the Climate Plan will move in the opposite direction proactively investing in less carbon-intensive companies over time.
Invests more in environmentally friendly companies and those tackling climate challenges like solar energy providers. The plan doesn’t simply avoid investment in heavy carbon emitters.
The Climate Plan aims to generate long-term financial returns on your investment. So, you can use your pension to support companies committed to reducing their carbon emissions as you save for your own future.
The main goal of the Climate Plan is to invest in companies committed to reducing their carbon emissions but it also goes further. The Climate Plan also excludes investing in other industries that harm the environment and society.
palm oil;
controversial, nuclear and other weapons;
adult entertainment;
alcohol;
gambling;
for-profit prisons;
tobacco;
recreational cannabis; and
companies misaligned with UN Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) such as SDG 6 to provide clean water and sanitation and SDG 7 to develop affordable and clean energy.
See the FAQ “What other industries and sectors are excluded from the Climate Plan?” for more details.
If you’re ready to use your pension to invest in companies taking action on their carbon emissions, sign up below.
Get startedAs interest in sustainable investing grows, so do options for investors. Read more about the Climate Plan.
What are the annual fees?
The annual fee for the plan is 0.75%. We halve that fee on the portion of your pension balance over £100,000.
How does the Climate Plan reduce carbon emissions?
Our Climate Plan invests in companies committed to reducing their carbon footprint. The plan follows a dynamic decarbonisation pathway, excluding companies involved in fossil fuel extraction, production, or power generation. It also incorporates a net zero pathway, targeting a minimum 10% annual carbon reduction.
Is the Climate Plan fossil fuel free?
Yes, the Climate Plan is fossil fuel free.
The plan’s fossil fuel free definition means it’ll exclude companies with ties to fossil fuels based on revenues, power generation and reserves.
This is because companies without fossil fuel reserves can still have significant exposure to fossil fuels because they need fossil fuel to operate, for example, many utility companies use fossil fuel based power generation, but they don’t own the reserves themselves. These types of companies would be excluded because they are heavy polluters too.
What are the holdings in this plan?
The plan invests in approximately 800 global publicly listed companies that are actively reducing their carbon emissions and leading the transition to a low-carbon economy.
Here’s the top 10 holdings of the plan*, their sector, and % weight*.
Company | Sector | Weight | |
1 | APPLE | Info Tech | 4.6% |
2 | NVIDIA | Info Tech | 4.4% |
3 | MICROSOFT CORP | Info Tech | 4.0% |
4 | AMAZON.COM | Consumer | 2.3% |
5 | META PLATFORMS A | Communications | 1.6% |
6 | ALPHABET C | Communications | 1.5% |
7 | BROADCOM | Info Tech | 1.1% |
8 | LILLY (ELI) & CO | Health Care | 1.1% |
9 | JPMORGAN CHASE & CO | Financials | 1.1% |
10 | TESLA | Consumer | 1.1% |
* The following represents a snapshot of the fund’s top 10 equity holdings on 31/10/24. Holdings can change at any time and are provided for informational purposes only. The holdings list shouldn’t be deemed as a recommendation to buy or sell the securities mentioned or securities in the industries in which they are placed. A full list of underlying monthly holdings is available on the SSGA website.
What other industries and sectors are excluded from the Climate Plan?
The Climate Plan has a robust approach to exclusionary screens. In fact, it excludes industries that are harmful to the environment and society, such as:
Controversial Weapons
All companies involved in the production of whole weapon systems, delivery platforms or components of cluster munitions; production of whole weapon systems or components of landmines and biological or chemical weapons; production of depleted uranium weapons, blinding laser weapons, incendiary weapons, or weapons with non-detectable fragments; or is involved indirectly through ownership ties to companies involved in such products. Nuclear weapons are not considered for this screen.
Nuclear Weapons
All companies involved in the production of nuclear weapons, exclusive and dual-use delivery platforms capable of delivering such products, intended and dual-use components of such products, services provided for such products, or are involved indirectly through ownership ties to companies involved in such products or services.
Civilian Firearms
I. All companies that produce firearms and small arms ammunition for civilian markets.
II. All companies deriving 5% or more revenue from the production, wholesale or retail of firearms and ammunition intended for civilian use in their most recently completed fiscal year.
III. All companies deriving 5% or more revenue from the wholesale or retail distribution of firearms or small-arms ammunition intended for civilian use in their most recently completed fiscal year.
Conventional Weapons
All companies deriving 5% or more revenue from the production of conventional weapons, or components, support systems, and services for such products in their most recently completed fiscal year.
Aggregate Weapons
All companies deriving 10% or more revenue from the production of conventional weapons, components for such products or support systems and services for such products; production of biological or chemical weapons, components for such products; production of nuclear weapons, exclusive and dual-use delivery platform capable to deliver such products, intended and dual-use components of such products, services provided for such products; and the production of blinding laser, incendiary or non-detectable fragments weapons in their most recently completed fiscal year.
UNGC violators
Companies deemed by the index provider as non-compliant with certain controversies related to one or more principles of the United Nations Global Compact (UNGC).
Tobacco
Companies deemed by the index provider as being involved in or having any revenue generated from the tobacco industry, including but not limited to, those classified under ICB subsectors as tobacco and cannabis producers.
Thermal coal
I. All companies deriving any revenue (either reported or estimated) from the mining of thermal coal (including lignite, bituminous, anthracite and steam coal) and its sale to external parties. It does not cover: revenue from metallurgical coal; coal mined for internal power generation (e.g. in the case of vertically integrated power producers); intra-company sales of mined thermal coal; and revenue from coal trading.
II. All companies deriving any revenue (either reported or estimated) from thermal coal-based power generation.
Unsustainable palm oil use
All companies meeting both of the following conditions:
I. Companies deriving 5% or more recent-year revenue from the production of Palm Oil or companies deriving 5% or more recent-year revenue from the distribution of Palm Oil.
II. Companies having less than 50% palm oil holdings / estates that are certified by the Roundtable on Sustainable Palm Oil.
Gambling
I. All companies deriving 5% or more revenue from products or support services fundamental to gambling operations in their most recently completed fiscal year.
II. All companies deriving 5% or more revenue from gambling operations, including online or mobile gambling, in their most recently completed fiscal year.
III. All companies deriving 15% or more revenue from gambling operations, including online or mobile gambling, and supporting activities in their most recently completed fiscal year.
Environmental controversies
Environmental controversies are defined by MSCI - a global provider of equity, fixed income, real estate indices, multi-asset portfolio analysis tools, ESG and climate products. The MSCI ESG Controversies universe is designed to provide timely and consistent assessments of companies’ involvement in ESG-related controversies and incidents.
The exclusion of environmental controversies from the Climate Plan means that the plan won't invest in companies involved in ESG controversies that are classified as ‘Red Flags’ (MSCI ESG Controversy Score of 0). A Red Flag indicates an ongoing ‘Very Severe’ ESG controversy. MSCI assesses the severity of individual controversies, with ‘Very Severe’ indicating a large negative impact of a company on society or the environment.
What is the Paris Agreement?
The Paris Agreement of 2015 is a legally binding international global treaty which aims to reduce greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions and adapt to climate change. It was adopted in 2015 at the UN Climate Change Conference (COP21) in Paris. The agreement’s main goal is to limit the increase in global average temperature to well below 2°C above pre-industrial levels and to pursue efforts to limit it to 1.5°C.
How do Paris-Aligned Benchmarks (PABs) work?
To be classified as a PAB, an index must meet specific criteria defined by technical experts of the European Union (EU). The criteria are designed to ensure investments are in line with the Paris Agreement requirements for carbon emission reduction. The EU regulation ensures transparency, consistency, and reliability in how these benchmarks are developed and used by investors.
Key requirements all PABs must meet include:
1. Carbon intensity reduction and decarbonisation over time
The benchmark must demonstrate a meaningful reduction in carbon intensity of 50% compared to a standard market benchmark. From this initial reduction, the benchmark is required to reduce its carbon intensity at 7% per year.
This reduction trajectory is aligned with the decarbonisation pathways needed to meet the Paris Agreement’s climate goals. These goals are based on EU calculations and climate scenarios from the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC).
2. Exclusion of fossil fuel-based activities
Companies involved in environmentally harmful practices above stringent thresholds are excluded from PABs. This includes high-carbon activities such as coal mining or oil exploration.
3. Maintain investment in high climate impact sectors
Rather than remove exposure to the sectors with the highest climate impact, PABs maintain exposure in sectors that are crucial for a low-carbon transition. This means the benchmarks are required to reallocate between or within these high-climate sectors, for example, investing in renewable rather than fossil fuel based energy would likely be in alignment with this goal.
Does this plan follow a benchmark?
The plan uses MSCI ACWI Climate Paris Aligned ex Fossil Fuels &BISR Custom Index (GBP) as a benchmark. The Index helps investors reduce their exposure to climate risks and transition to a lower-carbon economy. It's designed to align with the Paris Agreement's goal of limiting global temperature rise to 1.5°C.
Is this a new plan?
Yes, PensionBee’s Climate Plan was designed in collaboration with State Street Global Advisors to create a customised and bespoke plan that meets the evolving needs of our customers.
We understand more about our customers' needs each year through surveying. We use this to reaffirm that our pension plans continue to meet our customers’ investment expectations. In February 2024, we invited customers to share their current views.
The results indicated our customers wanted their plan to continue to exclude fossil fuel producers and broader fossil fuel industry participants while decarbonising over time. This should help the world meet its responsibilities under the Paris Agreement and have a more robust screening policy.
As part of the plan design process State Street Global Advisors worked with MSCI to re-profile and relaunch an existing fund (named SSGA World ESG Equity Index Fund) with a new objective and strategy to match our customers’ views. The new fund (renamed SSGA All World Climate Paris Aligned ex-Fossil Fuel Index Equity Sub-Fund) launched on 30 September 2024.
Is this plan available anywhere else? What’s the ISIN for this plan?
This plan was created for PensionBee customers by State Street Global Advisors and currently is only available through PensionBee. This may be subject to change in the future.
The name of the fund is: SSGA All World Climate Paris Aligned ex-Fossil Fuel Index Equity Sub-Fund
The ISIN of the plan is: GB00BGGK1F77
Morningstar fund overview.
Does this plan have a factsheet?
The Climate Plan’s factsheet will be produced quarterly and available on our website, and in your online account, your BeeHive. As this is a new fund, the first factsheet, for Q4 2024, will be available at the end of January 2025.
View the factsheet for the underlying MSCI index.
What are the plan’s performance objectives?
The Climate Plan aims to track the MSCI ACWI Climate Paris Aligned ex Fossil Fuels & BISR Custom Index (“the Index”), or its recognised replacement or equivalent.
What are the risks?
As always with investments, your capital is at risk. The value of your investment can go down as well as up, and you may get back less than you invest.
The Climate Plan is a 100% equity-based investment and therefore considered a higher-risk plan. As of September 2024, the plan invests in 825 companies around the world.
One feature of the new Climate Plan is that it can take advantage of the growing opportunities in the shift towards a low-carbon economy, such as by increasing investments in environmentally friendly businesses. This approach also helps protect against risks by avoiding industries and assets that might lose value if the transition to a low-carbon future doesn't go smoothly. These "stranded assets" are investments that could become almost worthless due to new government regulations, changing public opinions, or shifting consumer preferences.
Does this plan have the same level of FSCS protection as other PensionBee plans?
Yes, the PensionBee Climate Plan, like all our plans, is structured as a long-term insurance contract, which means that if something happens to the money manager and the FSCS accepts the claim, they would cover the pension at 100% with no upper cap. Read more on FSCS protections.
How can I share my views on the plan?
If you’d like to ask us any questions about this plan or share your views, you can email us at [email protected].
We’d love to hear from you!
Important: With investments, your capital is at risk. Pensions can go down in value as well as up, so you could get back less than you invest.