Caisse de prévoyance de l’Etat de Genève (CPEG) is the pension fund for the canton of Geneva. By law, CPEG must manage its assets with a strong emphasis on sustainability, and the commitment to addressing climate concerns is now firmly embedded. As such, CPEG has undertaken to be carbon neutral by 2050 and respect the Paris Agreement.

CPEG invests globally across various asset classes, with 32 asset managers – just over half the portfolio – overseeing its externally managed assets. This diversification allows it to apply innovative approaches to decarbonisation. It closely monitors the evolution of indicators such as the implied temperature rise (ITR) and carbon footprint for its securities and real estate. In 2024, it will introduce climate value at risk (VaR) to better assess the climate risks in its portfolio.

During the review period, CPEG launched an innovative mandate based on the Lombard Odier Portfolio Temperature Alignment (LOPTA) tool. This invested CHF200m (€215m) in world equity ex-Switzerland securities, aligned with 2°C based on LOPTA calculations and featuring a carbon footprint 30% lower than the benchmark (MSCI World ex-CH). It has also embarked on an innovative partnership with Canada’s province of Québec’s sovereign fund, CDPQ, to invest in infrastructure projects focusing exclusively on combating climate change.

With significant residential and commercial properties in Geneva, CPEG strives to contribute to reducing the city's carbon emissions. It achieves this by using specialist technology to track energy, water, and electricity consumption across its buildings. Moreover, it has reduced oil heating usage from 30% to 8% with an aim to eventually reach 0% once its buildings are connected to the “Genilac” hydro-thermal network that is under construction. Thanks to this and other measures, CPEG’s absolute carbon footprint is almost 10% less than last year, and its ITR decreased by 0.1°C to reach 2.6°C, compared with the benchmark’s 2.8°C.