Oral question asked in the House of Lords, by Lord Joffe (Labour). It was answered on Thursday, 9 July 2009.

Pensions

Question: My Lords, bearing in mind that pension funds and institutional funds are influential owners of most of the companies soon to be subject to Defra emissions guidelines, does the Minister agree that those guidelines should be extended to their investment portfolios, which has been done very successfully by a major pension company in Australia?

Answer: My Lords, the noble Lord is right: the Defra emissions reporting guidelines are out for public consultation. They are expected to be published by October. These guidelines explain how an organisation should measure its corporate footprint as a first step in helping it to improve its emissions management. Those are very important data that one would expect would influence shareholders, be they trustees or others, in their engagement with companies. The purpose of the consultation is to seek views on the guidance. As with all consultations, the views of those who respond will be given full and careful consideration by the Government before any final decisions are made. Therefore, it would not be appropriate for the Government to pre-empt where that consultation may lead.

Secondary information