Investment management firm Fidelity International announced today new carbon emissions reduction commitments for FutureWise, its default investment strategy for UK-based pension schemes. The company is aiming to cut portfolio emissions by half by 2030, and to achieve net zero by 2050.

Keith Metters, Head of Global Workplace Investing at Fidelity International said:

“With more than 23 million people in the UK enrolled within defined contribution (DC) pension schemes, it’s imperative that the industry provides solutions to allow plan sponsors, trustees and members to make a positive impact with retirement savings. Almost two-thirds (61%) of our members believe workplace pension schemes should automatically incorporate sustainability within their default investment strategy, and today’s announcement marks our latest step towards this.”

The new targets align with Fidelity’s International’s recently announced sustainability initiatives. The company is a founding signatory of the Net Zero Asset Managers initiative, a coalition of asset managers committed to supporting the goal of net zero greenhouse gas emissions by 2050 or sooner. Signatories to the initiative commit to a series of actions including setting an interim target for the proportion of assets to be managed in line with the attainment of net zero emissions by 2050 or sooner. Fidelity International is also a founding member of Terra Carta, a coalition launched by the Sustainable Markets Initiative aiming to provide a roadmap to 2030 for businesses to move towards an ambitious and sustainable future, aligned with the goals of the Paris Agreement, the UN SDGs, and the Convention on Biological Diversity, among others.

Fidelity International has also committed to reduce its own company-wide operational carbon emissions to net zero by 2040.

Jenn-Hui Tan, Global Head of Stewardship and Sustainable Investing at Fidelity International, said:

“At Fidelity International, we recognise that climate change poses one of, if not the most, significant risks to the long-term profitability and sustainability of companies, including our own. We take a pro-active approach to minimising our own environmental footprint and we are committed to achieving net zero emissions by 2040 for Fidelity International’s operational emissions.

“Our announcement today to achieve net zero for FutureWise aligns with our commitment under the Net Zero Asset Manager initiative to support investing aligned with net zero emissions by 2050 or sooner and to accelerate that transition across all of our investment portfolios.”