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Sustainable Investing

York University Pension Fund has long been committed to sustainable investing. The impact of environmental, social and governance (ESG) factors on the risks and opportunities for the fund has been a recognized issue for many years and we have managed a strategy that considers the potential impact of these important issues on the portfolio. The fund integrates sustainability and ESG considerations into the selection and evaluation of the managers, and the information available to assess these factors has improved greatly over the last few years.

York’s investment managers are expected to be able to provide context and examples of how they consider long-term sustainability and ESG factors in their analysis, investment decision making, and portfolio construction. We believe considering this important macroeconomic theme has contributed to our outstanding performance over the last decade. As importantly, the fund has achieved significant reductions on carbon emissions since measurement began in 2016.

Read the 2023 Pension Fund Sustainable Investing Report (PDF)
Image of Pension Fund accomplishments: 46% lower than the benchmark WACI for equities, 57% reduction in our carbon emissions of equity funds, 68% reduction in out WACI score for equities since 2016, $100 million plus committed to sustainability focused infrastructure, 33% below the equity portfolio emissions benchmark, and 13.2% overall investment return for the last 1-year period. This is the latest data as at June 20 2023.

Sustainability Scorecard

The York University Pension Fund holds itself accountable through evidence-based factors and continues to work with our partners to keep improving our performance and meaningfully contribute to long-term sustainability. Our latest Pension Fund Sustainability Scorecard shows:

  • Consistently aiming to deliver competitive investment returns while keeping sights on ESG risks and opportunities
  • Specifically targeting sustainable investment themes such as clean energy and funding businesses that are contributing to the transition to net-zero
  • The Weighted Average Carbon Intensity (WACI) score is a measure of the amount of carbon a company produces per million dollars of revenue. York receives information that looks at this score for each equity investment in the fund. This level of detail is helpful for assessing the trends in the portfolio as we transition to a lower carbon environment
  • In 2016, when first assessed, the Pension Fund’s WACI score for equities was at 227 tonnes of CO2 emissions per $1M of revenue
  • At June 30, 2023, the Fund’s WACI score for equities was at 72 tonnes of CO2 emissions – a 68% reduction

  • Total absolute carbon emissions of invested funds was 152 thousand tonnes of CO2 in 2016
  • At year-end 2022, the Fund’s overall carbon footprint was 44 thousand tonnes of CO2, or a decrease of 71%

  • Brookfield Global Transition Infrastructure Fund (BGTF): world’s single-largest fund dedicated to energy transition
  • Axium Infrastructure Fund: Canadian manager investing in wind, solar, hydro and battery storage
  • Global Infrastructure Partners (GIP): Global infrastructure manager focused on decarbonization and transition to net-zero
  • The Paris Accord standard for WACI in 2022 was 94.5
  • The Fund exceeded the 2022 Paris Accord objective in our Equity portfolio, with a WACI score of 86… and the Fund continues to contribute toward reduced emissions beyond those goals

Learn More About Sustainability at York

Office of Sustainability