Sampension has highlighted the success it has had with opening dialogue with companies on their climate progress.

At the end of the year, the pension provider concluded long-term dialogues with an Irish and American company, which has contributed to noticeable climate progress in the two companies.

Sampension initiated dialogue with the Irish company, James Hardie Industries, which is a global building materials company, in 2017 as it believed that it did not adequately handle risks related to climate change. The company has now announced targets for its so-called GHG intensity in 2030, which means that the company can be assessed in the future on its climate strategy and performance.

In addition, in December, Sampension concluded its dialogue with Kinder Morgan – one of the largest energy infrastructure companies in North America with activities within oil and gas pipelines and terminals – on the company's management of climate risks.

The dialogue began in 2019, and Kinder Morgan has now improved its climate strategy and the energy consumption within all of its business areas is now measured and published, and the company has set quantitative targets for its energy consumption.

“The dialogues with the two companies are good examples of why, in our opinion, in many cases it pays better as an investor to enter into a dialogue with companies where you want to see improvements – rather than sell from or exclude. This is also reinforced by the fact that companies in general have become more willing to enter into dialogue with their investors about their social responsibility, as it has risen higher on the agenda of the companies.

“However, one should not expect the dialogue path to make progress overnight. But constructive dialogues over a longer period of time, and where several investors assert their influence, can move something in a company, which has also been the case with the Irish and American companies,” Sampension head of ESG, Jacob Ehlerth Jørgensen.

In 2021, Sampension concluded dialogue with 13 companies where it has been able to establish progress. Of these, eight of the dialogues have been in the climate area, where a number of the companies have ended up setting ambitious goals. For example, the Polish energy company PKN Orlen has set targets for CO2 neutrality by 2050, while the Japanese utility company Tohoku Electric Power has set quantitative targets for the development of renewable energy.

“Our experience is that there has been a great collective movement in 2021. The companies have generally moved on and are increasingly recognising their social responsibility. This is very positive, because especially in relation to the climate agenda, it is crucial that all parts of our society take responsibility for their place in the green transition, and this of course also applies to companies. We are far from reaching our goal, but there is a very positive development going on in the companies,” Ehlerth Jørgensen said.

In 2022, Sampension plans to further increase its dialogues with and expectations of the companies it invests in, especially in the area of climate.

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