Quietroom has created a free template that summarises long Task Force on Climate Related Disclosures (TCFD) publications to help members engage with their pension.
According to research by Nest Insight and the DC Investment Forum, emphasising pensions’ contribution to combating climate change improves member engagement with their investment portfolios.
The template condenses information that is typically lost in a thick 70-page TCFD report intended for regulators. The summary emphasises concrete examples to link investments with environmental impact and includes insightful feedback from members.
Quietroom and co-creator of the TCFD member lead consultant Caroline Hopper says: “Members we spoke to were clued up on climate change – they actually asked us not to explain it to them. But they’d never made the connection between their pension and climate.
“So showing examples of how climate change could affect their investments was very powerful, especially an example about how flooding could damage a shopping centre they invest in. It also allowed us to show why reducing investment emissions is good for their pension pot as well as for the planet.
“We often hear that schemes don’t want to talk to members about this for fear of knee-jerk reactions, especially if emissions metrics go up in the short term. But members appreciate the necessary long-term thinking on climate.”