European pensions have embraced renewables investment on the whole, but new EU policies aimed at raising the bloc’s competitive advantage could shake investor confidence in the sector. There is even suggestion that some renewables investments could become stranded assets. How will European policymakers balance the need for economic growth with the energy transition? 

Renewable energy may be the bedrock of the energy transition but it has not been immune to write-downs. An expert-led discussion session on the bumpy road to profitability for clean energy, the future role of fossil fuels and fossil fuel companies, and the implications for institutional investors.

The energy transition will require a significant increase in the supply of critical minerals, placing the mining sector at the centre of the shift to a low-carbon economy. For investors and policymakers, the key question is how the industry can scale production responsibly while meeting growing global demand. 
This presentation will explore the next phase of the Mining 2030 initiative as it moves from research into implementation. It will cover the initiative’s key recommendations and how it is expanding its focus beyond miners to include supply chain participants and end-users, highlighting what this means for investors and the future of the sector. 

Geopolitical tensions and the shifting security landscape are prompting investors to reconsider the role of defence within sustainable investment frameworks. For many asset owners, the challenge lies in determining how defence-related investments can align with ESG principles while maintaining clear ethical boundaries. 
This presentation will explore the framework being developed to guide responsible investment in the defence sector, including how to define what can appropriately sit within an ESG portfolio. It will also consider the importance of investor engagement across the lifecycle of defence products, including the need for greater oversight of what happens to weapons after conflicts end, when they can often end up in the wrong hands. 

As sustainability expectations rise and stakeholder scrutiny intensifies, pension funds are rethinking their reliance on standard market indices. The shift toward customised benchmarks reflects a growing need to align investment strategies with ESG commitments while improving transparency. 
This presentation will examine how passive investing increasingly requires active design. It will explore how decisions such as exclusions, ESG tilts, and carbon reduction pathways are embedded into clear, rules-based methodologies. It will also address the practical trade-offs involved in index construction, and how investors can maintain strong fiduciary oversight through robust governance, product ownership, and monitoring frameworks. 

The EU’s Energy Performance of Buildings Directive requires a 60% reduction in emissions by 2030. With buildings consuming 40% of the EU’s energy and three quarters of building stock requiring efficiency upgrades, institutional investors face a rare convergence of regulatory certainty and attractive risk-adjusted returns through energy efficiency project debt. Can reaching Europe’s climate and energy security goals also strengthen competitiveness? This presentation thoroughly investigates the investment case for European building decarbonisation.  

The energy transition is no longer a theoretical allocation theme. It is capital intensive, politically complex, geographically uneven and deeply tied to economic development. For asset owners, the question is shifting from ‘How do we decarbonise portfolios?’ to 'Where is capital genuinely enabling the transition — and how do we access it across asset classes?’ 

This session will examine how the transition is unfolding in practice across public equity and debt markets, and why emerging markets are increasingly central to that story.

Annika Brouwer – Portfolio Specialist, Ninety One 
Jennifer Monyihan -- Portfolio Specialist – Sustainable Equities & Private Markets, Ninety One

Stewardship remains under pressure to prove its worth. Are we asking too much of it or do asset owners just need to become more forceful? How can we measure its effectiveness and what does this mean for how asset owners incentivise asset managers? Will the clampdown on shareholder rights in the US colour the EU’s rules and how will this affect investors? Hear about the latest thinking and activity from experienced practitioners. 

More pension funds are looking to include members’ perspectives on investing, spurred either by regulation, societal pressure or by the sense they should better understand the ultimate asset owners. Drawing from her recent work with Pensioenfonds Detailhandel and NEST, an international expert on deliberative democracy in pension schemes discusses why pensions should seek out their members' considered perspectives, how this creates better governance, and why member democracy is good for wider democracy.

Climate investing involves allocating capital with the objective of supporting the transition towards a net-zero economy, rather than solely focusing on reducing portfolio carbon intensity. A benchmark-agnostic fixed income strategy can actively allocate to issuers and projects that contribute to this transition, utilizing a mix of green, sustainable, and conventional debt instruments.

Justine Leigh-Bell – CEO, Anthropocene Fixed Income Institute

As asset owners struggle with the continued decarbonisation of their portfolios, is it time to put more focus on transition finance? Instead of cutting carbon footprints, will the next phase of net-zero investing be about increasing capital allocation to dedicated transition assets? 

Justine Leigh-Bell – CEO, Anthropocene Fixed Income Institute