Tag: New York State Common Retirement Fund

NY State Pension Commits to $400 Million in Sustainable Investments

Mary Pat Campbell

Link: https://www.ai-cio.com/news/ny-state-pension-commits-400-million-sustainable-investments/

Excerpt:

The $247.7 billion New York State Common Retirement Fund has committed approximately $400 million to two funds as part of its Sustainable Investments and Climate Solutions (SICS) Program.

The commitments are part of New York State Comptroller Thomas DiNapoli’s climate action plan to lower investment risks from climate change and help shift the pension fund to net-zero greenhouse gas emissions within the next 20 years.

“While climate change poses investment risks, it also creates opportunities for the state pension fund to invest in the companies and funds that are best positioned for the low-carbon future,” DiNapoli said in a statement. “The commitments we announced today aim to take advantage of the growth in climate investing and to strengthen our portfolio for the long-term.”

Author(s): Michael Katz

Publication Date: 26 April 2021

Publication Site: ai-CIO

New York pension fund divests $7 million from Canadian oil sands firms

Mary Pat Campbell

Link: https://www.reuters.com/article/us-new-york-pension-oil-sands/new-york-pension-fund-divests-7-million-from-canadian-oil-sands-firms-idUSKBN2BZ1UT?il=0

Excerpt:

New York’s state pension fund is restricting investment in six Canadian oil sands companies because they have not shown they are prepared for a transition to a low-carbon future, the fund’s Comptroller Thomas DiNapoli said on Monday.

The New York State Common Retirement Fund will divest more than $7 million in securities already held in the companies, and not make any further investments in them, DiNapoli said in a statement.

Canada’s oil sands hold the world’s third-largest crude reserves and have some of the highest emissions intensity per barrel, due to the carbon-intensive production process of extracting tar-like bitumen from the ground.

Author(s): Nia Williams

Publication Date: 12 April 2021

Publication Site: Reuters

DiNapoli: State Pension Fund Calls on Companies to Address Climate Risk, Transition to Cleaner Operations

Mary Pat Campbell

Link: https://www.osc.state.ny.us/press/releases/2021/03/dinapoli-state-pension-fund-calls-companies-address-climate-risk-transition-cleaner-operations

Excerpt:

The New York State Common Retirement Fund (Fund) has reached agreements with five major U.S. companies, including Domino’s Pizza Inc., to set targets to reduce their greenhouse gas emissions (GHG), adopt new energy efficiency measures and increase their use of renewable energy, New York State Comptroller Thomas P. DiNapoli, trustee of the Fund, announced today. In response to the agreements, the Fund withdrew the shareholder resolutions with the companies.

“More and more companies understand that addressing climate change, by reducing their carbon emissions, helps their long-term success and benefits investors,” DiNapoli said. “The transition to a low carbon future and meeting our country’s renewed commitment to the Paris Agreement present enormous opportunities for smart, sustainable investments. My thanks to these companies for recognizing their role in building a lower-carbon economy and their responsibility to shareholders’ concerns about climate risk.”

Author(s): Thomas DiNapoli

Publication Date: 4 March 2021

Publication Site: Office of the New York State Comptroller

N.Y. Pension Prods Companies to ‘Confront Institutional Racism,’ Or Else

Mary Pat Campbell

Link: https://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2021-02-25/n-y-pension-prods-companies-to-boost-diversity-or-face-a-vote

Excerpt:

The New York State Common Retirement Fund, the third-largest U.S. public plan, said it’s pressing companies to boost their ethnic and gender diversity, and will vote against directors who fail to act.

“Companies must root out racial inequality, just as they would root any other systemic problem that puts their long-term success at risk,” New York State Comptroller Thomas P. DiNapoli said in a statement Thursday. “Corporate America must join in the national reckoning over racial injustice and confront institutionalized racism.”

The New York pension, which has $248 billion of assets, plans to file shareholder proposals supporting increased diversity on corporate boards. It also will seek better disclosures about the gender and ethnic breakdown of companies’ employees. The fund said it will vote against board members who ignore these requests.

Author(s): Saijel Kishan

Publication Date: 25 February 2021

Publication Site: Bloomberg

FirstEnergy Corp. to publicly disclose more political spending under deal with New York pension fund

Mary Pat Campbell

Link: https://www.cleveland.com/open/2021/02/firstenergy-corp-to-publicly-disclose-more-political-spending-under-deal-with-new-york-pension-fund.html

Excerpt:

COLUMBUS, Ohio—FirstEnergy Corp. has agreed to regularly open its books to the public about its political spending, under an agreement the scandal-ridden utility has reached with a New York State public pension fund.

Under the deal with the New York State Common Retirement Fund, FirstEnergy has agreed to post comprehensive reports on its website twice per year through May 2024 detailing all its spending on any candidates, political parties, and ballot measures in any state. The agreement was released Monday by New York State Comptroller Thomas P. DiNapoli, the pension’s trustee.

Author(s): Jeremy Pelzer

Publication Date: 22 February 2021

Publication Site: cleveland.com

NY State Comptroller DiNapoli Statement on McDonald’s Agreement to Tie Executive Compensation to Diversity, Workforce Management

Mary Pat Campbell

Link: https://www.osc.state.ny.us/press/releases/2021/02/ny-state-comptroller-dinapoli-statement-mcdonalds-agreement-tie-executive-compensation-diversity?utm_source=weekly%20news&utm_medium=email&utm_term=municipal%20audit&utm_content=20210221&utm_campaign=fiscal%20oversight&section=body

Excerpt:

New York State Comptroller Thomas P. DiNapoli, trustee of the New York State Common Retirement Fund, released the following statement today in response to McDonald’s decision to disclose workforce diversity data and tie executive compensation to the company’s ability to foster inclusion and ensure improved human capital management. As a result of McDonald’s new policy, DiNapoli and the Fund are withdrawing their shareholder proposal that had asked the company to connect executive compensation to the company’s management of ESG and workforce issues. The Fund owned 1,674,102 shares in McDonald’s valued at $359,229,000 as of Dec. 31, 2020.

…..

“It’s my hope that other companies follow McDonald’s example, particularly those corporations where New York state’s pension fund has filed similar shareholder proposals seeking greater attention to, and respect for, their human capital. 

Author: Thomas DiNapoli

Publication Date: 18 February 2021

Publication Site: Office of the New York State Comptroller