The latest climate change report

Similar to last year, the Group Trustees have produced a report which details how they are managing the risks and opportunities associated with climate change. This is known as a Taskforce on Climate-related Financial Disclosures (TCFD) Report. Here is an overview of some of the developments covered in the latest report which covers the year ending 31 March 2025.

The Group Trustees continue to believe that issues such as climate change, biodiversity loss and social factors (such as human rights issues) can have a material financial impact on the Group’s assets. The Group Trustees monitor these issues closely. The Trustee’s Responsible Investment Committee work to improve the Group’s portfolio over time, managing the risks posed by these issues and also look to take advantage of any opportunities presented.

Over the year, there have been a number of developments:

• Introducing a new portfolio of stocks: The Group Trustees made a new allocation to a stock index which considers the impact of the climate transition (i.e. moving to a low carbon economy) in its construction. This new investment allocates a greater proportion of assets to stocks that are expected to benefit from this transition and a lower proportion of assets to stocks that are at risk from the transition. The Group Trustees consider that this better manages the risks and opportunities associated with climate change.

• Scenario analysis: Every three years the Group Trustees consider how the funding of the Group could develop in a range of different positive and negative outcomes for climate change. This includes scenarios where there is a rapid and effective global transition to net zero and scenarios where the world fails to transition to net zero. Following this work the Group Trustees concluded that, while climate change remains a material risk, the Group is well positioned for a range of potential outcomes due to its strong funding position and the nature of its investments.

• Manager engagements: The Group Trustees work with a number of investment managers who invest the Group’s assets. Over the year the Group Trustees engaged with their appointed managers to communicate the Group’s belief in the importance of climate change, biodiversity loss and social factors. Managers were asked to explain how they incorporated these issues into their investment decisions. Overall the Group Trustees were pleased with the responses they received but will continue to work with the managers to ensure this remains the case.

Want more detail?

You can find the full TCFD report online via the LIFETRACK log in page under ‘Scheme Information’. No need to log in!

This includes both a standalone report from the Group as well as a contribution to the wider Electricity Supply Pension Scheme (ESPS) report.

While the reports are quite technical, as required by the regulations, there is a foreword by the Chair of the Group Trustees and an executive summary, which provides an overview of how the work done by the Group Trustees supports the security of your benefits.