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Responsible investment

We’re fully embracing responsible investment practices to allow us to manage risks and returns in a more effective way in the funds we offer to safeguard customers’ long-term savings. This page provides a range of useful information from our policies, approaches and reports to how we integrate environmental, social and governance (ESG) factors into our flagship pension funds to help you stay informed about our responsible investment approach.

Taking on a sustainable future together

Our Retirement Account and workplace pensions offer a range of multi-asset funds with integrated ESG considerations, designed to support your clients' varying investment needs.  

Is your pension building a better future?

Is your pension building a better future?

Pensions have the power to help build a more sustainable future as well as growing people’s savings. Our responsible investment approach aims to benefit your clients, the planet and society.  Watch our short film to see how we’re putting our approach into action.

Watch here
The Scottish Widow standing in front of wind turbines

Our policies

The framework

We’ve set out our Responsible Investment framework, supported by stewardship and exclusions policies. They guide our decisions on how we invest, how we select fund managers, and how we challenge the managers of companies we invest in on our customers’ behalf to improve the way they operate.

Read our responsible investment framework (PDF, 3MB)

Stewardship

Challenging the companies we invest in to make positive changes in their business practices is at the heart of how we manage investments to create sustainable benefits in the long term for our customers, the economy, the environment and society. By doing this, we aim to protect and maximise our customers’ investments in the long term.​

Read our stewardship policy (PDF, 1MB)

Exclusions

We won’t invest in companies that fail to meet our strict standards and we've sold our investments in the worst offenders in areas like coal production, controversial weapons manufacturing and tobacco manufacturing or distribution.

Our exclusions policy (PDF, 715KB)

Read our case for tobacco divestment (PDF, 748KB)

Climate change, nature and deforestation

Our approach to climate change

Climate change has far-reaching implications in all areas of our lives, including our savings and investments. Moving to net zero will safeguard customers’ investments from the risks associated with climate change while taking advantage of related investment opportunities, as well as helping to power the UK’s transition to a green economy.

Read our approach to climate change (PDF, 2MB)

Climate Action Plan

Our Climate Action Plan sets out our roadmap to halve the carbon footprint of all our investments by 2030 on our path to net zero emissions by 2050 for the benefit of our customers and the environment. 

Read our climate action plan (PDF, 3MB)

Climate action plan 2022 progress update (PDF, 1MB) 

The just way: the case for a just climate transition

The case for a Just Climate Transition, examines how job creation, productivity enhancements, and reducing inequality are all possible in the transition to a low carbon economy. But without considering the challenges and risk to communities, workers and people, these opportunities may never be realised. We advocate for a ‘just transition’ that is as fair and inclusive as possible as the world decarbonises. ​

Read our just transition report (PDF, 3MB)

Nature and biodiversity: the pensions imperative

In this report, we explore why understanding the value of nature and taking steps to preserve and restore it, is key to a sustainable and prosperous future. By exploring the risks and the opportunities that degradation of nature and biodiversity loss present to our societies and economies, we set out how we can all turn ambition into action on this key issue.

Read our nature and biodiversity report (PDF, 3MB)

Nature impacts and dependencies in our funds

Spotlight on Water

We’ve looked at our exposure to potential nature-related risks in our funds in two ways. First, looking at the impacts companies we invest in have on the causes of nature loss. Second, companies’ dependencies on natural resources in the production of goods and services.

Read our nature-related impacts and dependencies (PDF, 4MB)

Our Approach to Deforestation

Deforestation is one of the drivers of climate change and can lead to degradation of nature and loss of biodiversity. It can threaten businesses and investors directly or be hidden within their supply chains, leading to disruption, financial loss and transition risk. That’s why we’re taking steps to understand deforestation risk in our investments and developing our approach to mitigating it.

Read our approach to deforestation report (PDF, 2MB)

Three people in a meeting room

Our approach to social factors

Ranging from living standards and discrimination, to health and safety and modern slavery, social factors present both risks and opportunities for companies we invest in. Understanding and managing these factors can help protect returns in the long term.

Read our approach to social factors (PDF, 3MB)

Supporting good customer outcomes

Integrating ESG into our pensions

We’re embracing responsible investment practices in our aim to deliver good investment outcomes for your customers. This allows us to manage environmental, social and governance (ESG) risks and returns in a more effective way in the funds we offer.

Find out how this applies to our workplace default solution (PDF, 976KB)

Pension Investment Approaches responsible investment progress report (PDF, 7MB)

Find out how this applies to Retirement Account (PDF, 2MB)

Responsible investment support for customers

Are your clients or workplace pension members looking for more information about responsible investment? Share our guides.
 

Investing responsibly with pension investment approaches (PDF, 2MB)

Investing responsibly with Retirement Account (PDF, 2MB)

 

Our reports

Graphic of a hand holding a small plant

Moving forward on responsible investment

Our latest Responsible Investment and Stewardship Report outlines the progress we made in 2023 to deliver on our plans to benefit our customers’ investments and broader society.

Read the full report (PDF, 10MB)

Read the 2022 report (PDF, 8MB)

Read the 2021 report (PDF, 5MB)

Graphic of a document with a box ticked

Our TCFD reports

Our TCFD Reports (Taskforce on Climate-Related Financial Disclosures) have been prepared in line with the recommendations of the TCFD, an independent group from across the G20 that developed these recommendations to improve and increase reporting of climate-related financial information.

Read the main Scottish Widows report (PDF, 300KB)

Read other entity and fund reports

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Our Green Pensions Report 2023

This year’s report explores further how people perceive green pensions, what actions they are taking, the barriers they face and the solutions they want to help them make greener choices.

Read our report (PDF, 5MB)

 

We’re one of the first signatories to the Stewardship Code 2020 and continue to keep our signatory status. The Code sets a high standard for those investing money on behalf of UK savers. Signatories must demonstrate how they’ve acted on their policies and made an impact.

How we can help

See our retirement account investment options in more detail

See our retirement account investment options in more detail

Look at the range of competitive options we offer.

Find out more Takes you to our Funds Search tool

See our workplace pension investment options in more detail

See our workplace pension investment options in more detail

Look at the range of competitive options we offer.

Investment Options

Investment Perspectives

Investment Perspectives

Topical insight and market news from our investment experts and partners.

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