– We have high climate ambitions and have now stepped up the goal of reducing the emission intensity in our equity portfolio from 40 to 90 percent by 2030, says CEO of Oslo Pensjonsforsikring (OPF), Åmund T. Lunde.
The reduction applies to OPF’s self-managed equity portfolio and is measured from the portfolio’s average level in the period 2014 to 2016.
– We have already reduced the emission intensity by 50 percent from 2016. The new target means that we must cut the carbon intensity by another 80 percent to meet the target. It is ambitious and presupposes political measures, economic growth and new technology that enable the transition to a low-emission society, Lunde explains.
The emission intensity in OPF’s self-managed equity portfolio is now 50 per cent lower than the global equity index. The global stock index is called the MSCI World ESG Index and is a common benchmark for managers to measure their performance against.
OPF also has high climate ambitions in other parts of the administration.
Here are examples of other climate measures OPF has implemented in 2020:
– In OPF’s real estate portfolio, energy consumption was cut by 15 per cent, and four buildings have been BREEAM In-Use certified. In addition, Økern Portal is under construction and will achieve the BREEAM-NOR Excellent certification and a 100 percent sorting rate of waste. BREEAM is a certification standard for construction, and requires a holistic environmental thinking in all parts of the process, from planning to finished construction.
– More than 90 per cent of OPF’s internal fixed income portfolio is invested in green bonds, loans to companies with low emission intensities or companies that have a clear sustainability strategy. OPF has carried out a project with Cicero on climate risk analysis and has had an increase in investments in bonds that will finance sustainable purposes.
– Oslo Municipality owns and operates one of Norway’s largest buildings, and insurance values have risen from NOK 150 billion to NOK 157 billion during 2020. The damage prevention work under the auspices of Oslo Forsikring (a subsidiary of OPF) contributes to preserving property values by increasing knowledge about adverse events such as climate-related damage.
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