Top Canada Pension Funds Ask for Better ESG Disclosure

(Bloomberg) -- The heads of eight large Canadian pension funds are pleading with companies to improve their environmental, social and governance disclosure by giving investors “consistent and complete” data.

The leaders backing the initiative include the chiefs of the Canada Pension Plan Investment Board, the Caisse de depot et placement du Quebec, Ontario Teachers’ Pension Plan and PSP Investments, which manages the pensions of federal government employees and the Royal Canadian Mounted Police.

The funds are seeking better disclosure by asking companies to adopt standards such as the Task Force on Climate-related Financial Disclosures (TCFD) framework. Collectively, the eight funds manage C$1.6 trillion ($1.2 trillion) in assets.

“How companies identify and address issues such as diversity and inclusion, human capital, board effectiveness and climate change can significantly contribute to value creation or erosion,“ the group said in a statement.

“Companies have an obligation to disclose their key business risks and opportunities to financial markets and should provide financially relevant, comparable and decision-useful information.”

The funds said they’re committed to strengthening ESG disclosure within their own organizations and to allocating capital to investments best-placed to deliver sustainable value over the long term.

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