PSP Investments Canada

In terms of female representation in leadership positions, PSP Investments Canada has a gender-balanced board of directors where 5 out of 10 members are women. The financial institution has an engagement policy where it describes its approach on sustainability themes and impact topics with investees.  Additionally, the pension fund publishes a stewardship /engagement report describing how the engagement policy is applied in practice and publishes case studies describing where it has engaged successfully with clients/investees on sustainability themes and impact topics. The financial institution discloses a target to achieve 30% representation of women on boards of directors and executive management teams by 2022 

PSP Investments Canada discloses the aggregate amount and share of finance it devotes to climate solutions while specifying what these solutions are and it also discloses time-bound targets for its climate solutions.

PSP Investments Canada discloses the proportion of women in its total direct operations workforce for each employee category. Additionally, the financial institution has a publicly available policy statement which shows it is committed to respecting the health and safety of workers.  

PSP Investments Canada has an opportunity to assign responsibility for sustainability to the group’s board of directors. Moreover, the financial institution could link the remuneration of its executive or management teams to sustainability performance criteria.  There is no evidence that the financial institution has a public commitment to gender equality and women’s empowerment and it also has an opportunity to reach at least 40% female representation in senior leadership positions. There is no evidence that the financial institution discloses the ratio of basic salary and remuneration of women to men in its total direct operations workforce for each employee category.   Although the financial institution has an engagement policy that includes a framework with success criteria, there is no evidence that this policy includes escalation points.  

There is no evidence that the PSP Investments Canada discloses a target to reach net-zero financed emissions by 2050. The financial institution has an opportunity to disclose the key sectors and companies it has identified as priorities to engage with on climate change, specifically on the alignment with the Paris Agreement. There is no evidence that the financial institution is committed to minimising the negative impacts it has on nature and biodiversity. No evidence was found regarding the financial institution’s approach to fossil fuels that spans across the fossil fuel value chain, such as the amount or share of finance it directs towards fuels, or its stance on financing companies with new fossil fuel projects.  

There is no evidence that PSP Investments Canada has a publicly available policy statement committing it to respect human rights laid out in the UN Guiding Principles. Moreover, the pension fund has an opportunity to describe the process for identifying its human rights risks and impacts through its relevant financing activities. To provide transparency on financial inclusivity, the financial institution has an opportunity to disclose the amount of finance directed towards, for example, women-owned businesses, small- and medium-sized enterprises or low-income developing countries.