February 1, 2007
TORONTO, ON (February 1, 2007): The CPP Investment Board is encouraging Canada’s largest companies to disclose more information on the business risks and opportunities they face as a result of climate change by responding to the Carbon Disclosure Project’s (CDP) questionnaire.
The CPP Investment Board is one of 385 institutional investors from around the world representing a total of US$57 trillion in assets under management who are supporting the project. The CDP questionnaire was mailed on February 1st, 2008 to over 3,000 companies worldwide, including the 200 largest public companies in Canada. This questionnaire asks companies to measure and disclose their greenhouse gas emissions and report on their strategy for dealing with risks and opportunities associated with climate change.
The CPP Investment Board is a signatory to the CDP and sponsor of the CDP Canada Report which recognizes leading practices by Canadian companies regarding transparency on climate change related risks.
“Improved disclosure on climate change related risks and opportunities through mechanisms such as the Management’s Discussion and Analysis and the CDP is necessary as it enables long-term investors like us to incorporate the potential investment impact into our investment decisions,” said David McCann, Vice-President & Head of Relationship Investments, CPP Investment Board.
“We also believe that responsible corporate behaviour with respect to environmental, social and governance (ESG) factors can generally have a positive influence on long-term shareholder value,” McCann said.
The CPP Investment Board’s participation in the CDP initiative is aligned with its Policy on Responsible Investing, which consists of a three part program to improve the disclosure of, and performance on, ESG factors in the companies in which it invests.
The core elements of the policy are first, engagement with those companies through proxy voting, working with investor coalitions and direct contact; second, supporting research into the long term materiality of ESG factors; and third, integrating ESG factors into the investment process.
Full details of the CPP Investment Board’s approach to responsible investing are outlined in its Policy on Responsible Investing available at www.cppib.ca.
More information on the CDP, including previous responses to the CDP survey, can be downloaded at www.cdproject.net. For a copy of the 2007 CDP Canada Report, please go to http://www.cdproject.net/cdp5reports.asp.
About the CPP Investment Board
The CPP Investment Board invests the funds not needed by the Canada Pension Plan to pay current benefits on behalf of 17 million Canadian contributors and beneficiaries. In order to build a diversified portfolio of CPP assets, the CPP Investment Board is investing in publicly-traded stocks, private equities, real estate, inflation-linked bonds, infrastructure and fixed income. The CPP Investment Board is accountable to Parliament and the federal and provincial finance ministers. Based in Toronto, the CPP Investment Board is governed and managed independently of the Canada Pension Plan and at arm’s length from governments. At December 31, 2007 the CPP Fund totaled $119.4 billion. For more information about the CPP Investment Board, visit www.cppib.ca.
For further information contact:
Joel Kranc
Manager, Communications
CPP Investment Board
(416) 874-5163
Email: jkranc@cppib.ca
February 1, 2007
TORONTO, ON (February 1, 2007): The CPP Investment Board is encouraging Canada’s largest companies to disclose more information on the business risks and opportunities they face as a result of climate change by responding to the Carbon Disclosure Project’s (CDP) questionnaire.
The CPP Investment Board is one of 385 institutional investors from around the world representing a total of US$57 trillion in assets under management who are supporting the project. The CDP questionnaire was mailed on February 1st, 2008 to over 3,000 companies worldwide, including the 200 largest public companies in Canada. This questionnaire asks companies to measure and disclose their greenhouse gas emissions and report on their strategy for dealing with risks and opportunities associated with climate change.
The CPP Investment Board is a signatory to the CDP and sponsor of the CDP Canada Report which recognizes leading practices by Canadian companies regarding transparency on climate change related risks.
“Improved disclosure on climate change related risks and opportunities through mechanisms such as the Management’s Discussion and Analysis and the CDP is necessary as it enables long-term investors like us to incorporate the potential investment impact into our investment decisions,” said David McCann, Vice-President & Head of Relationship Investments, CPP Investment Board.
“We also believe that responsible corporate behaviour with respect to environmental, social and governance (ESG) factors can generally have a positive influence on long-term shareholder value,” McCann said.
The CPP Investment Board’s participation in the CDP initiative is aligned with its Policy on Responsible Investing, which consists of a three part program to improve the disclosure of, and performance on, ESG factors in the companies in which it invests.
The core elements of the policy are first, engagement with those companies through proxy voting, working with investor coalitions and direct contact; second, supporting research into the long term materiality of ESG factors; and third, integrating ESG factors into the investment process.
Full details of the CPP Investment Board’s approach to responsible investing are outlined in its Policy on Responsible Investing available at www.cppib.ca.
More information on the CDP, including previous responses to the CDP survey, can be downloaded at www.cdproject.net. For a copy of the 2007 CDP Canada Report, please go to http://www.cdproject.net/cdp5reports.asp.
About the CPP Investment Board
The CPP Investment Board invests the funds not needed by the Canada Pension Plan to pay current benefits on behalf of 17 million Canadian contributors and beneficiaries. In order to build a diversified portfolio of CPP assets, the CPP Investment Board is investing in publicly-traded stocks, private equities, real estate, inflation-linked bonds, infrastructure and fixed income. The CPP Investment Board is accountable to Parliament and the federal and provincial finance ministers. Based in Toronto, the CPP Investment Board is governed and managed independently of the Canada Pension Plan and at arm's length from governments. At December 31, 2007 the CPP Fund totaled $119.4 billion. For more information about the CPP Investment Board, visit www.cppib.ca.
For further information contact:
Joel Kranc
Manager, Communications
CPP Investment Board
(416) 874-5163
Email: jkranc@cppib.ca
