The Board does not only take financial aspects into account in defining and implementing its policy: It also observes aspects that are essential to achieving sustainable and inclusive social progress. The fund has developed its own policy in relation to this and bases its SRI policy on the following cornerstones:
We do not invest in activities in companies and countries that the United Nations, the European Union, or the Dutch government consider unacceptable or which run counter to the standards and values of the UN Global Compact's Ten Principles. Controversial weapons are also excluded from investment.
State bonds of countries that are under sanction by the United Nations or the European Union are excluded from the investment universe. The fund also has a sanctioning policy against individuals and terrorist organizations. For the most part, these sanctions relate to human rights and weapons issues.
The fund is transparent with regard to the investments it holds and communicates openly on its policy in the area of SRI. The fund's website publishes the names of the companies, countries, and investment funds in which it invests.
SPF uses the services of Sustainalytics to assess its exclusions policy. This organization actively researches sustainability worldwide and carries out analyses of socially responsible investment in investment portfolios. Sustainalytics follows a structured approach that is widely accepted within the pension sector. At the end of 2019, SPF’s list of exclusions comprised a total of 94 companies and thirteen countries in the investment universe.
SPF signed the broad track of the Covenant on International Socially Responsible Investment (in Dutch: “IMVB-covenant”) in 2018. The “broad track” means that the fund is committed to implementing the OECD guidelines and UN Guiding Principles in its investment policy. The OECD guidelines and UN Guiding Principles relate to human rights and the environment.