ESG
AP7’s promise to savers is to create good returns in a responsible way through our asset management. In our work, we consider responsible corporate governance and ESG in terms of environmental and social responsibility.
As a long-term and global investor in more than 2,000 companies worldwide, we can benefit the most by being an active owner and by investing in companies that offer solutions to ESG challenges such as climate change, biodiversity and working conditions.
Climate change is one of the most urgent sustainability issues of our time. Therefore, we make special efforts with the overall goal of reducing global emissions.
AP7 works with different methods and at different levels with the aim of achieving real economic impact through responsible asset management.
Actions at general meetings – voting and proposals
Voting at the Annual General Meeting is AP7’s primary tool for influencing the majority of portfolio companies and driving principle-based positions on various sustainability issues as outlined in AP7’s voting policy. Submitting own proposals is also an effective way to get the company boards’ attention for a change AP7 wants to bring about.
Collaboration
AP7 can achieve greater impact by collaborating with other actors with similar ambitions, for example by submitting joint proposals at general meetings. Together with other investors, AP7 also develops norms, guidelines and positions for responsible ownership.
Dialogue
Through dialogue, AP7 can influence on several levels. In direct dialogue with individual companies, with sectors, regions and entire value chains. Through dialogue, AP7 can also influence the development of capital market norms. Dialogue with companies is fundamental to all active ownership activities. Corporate dialogues in combination with one of the other methods of active ownership are often effective.
Investments
As investors, AP7 can provide funding for businesses that contribute with solutions to various sustainability challenges, such as companies specialising in climate innovations. AP7 has more than SEK 70 billion in green bonds, 50 percent of the Fixed income fund, where the capital is earmarked for various environmental projects around the world. AP7 has also cleantech in the PE portfolio, ambitious climate targets for real estate investments, and AP7 has developed a transition portfolio to contribute to achieving global net zero emissions.
Blacklisting
AP7 expects that the companies we invest in adhere to the international norms expressed in the UN Global Compact’s ten principles regarding human rights, labour rights, environment, and anti-corruption. The Paris Agreement was included in the norms AP7 analysis in 2016. AP7 also blacklists companies that participate in
the development and production of nuclear weapons. AP7 does not invest in companies if there is verified information that they violate these norms.
By publishing the names of the companies AP7 has blacklisted, together with the reason, we want to exert pressure and motivate them to change their conduct. The exclusion applies for five years, and the ambition is to be able to invest in the company again if they can demonstrate that the violations have ceased.
The climate aspect in AP7’s blacklisting process is continually being developed in line with research within the area. Research has shown that the single most important measure for mitigating climate change is to stop using coal as an energy source. Since 2020, AP7 therefore blacklists companies with a large absolute
climate impact in coal production and coal power, and with plans to expand their fossil-based activities. Since 2022, AP7’s blacklisting also includes coal companies that cannot present credible transition plans, and oil companies that have no intentions of discontinuing their oil sand extraction. In 2024, AP7 developed the blacklisting to include the largest oil companies that lack climate transition plans.
AP7 Theme work
AP7 complement the active ownership work by exploring specific themes in three-year blocks. This is a way to engage in particularly important areas. AP7 Theme work.
Further reading in our Annual and Sustainability Report