IIGCC appoints three board members at Annual General Meeting

• Jan Erik Saugestad elected and Caroline Le Meaux and Graham Cook re-elected to IIGCC’s board.
• IIGCC adds 48 new members in 2023, with total membership now over 420.
• Key developments from the last 12 months include expanding the assets covered by the Net Zero Investment Framework, launching Nature Action 100, and positive engagement with EU and UK policymakers.

The Institutional Investors Group on Climate Change (IIGCC) is pleased to announce the appointment to its board of Jan Erik Saugestad, CEO of Storebrand Asset Management, and the re-election of Caroline Le Meaux, Global Head of ESG Research, Engagement and Voting at Amundi and Graham Cook, Responsible Investment Strategy Lead (Public Markets) at Phoenix Group, following its 2023 Annual General Meeting (AGM).

The new appointment of Jan Erik Saugestad provides the IIGCC board with additional C-suite experience, as well as further Nordic representation. The board, comprised of asset owner and asset manager representatives with a diverse range of expertise, skills and geographic perspectives, will continue to support IIGCC in 2024.

Highlights from the last 12 months

The AGM was an opportunity for Chair, Faith Ward, and CEO, Stephanie Pfeifer, to recap the key activities from the last 12 months as part of IIGCC’s mission to bring the investment community together to make significant progress towards a net zero and climate resilient future by 2030.

Highlights from across IIGCC’s three programme areas include:

• Expanding the Net Zero Investment Framework to cover six asset classes including infrastructure and private equity
• Publishing climate solutions guidance to help investors assess companies’ climate solutions activities
• Launching Nature Action 100 (the first investor engagement initiative focused on addressing nature and biodiversity loss)
• Continued constructive dialogue with policymakers at the global, EU and UK levels including influencing EU sustainable finance policy, engaging with the COP process, and holding the UK government to account on its net zero policy rollbacks

IIGCC has also increased its number of employees from 37 at the start of the year to 48 today. The growth in the team reflects the broadening and deepening of IIGCC’s work and the continued increase in the level of support, guidance and expertise provided to its members.

The IIGCC 2023 Annual Report provides further details on key achievements from the year, as well as the strategic priorities for the year ahead.

Faith Ward, Chair, IIGCC, said: “After another year of extreme weather demonstrated the destructive impact of climate change, the importance of IIGCC’s work came into even sharper focus. The world is dangerously close to exceeding warming of 1.5°C, and the window of opportunity to address this is shrinking. Despite this, there are reasons to be optimistic: an increasing number of investors continue to set and make progress towards their net zero commitments, and action on nature and biodiversity loss is gaining global momentum.

“These developments make it clear why the work that IIGCC does, working in collaboration with and on behalf of its members, is more important than it has ever been. IIGCC is valuable because it provides ways for investors to learn from each other, and from established experts in the climate space.

“I am delighted with the board appointments, and in particular welcome Jan Erik into his new role. The board and I look forward to working with Stephanie and the entire IIGCC team in the year ahead to continue to unlock investor action on climate change.”

Stephanie Pfeifer, CEO, IIGCC: “This has been a challenging year globally, but one in which the IIGCC team has continued to rise to the challenge. We are proud to have continued providing our members with invaluable support and resources that they can use to take meaningful action on climate change. It is simultaneously more difficult and more important than ever before that investors can understand and manage the climate-related risks, opportunities and impacts in their portfolios. We believe that IIGCC has played and will continue to play a key role in supporting the investment community to do just that in 2024 and beyond.”

“We would like to thank all our members for their continued commitment and dedication to IIGCC, and we look forward to working with them next year.”

ENDS

Notes to editors

IIGCC’s board following AGM election:

• Faith Ward (Chair), Chief Responsible Investment Officer at Brunel Pension Partnership Limited
• Jon Johnsen (Vice Chair), CEO at PKA
• Ian Simm (Treasurer), Founder & Chief Executive at Impax Asset Management
• Bruce Duguid, Head of Stewardship, EOS at Federated Hermes
• Caroline Le Meaux, Global Head of ESG Research, Engagement and Voting at Amundi
• Claudia Kruse, Managing Director Global Responsible Investment & Governance at APG Asset Management
• Graham Cook, Responsible Investment Strategy Lead (Public Markets) at Phoenix Group
• Jan Erik Saugestad, CEO at Storebrand Asset Management
• Jelle van der Giessen, Chief Investment Officer at NN Group
• Kelly Christodoulou, Senior ESG Advisor (Investments) at AustralianSuper
• Udo Riese, Global Head of Risk and Monitoring at Allianz Investment Management (AIM) SE

About IIGCC

IIGCC brings the investment community together to work towards a net zero and climate resilient future. We create change the world needs by unlocking investor action on climate change.

Our work supports investors in generating returns for clients and beneficiaries, which in turn provides financial wellbeing for future generations. We work with our members to address climate risk and ensure they are well positioned to make the most of investment opportunities offered by climate mitigation and adaptation efforts, ensuring that their investments contribute towards a better world for us all to live in.

Our team supports investors to create practical solutions that can make a real difference in tackling climate change – providing guidance and support on investment practices, policies and corporate behaviours that have real impact and deliver change that the world needs. For more information visit www.iigcc.org and @iigccnews

DISCLAIMER: All communications and initiatives undertaken by IIGCC are designed solely to support investors in understanding risks and opportunities associated with climate change and take action to address them. Our work is conducted in accordance with all the relevant laws, including competition laws and acting in concert rules. IIGCC’s services to members do not include financial, legal or investment advice. The views expressed here do not necessarily represent those of all IIGCC members.