Responsible investment choices focused on 4 sustainable development goals

At the beginning of last year, more than 5,000 participants gave their opinion on the intentions that the Board had at the time about the policy for responsible investment (RI). During the second half of 2020, the RI policy was further elaborated and adopted by the Board. After that, the implementation of that policy immediately started. This is done step by step. For example, we started communicating more transparently about the RI policy.  For example, by publishing more information about conducting dialogue with companies and voting. We have also stopped investing in companies that generate more than 25% of their turnover from coal (mines and energy generation) and oil tar sands. At the beginning of December, the next big step was taken. Below you can read briefly what this step entails and you will find a reference to a background article in our magazine (in Dutch).

Important step as of December 2021

The Fund makes conscious investment choices, among other things by investing in companies that make a positive contribution to the realization of four selected sustainable development goals. With the introduction of this, we want to invest more in these types of companies than before. We are doing this step by step and at the beginning of December 2021 this was implemented in our portfolio 'shares in developed markets', in which approximately one fifth of the assets of Philips Pensioenfonds are invested. Philips Pensioenfonds chose four goals that fit the Fund. The development goals to which the Fund wants to contribute are 'Good health and well-being', 'Climate action', 'Sustainable cities and communities' and 'Responsible consumption and production'. Our participants were tested whether they could agree with these four sustainable development goals The research confirmed that the chosen development goals were the right ones: they could agree well with these goals.