Enfield's Pension Fund is actively engaging with various companies across multiple sectors to address critical Environmental, Social, and Governance (ESG) issues, focusing on human rights and climate change. Sectors of focus include energy, housebuilding, mining, banking, electric vehicle manufacturing, and luxury goods. The Local Authority Pension Fund Forum (LAPFF), of which Enfield is a member, has been instrumental in driving these engagements, as highlighted in the quarterly update presented at the Local Pension Board meeting on 3 July 2025.
Ravi Lakhani, Head of Pension Investments, presented the LAPFF quarterly update, detailing the forum's engagements with various companies on topics ranging from human rights to climate change and governance. The report underscored the importance of responsible investment and the need for companies to adopt sustainable business models.
LAPFF's engagements during the quarter ending March 2025 included:
- Human Rights: Ongoing discussions with companies, including Bank Leumi and Bezeq, Israeli-based companies, regarding their operations in the Occupied Palestinian Territories. The concerns relate to human rights due diligence in conflict-affected and high-risk areas (CAHRAs). LAPFF is pressing the companies for enhanced human rights disclosures and adherence to the UN Guiding Principles on Business and Human Rights (UNGPs).
- Climate Change: Engagements with energy suppliers such as Iberdrola SA and SSE PLC on strategies to decarbonise energy supply and consumption. LAPFF is advocating for energy supply companies to shift production and investments away from fossil fuels and scale up renewable energy. The report notes that both Iberdrola and SSE continue to make progress in their decarbonisation efforts, but their reliance on gas for energy security underscores the complexities of transitioning away from fossil fuels. Further clarity is needed on how initiatives will translate into tangible cost benefits for consumers to strengthen credibility and ensure alignment with sustainability and affordability goals.
- Governance: Meetings with housebuilders like Persimmon PLC and Barratt Redrow PLC on decarbonisation and readiness for the Future Homes Standard, and with Vistry Group PLC on board governance.
LAPFF's efforts also extend to collaborative initiatives. The forum is participating in Rathbones' Votes Against Slavery
and the PRI Advance initiatives with Vale and Anglo American, pushing for stronger human rights oversight in supply chains. LAPFF is also engaging with luxury goods companies like Burberry, Kering, LVMH Moët Hennessy Louis Vuitton, Moncler, Richemont, and Hermès International on their human rights' due diligence in high-risk supply chains.
Furthermore, LAPFF has been actively engaging with oil and gas companies like BP PLC and Shell PLC to challenge the viability of their current business models and advocate for increased investment in renewables. LAPFF is also engaging with banks financing the fossil fuel sector, such as NatWest, and with companies on nature-related disclosures, including Procter & Gamble and Nestlé SA.
LAPFF is also engaging with companies who had received CAHRA related shareholder resolutions in 2024, including Mondelez, JPMorgan Chase & Co, Texas Instruments, Eli Lilly, Lockheed Martin, and RTX Corporation, and FTSE 100 companies on operations in conflict-affected and high-risk areas, such as Next PLC, Aviva PLC, Phoenix Group, BAE Systems, and EasyJet.
The Enfield Pension Fund's commitment to responsible investment is evident through its active participation in LAPFF and its focus on integrating ESG factors into investment decisions. By engaging with companies on critical issues like human rights and climate change, the fund aims to promote sustainable business practices and ensure long-term value for its members.