LONDON - Twelve investment consulting firms, together responsible for advising pension funds and insurers on $10 trillion in assets, launched the Net Zero Investment Consultants Initiative, the consultants said on Monday.
The consultants are making commitments, endorsed by the UN’s Race to Zero campaign, towards the goal of global net zero emissions by 2050, they said in a statement.
The consultants are Barnett Waddingham, bfinance, Cambridge Associates, Cardano, Frontier, Hymans Robertson, JANA, LCP, Meketa, Redington, Willis Towers Watson and Wilshire.
Investment consultants advise asset owners such as pension funds, insurers, sovereign wealth funds, endowments and family offices on how to manage their money.
The initiative is supported by the Principles for Responsible Investment and follows similar initiatives for asset owners themselves, asset managers and insurers.
The consultants have committed to integrating advice on net zero alignment into all investment consulting services within the next two years. Other commitments include setting emissions reduction targets across all their own operational emissions.
"The global transition to a net zero economy means asset owners have to develop their understanding of climate risks, think about changing pathways for their assets and exercise their stewardship rights," said Luba Nikulina, global head of research at Willis Towers Watson.
"Investment consultants play a vital role in supporting asset owners on this journey and helping them increase their level of climate ambition."
