CFS commits to net zero 2030 target

Yasmine Raso

Senior Journalist, Financial Newswire

14 November 2022

Colonial First State has announced it has committed to a pathway to achieve net zero Scope 1 and 2 greenhouse gas emissions across its operations by 2030, which includes 100 per cent renewable energy power purchase agreements.

This comes after the superannuation and investment solution provider committed last year to net zero emissions by 2050 across 160 super, pension and investment funds in its FirstChoice portfolio and a 30 per cent reduction by 2030.

Since announcing this target, CFS has provided investigated its FirstChoice portfolio’s emissions baseline, implemented a climate roadmap and analysed different scenarios to understand the impact of climate change on future returns.

“As one of Australia’s leading superannuation and investment businesses, with approximately 1,600 employees and more than 900,000 members, we recognise the important role we can play in supporting an orderly transition,” Kelly Power, Chief Executive Officer of Superannuation at CFS, said.

“Our priority is delivering the best possible returns for our customers to enable them to achieve financial freedom in retirement.

“That’s why we’re committed to managing the risks associated with climate change – both at an operational and investment level. By supporting an orderly transition and operating our business sustainably, we can remain focused on delivering for our customers today and into the future.”

CFS has also undertaken several initiatives to expand its environmental and sustainable footprint in the last year. It became a member of Climate Action 100+ and partnered with other investors to advocate against greenhouse gas emissions, as well as appointed a stewardship provider to discuss several sustainability issues with 352 companies within its global equities portfolio.

The firm also conducted its own research on its members, which revealed half of them are looking to change some of their investments to a sustainable option in the next two years and drove the launch of CFS’ first sustainable fund, Thrive+, to be released in the next few weeks.