Caisse de Depot et Placement du Quebec, Montreal, highlighted the progress it has made in seeking to reach net zero in its investment portfolio by 2050 and other matters in its 2022 Sustainable Investing Report, issued Monday.
With respect to the environment, CDPQ said in the report that its investment portfolio had C$47 billion ($34.7 billion) in low-carbon assets as of the end of 2022, an increase of C$29 billion, or 161%, since the end of 2017.
CDPQ has now invested a total of more than C$300 billion in low-carbon assets or low-carbon sectors. A spokesman for CDPQ confirmed in an email that the C$300 billion figure is a "snapshot of our current investments."
Also, since the end of 2017, the carbon intensity of the fund's portfolio has been reduced by 53%. CDPQ also completed its exit from the oil sector.
"We acted early and decisively to address climate change, which represents a great risk to our companies," Charles Emond, president and chief executive officer, said in the report. "As a result, we now have one of the world's largest portfolios of assets in renewable energy generation. It has delivered excellent returns for our depositors over the past five years, generating higher performance than companies in oil production."
With respect to social issues, CDPQ said women now account for 45% of its staff — while it seeks to increase that figure to 47% by 2025.
More than one-half (52%) of the fund's actively managed public companies have boards of directors with at least 30% female representation, up from 41% two years ago.
CDPQ also said it has been assisting several of its portfolio companies in integrating environmental, social and governance factors into their processes, while also raising awareness of ESG issues for 175 portfolio companies and 63 external managers.
As of Dec. 31, CDPQ's net assets totaled C$402 billion.
