Scottish Widows targets net zero across £170bn fund range by 2050

8 February 2021

Scottish Widows today becomes the first major pensions and insurance provider to target halving the carbon footprint of all its £170bn investments by 2030 in its path to net zero by 2050.

The company – which has more than six million customers in the UK – will also be investing billions of pounds in climate solutions, such as renewable energy, low carbon buildings, and energy efficient technologies, by 2025 to underline its commitment to positive change.

Ambitious move

The ambitious move almost doubles the meaningful commitments* the pension industry has pledged to reaching net zero targets, in line with the goals of the Paris Agreement.**

Moving to net zero will safeguard customers’ investments in the long‐term from the risks associated with climate change while taking advantage of related investment opportunities. This will ensure Scottish Widows continues to meet its core purpose of looking after its customers’ savings, as well as helping to power the UK’s transition to a green economy.

£2.17trn ‘green gap’

However, a giant £2.17trn ‘green gap’ remains as the overwhelming majority of the country’s pension funds and providers have yet to outline meaningful plans to move their investments to net zero.

Scottish Widows, part of Lloyds Banking Group, said the road to net zero would be complex but it was the right thing to do for customers, for the country and the environment.

The pensions firm is calling on the rest of the industry to urgently close the ‘green gap’ and commit to net zero with a clear path to get there ahead of the COP26 global conference on climate change later this year. Pension providers need to shift from the current piecemeal approach, to a wholesale net zero investment strategy with clear shorter‐ and medium‐term milestones that are understood by the public, customers and policymakers.

Source: Scottish Widows