Supporting Sustainability Through Pensions
The Sustainability Preferences of Pension Beneficiaries in the United Kingdom Defined Contributions Pension Schemes
Bibliographic Data
| ID | 12306513 |
|---|---|
| Authors | Doran Bairbre (0009-0005-9882-1097, Centre for Environment and Sustainability University of Surrey Guildford UK, corresponding author), Morse Stephen (Centre for Environment and Sustainability University of Surrey Guildford UK), Wehrmeyer Walter (Centre for Environment and Sustainability University of Surrey Guildford UK), Chenoweth Jonathan (Centre for Environment and Sustainability University of Surrey Guildford UK), Jonathan Williams (0000-0002-0305-2995, Business School University of Surrey Guildford UK), Julia Williams (0000-0003-0796-5465, University of Surrey) |
| Year | 2026 |
| Publication date | 2026-03-09 |
| Open Access | Yes |
| Type | ARTICLE |
| Venue | Sustainable Development (JOURNAL) |
| Journal identifiers | ISSN: 0968-0802 • E-ISSN: 1099-1719 |
| Publisher | Wiley (PUBLISHER • GB) |
| DOI | 10.1002/sd.70923 |
| OpenAlex | W7134808947 |
| Language | EN |
| References cited | 24 |
Pension funds are the largest combined institutional investors in the world. The integration of ESG (Environmental, Social and Governance) criteria into defined contribution (DC) pension investments by pension funds can result in sustainable pensions that are in line with pension beneficiary preferences and help achieve Sustainable Development Goals. In many cases, ESG investment choice decisions are taken on behalf of pension beneficiaries. This raises important questions such as whether pension beneficiary and pension fund and asset manager investment decisions align on ESG and remuneration preferences and what is the impact of any mismatch? To answer these questions, this research sets out to analyse pension beneficiary ESG voting preferences on ESG polls presented to them. The results suggest that there are differences between the pension beneficiary ESG preferences and those recommended. Pension beneficiaries are vocal in wishing to influence their pension investments; shareholder activism is evident; however, management recommendations dominate
Asset (computer security · Beneficiary · Institutional investor · Investment (military · Pension · Remuneration · Shareholder · Sustainability · Community Development and Social Impact · Corporate Social Responsibility Reporting · Sustainable Finance and Green Bonds
| Highly cited | No |
|---|