The Dutch pension fund for the health sector, Pensioenfonds Zorg en Welzijn (PFZW), has started investing in green bonds over the past year.

The second largest pension fund in the Netherlands aims to sustainably invest €20bn by 2020, a quadrupling of its current amount of sustainable investments.

The annual report of the pension fund shows that last year PFZW invested in green bonds from ABN Amro and Alliander, among others. It also invested in food safety via bonds from Eurochem, and in green projects in Brazil via paper producer Suzano Papel e Celulose.

Last year PFZW announced its intention to reduce the CO2 emissions of its equities portfolio with 50% in the next four years. This year the fund will review its investments in real estate, bonds and alternative equity.

The annual report also revealed that PFZW will not be able to reduce the administration costs per 2018 to €58 per member. The fund had set itself this goal, but because of extra costs due to new regulation and necessary investment in ICT this ambition is no longer realistic, the fund’s board said.

The board expects that a cost reduction to €60 by 2020 will be feasible. PFZW thinks the costs can be reduced by further increasing the level of automation. The administration costs were €67.90 per member in 2016.

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