Understanding the Impact of Our Investments

The Authority has just completed a ground-breaking project to assess the potential impact of the South Yorkshire Pension Fund’s investments – across all asset classes, sectors and geographic locations - on the delivery of the United Nations Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs).

What are the SDGs?

The 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development, adopted by all United Nations Member States in 2015, provides a shared blueprint for peace and prosperity for people and the planet, now and into the future. At its heart are the 17 Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs), which are an urgent call for action by all countries - developed and developing - in a global partnership. They recognize that ending poverty and other deprivations must go hand-in-hand with strategies that improve health and education, reduce inequality, and spur economic growth – all while tackling climate change and working to preserve our oceans and forests. The Goals are illustrated in the diagram below

What was the Impact Reporting Project?

SYPA believes that the SDG’s provide a good framework for understanding how our investments impact on people and planet and from this we can determine whether we are meeting the principles set out in our Responsible Investment policy, which you can read by clicking the links on the right. The Authority appointed Minerva Analytics, a ‘Sustainable Stewardship’ service provider, to produce an impact report for the 2020/21 financial year which illustrated how the totality of the Authority’s investments had impacted on the achievement of each of the SDGs.

What did Minerva do?

Minerva assessed the potential impact of the Authority’s investments on the delivery of the SDGs by looking closely at each of the South Yorkshire Pension Fund’s investments and investment managers. They collected data on all of the Fund’s investments and asked all of the Fund’s investment managers to complete an Environment, Social and Governance (ESG)- focused questionnaire which also covered their individual approaches to the SDGs. You can download and read the full report at the bottom of this page.

What were the results?

What Happens Now?

This is the first year that the Authority has undertaken this wide-ranging exercise. The project findings will be discussed by the Pensions Committee to consider next steps in terms of increasing the potential positive impacts of the investments on the delivery of the SDGs by 2030 and decreasing any potential negative impacts. An SDG Impact Report will now be produced by the Authority on an annual basis and shared with the Fund’s stakeholders to monitor ongoing progress in more closely aligning the investment strategy with the delivery of the SDGs