Climate risk partnership adds Ontario Teachers’ Pension Plan
Woodwell Climate Research Center (formerly Woods Hole Research Center) is expanding its groundbreaking initiative with Wellington Management, adding the Ontario Teachers’ Pension Plan to our strategic relationship integrating climate science and asset management. Boston-based Wellington Management is one of the world’s largest independent investment management firms, with over $1 trillion of client assets under management through the end of 2019. Ontario Teachers’ is the administrator of Canada’s largest single-profession pension plan, with $207.4 billion in net assets.
“If humanity is to meet the grand challenge of climate change, all sectors of society will need to participate. This partnership is a powerful step, because it helps the business and financial communities understand the physical risks of climate change and how they affect livelihoods,” said Woodwell President Dr. Phil Duffy.
Ontario Teachers’ will apply findings from Woodwell Climate and Wellington’s leading-edge climate research to the execution of its investment strategies, which span a diverse set of geographies, sectors, and asset classes, and include long-term assets such as private equity, real estate, and infrastructure. This initiative will provide deep insights for Ontario Teachers’ investment teams on the medium- and long-term financial implications of physical climate-related risks, such as sea level rise, drought, heat, and precipitation.
“Our investments, particularly those in real assets, require careful consideration of the physical risks posed by climate change. With access to top-quality climate science data, we can build on our own expertise in this area and use the research provided to develop deeper insights,” said Ziad Hindo, chief investment officer at Ontario Teachers’. “The world will not be the same after COVID-19, but our commitment to responsible investing will not change. Strong, mutually beneficial relationships, such as ours with Wellington and [Woodwell Climate], will continue to be a key component of delivering on our commitment.”
Woodwell Climate originally announced its partnership with Wellington in September 2018, working to apply climate-related insights to the investments of California Public Employees’ Retirement System (CalPERS), America’s largest public pension fund.
Woodwell Climate will continue using the research that comes out of these projects to publish academic papers and inform public policy.
