LGPS – Avon Pension Fund: Our new £50 million commitment to local renewable infrastructure

16 October 2023

LGPS – Avon Pension Fund publishes on its website:

In the latest step towards achieving our net zero goals, we’ve committed £50 million to a new renewables fund. The fund has been created specifically for a consortium of LGPS funds belonging to the Brunel Pension Partnership. The consortium share a desire to address the climate emergency and simultaneously generate positive impact in the region.

The new fund will be managed by Schroders Greencoat, a specialist asset manager dedicated to the renewable energy infrastructure sector.

Avon Pension Fund alongside Wiltshire, Cornwall, Devon, Gloucestershire and Oxfordshire committed a total of £330 million. This will be used to invest in technologies such as solar, wind and battery storage across the south west. This represents the largest-ever commitment by LGPS funds into place-based and locally-focused renewable energy infrastructure.

Earlier this year we agreed to invest £160 million in a portfolio of local impact funds targeting a broad range of asset classes. This is the first money committed as part of this allocation.

Responsibly investing local pensions

We have around £5.4 billion under investment. This includes:

• £500 million committed to renewable infrastructure and energy transition assets
• The £160 million allocation to local impact assets and
• £2 billion invested in transition aligned and sustainable equity strategies.

Councillor Paul Crossley, Chair of the Avon Pension Fund Committee says: “Avon Pension Fund has made significant progress on its climate ambitions, reducing its carbon emissions in its equity investments by 49% since 2019.

“This new commitment builds on our existing successes investing in climate solutions. It will support in delivering clean energy to the grid as well as creating jobs in the region, while delivering stable inflation linked investment returns.”

Source: LGPS - Avon Pension Fund