A coalition of 64 institutional investors work together to acquire the world’s largest corporate water users and address water as a financial risk.
The Valuing Water Finance Initiative represents institutional investors with total assets of $9.8 trillion and is coordinated by shareholder advocacy group Ceres and the Dutch government.
Pension fund members include the $459.4 billion California Civil Service Retirement Plan, Sacramento. $301.6 billion California Teacher Retirement Plan, West Sacramento. A$26 billion ($18.2 billion) AustralianSuper, Melbourne. UK Environment Agency Pension Fund and Municipal Pension Fund Forum. R70 billion ($4.2 billion) South African government employee pension fund, Pretoria.
Asset managers participating in the initiative include Aviva Investors, Ballard, Boston Common Asset Management, Dana Investment Advisors, DWS Investments, Federated Hermès, Fidelity International, Franklin Templeton, Impax Asset Management, KBI Global Investors, Lombard Odier. , which includes PGGM.
Initiative members will initially focus on 72 companies in four sectors: food, beverage, apparel and tech. Using a methodology developed by Ceres to show the companies with the highest water use and impact, and track the UN’s 2030 Sustainable Development Goals on Water. , SDG6.
Investors “engage with portfolio companies based on the company’s expectations to value water, help the private sector assess and act on water as a financial risk, and provide the significant resources needed to better protect water systems.” We are poised to drive change at scale,” said Kirsten James. Presentation by Senior Program Director, Water, Ceres.
