The Trustee of the AstraZeneca Pension Fund works with its advisers to achieve Net Zero Greenhouse Gas (GHG) emissions. Our steps to measure our emissions and document how we take account of climate change in running the Fund, are summarised on this page and in our Taskforce on Climate-related Financial Disclosures report (in more detail).

We have committed our investment portfolios to achieving Net Zero GHG emissions (i.e., not adding to the amount of GHGs in the atmosphere) by 2045 and a 50% emissions reduction from 2020 levels by 2030 at the latest.

What is climate change?

  • Climate change refers to global warming caused by the GHG emissions from human activity. This leads to the increased frequency and severity of weather events, such as droughts, sea-level rise, floods, heatwaves, hurricanes, and wildfires.
  • Globally, we emit around 51 billion tonnes of GHGs a year. Most of our emissions come from industry, energy, agriculture, and transport. To prevent the worst effects of climate change, we need to stop emitting GHGs.
  • The GHGs that trap heat in the atmosphere include carbon dioxide (CO2), methane (CH4), nitrous oxide (N2O) and fluorinated gases (F-gases).
  • Temperatures have already warmed by around 1.1°C since pre-industrial levels. The Paris Climate Agreement seeks to limit warming to 1.5°C.

What are our targets to transition to Net Zero emissions?

The Trustee’s main target for the Fund is to align our investments to support the goal of Net Zero GHG emissions by 2045, in line with global efforts to limit warming to 1.5°C.

Broadly our current target is an interim target for 2030, consistent with a fair share of the 50% global reduction in GHGs, which is a requirement in the IPCC special report on global warming of 1.5°C. The metric we will use to measure this is the portfolio’s Carbon Footprint.

We are committed to reviewing the progress against our target every year, and to reviewing the target itself at least every three years, to ensure it aligns with the latest scientific thinking and supports the necessary economic transition effectively.

What does the Fund invest in?
How do our investments align to our Net Zero emissions target:

  • We invest in a balanced portfolio of assets using carefully selected investment managers. A wide range of assets are held which have different exposures to GHGs, for example, physical equity, synthetic equity and credit.
  • The Fund has assets in both a Defined Benefit (DB) Section, called the Retirement Account (RA), and a Defined Contribution (DC) Section, called the Investment Account (IA). The assets are typically held in investment managers’ pooled funds who hold influence on the companies in which they invest on the Fund’s behalf. However, the pooled nature of the funds means that a prescriptive and specific Trustee policy cannot be practically implemented.
  • The Trustee’s policy is to appoint investment managers who integrate Environmental, Social and Governance (ESG) considerations within their investment process. Where relevant, the Trustee also encourages its investment managers and advisers to sign up to the UN Principles for Responsible Investment (UN PRI) and other such bodies, or to explain to the Trustee’s satisfaction why they do not consider it necessary to do so.