UK launches taskforce to support integration of social factors in pension scheme investments

The UK government launched a new taskforce aimed at supporting the integration of social factors into the ESG investing practices of the country’s pension schemes. The taskforce, a cross department working group headed by Minister for Pensions Guy Opperman, will help pension schemes to increase focus on the “S” in ESG investing, addressing the risks and opportunities relating to issues including workforce conditions, supply chains, consumer protection and forced labour. The launch of the taskforce follows the release of results of a consultation by the UK’s Department for Works and Pensions (DWP), initiated last year, seeking feedback on how pension schemes approach social risks and opportunities. In the forward to the call to evidence report, Opperman said that the consultation indicated that there is “clearly more to do” to drive increased stewardship by the schemes on social issues, and that it is imperative that trustees “use their position and oversight to ensure that asset managers do not leave social factors off the agenda.”