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Responsible Investment

This area of the website provides information on the Trustee's approach to Responsible Investment (RI). On this page we explain the Trustee's overall approach and the instructions that it gives to BlackRock as the Scheme's asset manager, or any other asset managers that may be appointed from time to time. Links are also provided to the overarching RI policy, and other relevant reports.

Stewardship

The objective of Stewardship arrangements is to drive up Environmental, Social and Governance (ESG) standards in the organisations in which the Scheme is invested, where consistent with the Trustees’ fiduciary duties and applicable to the Scheme’s investment strategies. BlackRock has been instructed by the Trustee to exercise voting and other rights attached to the Scheme's investments at meetings of UK and overseas listed companies wherever practicable. Details of the exercise of voting rights are reported to the Trustee and a summary of this information, along with data summarising the Scheme's larger investments, will be made available on the member website each year.

The Trustee is supportive of the Financial Reporting Council’s updated Stewardship Code 2020, of which BlackRock is a signatory. The Code sets standards for those investing money on behalf of UK savers and pensioners. The Code is made up of 12 principles which the UK’s Financial Reporting Council believes are important to creating long-term value from investments for beneficiaries. Signatories to the Code must produce a report each year which explains how they have applied the principles, demonstrating that they have been “good stewards” of the investments they look after.

The overriding objective of the Trustee is not to cause BlackRock (or any other external asset manager appointed from time to time) to take any action (whether by purchasing, holding or selling any investment) which could be reasonably expected to diminish the financial returns on the Scheme's investments as a whole.

Subject to this objective, and if applicable to the Scheme’s investment strategy, the Trustee requires BlackRock (or any other external asset manager appointed from time to time) to integrate financially material ESG considerations into the investment decision-making process across all asset classes.

The Trustees and BlackRock regularly review practices and experiences in order to keep their approach to RI relevant and up-to-date. This includes regular reviews against peers to understand policies and practices being adopted by other pension schemes.

Task Force on Climate-Related Financial Disclosures (TCFD)

Click the image below to read our latest TCFD Report.

Acronyms used in TCFD report

Term	Meaning
AVC	Additional Voluntary Contributions
ABS	Asset-Backed Securities
ACWI	All Country World Index
BAPIML	British Airways Pension Investment Management Ltd
BREEAM	Building Research Establishment Environmental Assessment Method
CLO	Collateralised Loan Obligation
CORSIA	Carbon Offsetting and Reduction Scheme for International Aviation
CPD	Continuing Professional Development
DII	Diversified Illiquid Income
DWP	Department for Work and Pensions
EPC	Energy Performance Certificate
ESG	Environmental, Social & Governance
GHG	Green House Gas
IPCC RCP	InterGovernmental Panel on Climate Change Representative Concentration Pathway
IRM	Integrated Risk Management
LDI	Liability Driven Investment
LTFT	Long Term Funding Target
MSCI AC World	MSCI All Country World
NAV	Net Asset Value
NGFS	Network for Greening the Financial System
RI	Responsible Investment
SAIF	Strategic Alternative Income Fund
SIP	Statement of Investment Principles
TAA	Tactical Asset Allocation
TCFD	Taskforce on Climate-Related Financial Disclosure
TR	Total Return
TRS	Total Return Swaps
UKGBC	UK Green Building Council