Sackers ESG survey for pension schemes: Summary report – key themes and Sackers views


In July 2019 we surveyed 102 trustees and pension scheme managers to gain a better understanding of what pension funds are doing, or intending to do, in response to the various new and updated regulations surrounding environmental, social and corporate governance (ESG) factors in investing, and how important they view these factors for their schemes.

Whilst it is reassuring to note that 94% of respondents consider that ESG and climate change issues are important to pension schemes, the responses received indicate a range of views, from which we have extracted four key themes:

  • Barriers  – material obstacles to implementing ESG policies still exist
  • Member views – there is still a lot of confusion about the extent to which trustees should take account of member views
  • DC default funds – our survey reveals that schemes are not doing enough to take ESG factors into account
  • Implementation – is still very much a work in progress, from the regulations which require SIP updates from 1 October 2019, to the further regulations which impose additional requirements relating to SIPs and stewardship from 2020.

You can read the report here: Sackers ESG Survey Summary Report. August 2019

 If you would like to discuss any of the issues arising out of the survey, then please speak to your usual Sackers contact.