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At the Railway Pensions Scheme we recognise our responsibility as a leading UK pension scheme. We work to shape the policy and regulatory framework in a way which supports sustainable investment by everyone.

As a recent example of this, our investment team, RPMI Railpen, has partnered with The Pensions and Lifetime Savings Association (PLSA), the CIPD (the professional body for HR and people development) and think tank, the High Pay Centre, to understand investor expectations on environmental, social and governance (ESG) issues.  We are also researching the UK’s largest listed companies to see how effectively they are responding to workforce factors highlighted by the recent lockdowns.

We will be exploring areas like gender and ethnicity; stability of the workforce; skills and capabilities; and engagement and well-being.

Commenting on this, Caroline Escott, Senior Investment Manager at RPMI Railpen says: “RPMI Railpen has been engaging on workforce treatment with portfolio companies for many years, both as a financially material issue and as a topic which resonates with our members. For instance, we were one of the first UK pension schemes to update our voting policy to reflect how we vote at companies where we do not think employees have been treated fairly. We are proud to support what will be an important contribution to the discussion, at what is a critical moment in the journey to build back better.”

RPMI Railpen is a proud supporter of the International Corporate Governance Network (ICGN), whose goal is to promote effective standards of corporate governance and investor stewardship worldwide.

Our team has played a leading role in a number of investment industry projects aimed at raising industry standards and has spoken at over 20 recent industry events.

We believe that responsible companies with good corporate governance are more likely to achieve the best long-term financial returns that our members need.

Not only that, but where your pension contributions are invested can make a big difference to the future of the world we live in.

Here at the Railway Pensions Scheme, we always consider relevant environmental, social and governance issues in the full range of investment decisions we make.  We work hard to make sure your contributions are invested sustainably.

For more details on where and how your pension contributions are invested, see our blog on responsible investments here.