Danish pension fund PFA has announced a shift in strategy towards greater sustainability, with a focus on health in an ageing population, financial security, and increased investment in the environment.

PFA, which has 1.3 million customers, said social responsibility had become one of the “four cornerstones in the business strategy,” and that it has set concrete goals to help it make a difference for customers and the wider society.

PFA’s managing director, Ole Krogh-Peterson, announced a pledge to increase investment in environmental companies, saying the firm had invested DKK 50bn in “green solutions” by the end of 2023.

Commenting on the increased focus on sustainability, Krogh-Peterson said: “For us, there is a close interaction between running a business and looking after our customers and society, and we are now making this clear with our new approach to social responsibility as part of our new strategy.”

PFA, which has been criticised in the past for investment in fossil fuels, announced that it has joined the Science-Based Target Initiative (SBTi), meaning that external climate experts would verify the company’s climate targets to ensure they are in line with the objectives of the Paris Agreement.

“There is now a big task ahead of us to get climate targets set and get the companies we invest in to join SBTi themselves. Today, approximately 45 per cent of the value of our equity investment have been approved by SBTi, and that proportion must increase, as it is also important to be able to create attractive long-term returns, which is the prerequisite,” Krogh-Peterson said. “It is important in our work to reduce the climate footprint of our investments.”

Krogh-Peterson also emphasised the organisation’s commitment to increasing financial stability for its customers. “PFA was created to provide financial security for customers,” he said. “We do this partly by creating good long-term returns for customers, partly by advising them, and partly by knowing that the value we create goes back to the customers.”

He added that PFA’s shift in strategy included a pledge to advise 235,000 Danish people each year, “thus contributing to their financial security”.

As another element of its corporate responsibility tactics, the fund has announced plans to help 200 employers to develop “frameworks for late careers,” with an aim to help people at the end of their working lives transition towards retirement with a “greater degree of flexibility”.

“In the area of health, one of the ambitions is to help at least 1,700 people on long-term sick leave back into the labour market each year,” Krogh-Peterson said.

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